While the breadth of IoT provides endless possibilities for advanced software development, it also holds challenges for designers. In a rapidly changing and competitive market, designers need to differentiate their products and deliver enhanced designs at the lowest cost in the fastest time possible.
One avenue for differentiation is “rich embedded processing”, which we define at Arm as providing an advanced level of performance and sophistication. Sometimes that includes an interactive user interface, but on the whole, it is about offering advanced capability. These products use a comprehensive set of software stacks and benefit from the breadth of ready-to-run middleware and applications available on fully featured operating systems such as Linux. Companies developing rich embedded IoT designs are now turning toward application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to meet their specific needs.
Faster, easier access to the Cortex-A5 processor through DesignStart
Having listened to the developer community and their request for easy access to an Arm Linux-capable processor for advanced design, we are expanding the DesignStart program to include Cortex-A5, our lowest-power, most area efficient application processor. DesignStart has opened up Arm CPUs to even more designers, with over 3,000 CPU prototyping downloads in the last 12 months alone, including one company who went from concept to tape-out in less than six months. The program is taken to the next level with the Cortex-A5, a high-performance, feature-rich processor shipped in over two billion devices to date and chosen by top cloud vendors as the entry point for edge IoT processing. 70% of rich embedded devices are based on Arm and it is ideal for innovative, cost-sensitive applications with advanced requirements, in diverse markets such as medical, smart home and industrial.
Unlock software innovation with access to Linux on Arm
Arm is now providing developers with the lowest cost access to a Linux-capable Arm CPU. IP access, including one-year design support from Arm experts, is $75k, with an alternative option of $150k access fee that includes three years of support to help achieve right-first-time silicon.
The Cortex-A5 will also enable advanced machine learning applications with Arm’s Neural Network inference engine, which is part of Linaro’s Machine Learning Initiative, providing wide ecosystem support.
Faster SoC development with the most scalable and configurable Armv7-A processor
The Cortex-A5 package in DesignStart includes flexible system IP for area and power-optimized SoC development. Key benefits of this comprehensive system IP include:
- Proven SoC foundation – flexible system IP for area and power-optimized SoC development
- Low-latency interconnect – Arm CoreLink NIC-400 provides configurable and low-power connectivity with design flexibility
- Seamless debugging – industry-standard CoreSight debug and trace solution
- System-wide security – TrustZone technology provides hardware-enforced isolation to establish a secure root of trust
Continuing DesignStart momentum
Earlier this month we announced that DesignStart is now offering Cortex-M processors without any license fee or royalty on Xilinx FPGAs. Through expanding the program to offer Cortex-A5, we hope to support innovation across the entire design spectrum of embedded and IoT devices, catering to the diverse requirements of this dynamic market.
DesignStart also helps speed up SoC implementation with free access to the industry-leading library of physical IP, tailored for a range of fabs and process nodes, through Arm Artisan physical IP.
