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Altera has announced that Bluewater Systems is using the Cyclone series of low-cost FPGAs in the design of their award-winning Snapper 255, an integrated single-board microcontroller module for embedded applications. Cyclone FPGAs enable Snapper 255 to be fully customizable, giving engineers the flexibility to meet diverse design requirements for a broad range of ARM-based processor systems.
The Snapper 255 module, which earned Bluewater Systems the EDN Innovation Award in Australia for Best Application of Programmable Logic, is a fully integrated computer module. It includes a high-performance microcontroller, one of three Cyclone FPGAs (EP1C4, EP1C12 or EP1C20) depending on user needs, as well as a selection of processor peripherals, and high-speed and flash memories. Altera Cyclone FPGAs emulate the timing and commands required by various legacy switch models, allowing Bluewater Systems to provide a single hardware platform that can be software-configured to cater to multiple-switch applications.
"The flexibility offered by Altera's Cyclone FPGAs enables customers using Snapper 255 to easily make system changes after hardware development is complete," said Tim Trewinnard, general manager of Bluewater Systems.
"Snapper 255 marries the best attributes of FPGA and embedded processor development environments," said Luanne Schirrmeister, Altera's product marketing director for low-cost FPGAs. "By applying the scalability, cost optimization and reconfigurability of the Cyclone series to an easy-to-use, ARM-enabled embedded development system, the Bluewater Systems team has reduced the cost of innovating embedded products."
To learn more about Altera's Cyclone FPGAs, visit www.altera.com/cyclone. To learn more about Bluewater Systems and the Snapper range of ARM-based, single-board computer modules, visit www.bluewatersys.com.
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