MINIATURISATION:
Martin Kellerman*
PERFORMANCE VERSUS POWER IN EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Learn more about how field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) will empower the next-generation technology revolution with powerefficient performance in many new applications for every industry.
M
iniaturisation is a key feature in most embedded systems today. Everyone wants more computing power in their pockets. Most FPGA-based embedded systems are also following the same trend. Consumers want smaller industrial and professional cameras, medical handhelds, smaller programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and driver assistance modules in cars. Miniaturisation also poses additional challenges — the biggest one can be condensed into a single term, ‘power-efficient performance’. Typically, if a system’s performance goes up, its power consumption does too, which, in turn, increases heat dissipation. And in smaller modules heat dissipation is a headache that designers cope with every day. Cooling a module so that it can operate under a thermally constrained environment often becomes the bottleneck to performance. This article highlights how field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are enabling the next-generation technology revolution
4 This issue is sponsored by — Rohde & Schwarz — https://rohde-schwarz.com/product/mxo4
by offering power-efficient performance in many new high-volume applications in every industry. Small form-factor cameras can be used for many different things, like running AI algorithms to guide farmers via drone images, providing video analytics in retail chains, counting passengers in transportation and reading licence plates in toll booths. In the medical field, portable ultrasound machines are democratising care delivery in the field. Endoscopes and surgical-assist smart glasses are providing much higher-resolution images to doctors than ever before. Thermal imaging-based surveillance systems designed to protect borders against intruders are also becoming smarter. Generally deployed in remote locations, these systems must operate autonomously while staying hidden. Even amateur content creators are driving a need for FPGA-based streaming video converters, as they need the option to convert 4K video streams between any format like HDMI, SDI, USB or PCIe.