WILSONVILLE, Ore. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — October 20, 2009 — Mentor Graphics Corp. (NASDAQ: MENT), today announced that Fujitsu Kyushu Network Technologies Limited (Fujitsu QNET) has chosen the Catapult® C Synthesis tool for use in its design tool environment to implement complex algorithms in hardware that were previously processed by a processor implemented on LSI. Fujitsu’s growing expertise with the Catapult C tool is also a key enabler in the expansion of their design services business.
Fujitsu QNET was able to dramatically cut power consumption by using the Catapult C Synthesis tool to create a dedicated hardware accelerator for mobile voice processing algorithm versus running in software. The resulting silicon implementation yielded a reduction in power consumption of 83%. This was made possible by the ability of the Catapult C tool to find the optimal trade-off between power, performance and area, in this case, implementing a design satisfying voice performance requirements while running at a lower clock frequency than the previous implementation using a processor.
Fujitsu QNET is also expanding its use to a host of application areas including image authentication and wireless processing systems. Fujitsu QNET is now aiming to deliver significant performance improvements to its image recognition systems by accelerating features previously processed on dedicated DSPs and implementing them in custom hardware. The Catapult C tool’s ability to synthesize high-performance RTL from its original C programs is a key enabler for Fujitsu QNET to create differentiated products.
Based on the depth of knowledge and experience they gained through the production use of the Catapult C Synthesis tool, Fujitsu QNET plans to provide their customers with a greater value and development efficiency through their design service business.
“Fujitsu QNET was able to reduce power consumption and improve design performance of our LSI by implementing the RTL circuit from ANSI C++ program that describes complex algorithm, and Catapult C Synthesis was a key tool in achieving our success,” said Mr. Hiroaki Yamashita, Manager, Development Division of Fujitsu QNET. “By the results we’ve seen and the experience we’ve gained, we believe we can help our customers achieve higher performance and higher added value in their system development, and significantly reduce development cost and time to market.”
“We are impressed with Fujitsu QNET’s application of the Catapult C technology in their design flow, and their knowledge and experience in IC design and ESL methodologies, especially in C-synthesis,” said Simon Bloch, Vice President and General Manager of Mentor Graphics Design and Synthesis Division. “As companies deploy high-level synthesis, we are seeing steady and accelerated adoption of Catapult C given its ability to synthesize both algorithmic and control blocks and balance excellent results across power/area/performance.”
About Catapult
The Catapult C Synthesis tool is the first product to automatically generate control and algorithmic RTL multi-block designs from a pure ANSI C++ source where both the core algorithm and interface are untimed. This productivity improvement gives designers time and freedom to automatically perform detailed design exploration of different micro-architectural options and interface scenarios to quickly achieve fully optimized hardware designs. For more information, including whitepapers, datasheets and product demos on the Catapult C Synthesis tool, please visit http://www.mentor.com/esl.
About Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world’s most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $850 million and employs approximately 4,450 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/.
(Mentor Graphics and Catapult are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.)
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