Electronica 2008 - Read our full show coverage from Munich
Xilinx was explaining its platform strategy and showing off some of its platforms at Electronica.
Asked if producing platforms was the right direction for a programmable logic company, Xilinx's Mustafa Uzaroglu replied: "The whole electronics market is changing."
"The suppliers are changing. The dynamics are changing. The environment is changing."
But surely platforms are an SOC company strategy? If Xilinx is focused on giving customers what they want, it takes FPGAs away from their role as standard, programmable components to being SOCs with a bit of programmability, which is what the SOC companies provide.
"Xilinx's strategy is not about what customers want, but what building blocks do customers want to have at their disposal," responded Uzaroglu.
At Electronica, Xilinx was demonstrating seven of these platforms:
- A lane departure warning image pre-processor;
- A development platform for applications including the integration of stepper motor control of analogue gauges with graphics controllers for digital displays;
- A reconfigurable platform for displaying the information from rear-view cameras on the dashboard;
- A platform for real-time processing of live camera images;
- A multi-core video analytics development platform;
- An EtherCAT industrial Ethernet Fieldbus system;
- A SERCOS III real-time network system.
"We deliver platforms to customers and they adapt, them to their requirements," said Uzaroglu. "The platforms are targeted platforms with design reference designs, and open standards. They are tested, validated supported solutions."
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