Spiral Gateway, the Edinburgh reconfigurable image processing fabless chip company, semiconductor company, has got fully functional and validated samples of its RICA Reconfigurable Instruction Cell Array test chip.

“We are pleased to have demonstrated the underlying RICA technology and show it operating in real time. This gives us great confidence of delivering a disruptive solution to the ISP market with first full product prototypes later this year,” said Spiral Gateway’s CEO, Graham Townsend.

RICA is a reconfigurable silicon fabric programmed at the algorithmic level in C which removes the need for mapping software completely, requiring only an open source C compiler allowing any existing or new C code to load straight onto the fabric.

The technology delivers reconfigurable logic which uses an order of magnitude less power than FPGA with very high performance, and requiring minimal hardware design and no need for large design teams.

RICA technology provides image signal processing for the next generation of mobile phones.  The fully working samples successfully prove the concepts of the underlying technology, including full dynamic reconfigurability and multiple application capability.

The chip was developed and manufactured in partnership with the University of Edinburgh. This partnership allowed the company access to leading technologists, tool flows and fabrication partners in a seamless way.

Spiral Gateway’s technology replaces hardwired ASIC devices or software programmable DSP cores. The market is demanding the real time performance levels of hardwired ASIC solutions but with the full programmable flexibility of the software approach and that’s what Spiral Gateway’s technology provides.

Spiral Gateway was founded in 2004 and is a spin-out from the University of Edinburgh. It is backed by a consortium of investors led by Braveheart Investment.