Speedy proof of concept design... a distributor's view

And if, as often happens, the proof of concept is a rather inexact model of the intended end product, it provides only a weak indication of whether the concept is viable.

In the past couple of years, the major global distributors have tried to address the imperfections of this proof of concept process by introducing a series of application-oriented development systems, generally described as proof of concept development boards or evaluation boards.

These boards use as a foundation a newly-introduced, complex central component (such as a microprocessor or FPGA) to build a complete system that mimics the hardware configuration of a common end product (such as a motor controller or industrial network controller).

These boards typically also provide a pre-loaded operating system and firmware, and a free development environment from a vendor such as IAR or Metrowerks.

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of an evaluation board from a distributor, which can integrate components from multiple vendors, is that it can provide a comprehensive range of I/O options, interfaces and peripheral functions to support the central component.

By contrast, the evaluation boards supplied by microprocessor and FPGA vendors typically provide just enough peripheral functionality to demonstrate the capability of their component.

The developer can evaluate the theoretical performance of the MPU or MCU with an evaluation board, but they cannot write real code or build a real prototype.

It is also possible to allow designers to compare similar devices, such as 32-bit microcontrollers from different manufacturers, in the same application, through the use of interchangeable modules or daughterboards that plug in to a motherboard. 

At its best, a new reference design or development board can be used not only as a stand-alone system but also as a source of blocks of IP that the design engineer can rip out and implement in his own design.

OEM's design function

The distributor's proof of concept development board is optimised in various ways for rapid development, IP reuse and bill of materials cost. Does this mean that, for applications supported by distributor boards such as power over Ethernet, the OEM needs no hardware designers?

In reality, this is extremely unlikely: the distributor's board can give you a head start, but it cannot run the race for you. One important issue here is the matter of EMC, ESD and EMI compliance and approvals: while development boards are designed to be broadly suitable for a category of applications, each OEM must take responsibility for gaining the relevant approvals and certifications for its own end product.

Further, a distributor's reference design or development board is very unlikely to be competitive in terms of system cost when compared to an OEM's optimised system. This is the trade-off of the flexibility that was described above as being so important in a good proof of concept development board.

Occasionally, a OEM that wants to get to market extremely quickly might copy a distributor's complete development board and market it for a short period while it develops a cost- and production-optimised ­enhancement.

In most cases, however, rather than replacing the OEM's design function, what a proof of concept development board does is accelerate their work, in particular by providing a pre-loaded software package that eliminates the need to spend days on writing base level drivers for proofs of concept that might never go into full-scale development.