A team of engineers at Xilinx Ireland has pioneered a revolutionary programmable chip which is attracting interest from technology experts worldwide.
The low-cost chip can be programmed remotely to perform a range of different functions on electronic devices. For example, a set-top box could be converted remotely from a television receiver into a games console, or a television recorder, by transmitting the required processor logic and software over the cable connection.
The development will allow Xilinx to compete in the highly lucrative consumer electronics market. Priced at $10 (€9.70) each, the chips have the performance characteristics of prevailing application specific integrated circuit chips (ASICs), but can be designed and brought to market much faster. Xilinx can now move from low volume communications markets into high volume consumer markets.
The breakthrough places Xilinx's Irish operation firmly at the centre of its global research and development effort, says Mr Paul McCambridge, managing director of Xilinx Ireland. "In the next month or so we will expand further and set up multiple teams with the goal of producing new products every nine months. This moves us from being the little brother to Xilinx in the US, to a big time player."
Xilinx currently employs 200 people at its Citywest facility in Dublin, but Mr McCambridge says this could rise eventually to 1,800. "If we can keep repeating this success, there's no reason we can't keep going."
Early applications of Spartan II could include adjustments to telecoms switches located in remote regions. Instead of sending a telecoms engineer half-way up a mountain, new functions can be deployed remotely from a base station using Java-based Internet reconfigurable logic.
The reconfigurable chip is expected to open up considerable opportunities for advanced digital television, entertainment and communications devices. As digital television grows in popularity the range of services available through one screen can be tailored to the user's needs. The Xilinx programmable chip is capable of setting up viewing patterns for the user, and incorporating the Web, e-mail, games and television through one box.
"This highly advanced technology has been pioneered using Irish engineering expertise," says Xilinx Ireland's director of engineering, Mr Brendan Cremen. According to industry analyst Dataquest, the market potential for chips used in high-volume consumer applications is believed to be more than $20 billion.
Xilinx employs 1,700 people worldwide and has a number of blue-chip customers including Lucent Technologies, Nortel, Ericsson, Cisco Systems, 3Com, Newbridge Networks and Sun Microsystems.
