DapTechnology Fires Up World’s First 3.2 Gigabit IEEE 1394b FireWire SOC Solution

DapTechnology successfully demonstrated the world’s first high speed S3200 3.2 Gigabit IEEE 1394b FireWire system-on-a-chip (SOC) solution at VISION 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany.

A world-leading supplier of advanced IEEE 1394 protocol analyzers and solutions to the aerospace, defense, industrial, automotive and consumer electronics markets,  DapTechnology showed video data being transported from a Xilinx development board through a 10-meter standard FireWire cable to a PCI Express board within a host computer. The company headed the effort with support from Point Grey, a leading developer of advanced digital camera systems, as a result of the growing market need for higher speed IEEE 1394b technology at a time when comparable silicon-based solutions are non-existent.

The DapTechnology 3.2 Gigabit 1394b PHY IP will be available initially on a Xilinx FPGA. It comprises a 1394b standards-compliant PHY IP featuring throughput rates of up to 3.2 Gigabits per second – a performance gain of up to 4 times that of the currently available IEEE 1394b-2002 and Gigabit Ethernet standards. The 3.2 Gigabit IEEE 1394b SOC Solution suite, which is expected to be released commercially by the end of December 2010, will include the DapTechnology 3.2 Gigabit compliant IEEE 1394b PHY IP, FireLink Extended Link Layer Controller IP core, a 3.2 Gigabit Peripheral Development Board, a 4-lane PCI Express Host Adapter and a 3.2 Gigabit IEEE 1394b FireSpy Analyzer. An S1600 1.6 Gigabit version of the suite is expected to be available by the end of April 2010.

“A clear path for higher speed IEEE 1394b has been realized with this new DapTechnology 3.2 Gigabit IEEE 1394b FireWire SOC Solution,” said Jan de Vries, CEO of DapTechnology.  “We are proud to have pioneered the efforts needed to push the limits and propel IEEE 1394b to the next frontier.”

"We are very pleased to be involved in DapTechnology's work on faster FireWire," said Vlad Tucakov, Director of Sales and Marketing at Point Grey. "FireWire offers guaranteed bandwidth and low latency, and continues to be a key interface technology for machine and computer vision applications. One key advantage of S3200 1394b is that it increases bandwidth to 3.2 Gbit/s but uses the same cables, connectors and electrical specifications as the current S800 1394b. This means users will be able to integrate faster FireWire cameras—which Point Grey is working on—with minimal changes to their existing system."

For added details, visit www.daptechnology.com and www.ptgrey.com