Jim Webb
Visual Solutions, Inc.
978-392-0100
Texas Instruments Developer Conference, Houston, TX – (8/08/2002) Visual Solutions, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of Texas Instruments’ (TI) new TMS320F2812 DSP chip to the list of supported targets for the VisSim/Embedded Controls Developer (ECD) product. This tool lets you visually construct algorithms for products based on the 32-bit, mixed-signal F2812 and simulate them off-line, as well as generate efficient fixed-point C code. As a direct result, the time required to bring products to market is greatly reduced.
Prior to VisSim/Embedded Controls Developer, designing efficient, fixed-point code to exploit on-chip peripherals was a lengthy, error prone process. With this tool, it only takes seconds to automatically generate the code, download it, and run it on the F2812 eZdsp from Spectrum Digital.
VisSim/Embedded Controls Developer allows visual construction of DSP algorithms simply by connecting function blocks. ECD simulations give bit true results for fixed-point operations, as well as supporting efficient C code generation.
“We are very excited about the F2812 chip, with its 32-bit address space, 150 MHZ execution speed, accelerated JTAG interface, and TMS320LF2407A compatible peripheral set,” said Peter Darnell, president of Visual Solutions, Inc. “This is the ideal chip for industrial control.”
Function blocks include a full range of math operations, as well as Boolean, conditional operation, and high-level digital control blocks. Target-specific blocks support analog, digital, PWM, CAN, encoder, event capture, interrupt detection, and PWM channel action (for brushless DC motor commutation).
VisSim/Embedded Controls Developer allows system designers to quickly move from design to prototype to test and tune, and then final FLASH burn. This is accomplished by supplying four modes of operation:
· Pure simulation: Virtual controllers are prototyped against virtual plants. Fixed-point operations such as filters, gains, 3-phase 3rd harmonic waveform generators, etc. are all simulated at the specified precision, flagging errors due to truncation and precision loss early in the design.
· DSP peripherals in-the-loop co-simulation: In this mode, the control algorithm runs on the host PC, but peripherals such as analog inputs, encoder inputs, analog outputs, and PWM outputs are taken from the DSP via JTAG Hotlink.
· DSP in-the-loop co-simulation: In this mode, the controller runs on the DSP while communicating in a background task via JTAG Hotlink with the host PC. The communication link can be used to test the controller against a virtual plant, or to change controller gains and plotting DSP results on the fly.
· Stand-alone DSP operation: In this mode, the linked .out file can be FLASH burned for final embedded operation.
“VisSim/Embedded Controls Developer is a great development platform for TI F2812 applications,” said Todd Solak, TMS320C2000™ product marketing manager for TI. “The VisSim product allows our customers to develop applications in one fourth the time of hand-coded C and assembler.”
VisSim/Embedded Controls Developer is ideal for general industrial control as well as H-Bridge power supply, AC induction motor, brush, stepper and brushless DC motors.
“The VisSim product is a fabulous piece of software that allows the complex modeling and simulation using block diagram notation and has allowed me to produce the control algorithms in my application, a small robot using a TI TMS320LC2406A DSP,” said Gabriel Elkaim, Ph.D., Stanford University, GPS Lab. “The real advantage of the VisSim product is in the code that it produces. The code that VisSim produces is tight, readable, and fast. In the rapid prototyping space, VisSim really shines as an enabler of quick turn-arounds and trade-off studies. After having used this product, I really do not see hand coding for any target for which VisSim is available.”
The TI TMS320C28x™ generation for VisSim/Embedded Controls
Developer runs on Windows/9x, NT, 2000, and XP. Target support for the TI C28x™
generation is now shipping.
Visual Solutions is the developer of VisSim, the industry
leading software for dynamic simulation and industrial DSP code generation.
Visual Solutions was founded in 1989 with headquarters in
About the
Visual Solutions is a member of the TI TMS320Ô third party program, the most extensive collection of global DSP development support in the industry. With more than 600 independent companies and consultants, TI's customers have easy access to a broad range of application software, development hardware and software and consulting services. For more information on the TI third party program, visit www.dspvillage.ti.com/v5.