FPGA design support

Caelera, the Australian distributor for Actel, has formed an agreement with the La Trobe University Centre for Technology Infusion in Melbourne whereby the centre will offer product development support for designers wishing to access the technology features of Actel's low-power flash-based FPGA families.

The centre, also in Melbourne, will provide in-house access to the latest software and hardware development tools offered by Actel of the US to help Australian developers wishing to use FPGA devices in their products.

The agreement enables Australian companies to outsource some or all of their Actel FPGA-based development programs to a highly qualified design centre based in the region.

The low-power flash-based FPGAs incorporate technology features valuable to Australian industry segments such as mining, defence, industrial and medical. With the assistance of the centre, it is expected that new products can be generated over the coming year.

Professor Jack Singh, Director of the Centre for Technology Infusion, noted, "We have signed a joint Design Centre Agreement with Actel which enables us to offer design services based on Actel's latest FPGA development tools. We have these tools in place now and are ready to assist with the transfer of this valuable design capability to Australian industry. We believe that Actel's FPGA technology is a good match to the needs of local product designers, due to the range of typical applications which are common in Australia."