Arm has expanded its DesignStart program to include the Cortex-A5 CPU, Arm’s low-power and Linux-capable application processor, according to the processor IP vendor. Developers can now accelerate embedded and IoT SoC design for applications including medical, smart home, gateways and wearables.
Arm noted its DesignStart program has already opened up Arm CPUs to many designers, with over 3,000 CPU prototyping downloads in the last 12 months alone, including one company who went from concept to tape-out in less than six months. The program has now been taken to the next level with the Cortex-A5 processor, which has been shipped in over two billion devices to date and chosen by top cloud vendors as the entry point for edge IoT processing.
The DesignStart program provides fast, easy access to the Cortex-A5 processor through a web portal and a simplified contract, speeding up time-to-market, Arm indicated. The addition of Cortex-A5 to the program means developers can design with access to the largest technology ecosystem, offering a wealth of resources and a strong foundation on which to scale their products, the company claimed.
Arm continued it is now providing developers with the lowest cost access to a Linux-capable Arm CPU. IP access, including one-year design support from Arm experts, is US$75,000, with an alternative option of US$150,000 access fee that includes three years of support to help achieve right-first-time silicon.
Arm added it is the primary architecture for embedded Linux and Android, with hundreds of Linux-based projects already running on Arm. Linaro and Arm’s combined efforts rank among the top 3 contributors to the Linux kernel.
The Cortex-A5 will also enable advanced machine learning applications with Arm’s Neural Network inference engine, which is part of Linaro’s Machine Learning Initiative, providing wide ecosystem support. In addition, Arm announced recently Mbed Linux OS, which builds on its Mbed OS solution – an IoT platform OS with more than 350,000 developers. This enables secure and rapid development and device management through the Pelion IoT Platform of IoT devices based on Cortex-A for the first time.
When ready to tape out a custom chip, time to market can be accelerated with Arm’s Artisan physical IP. Developers can also benefit from design enablement platforms being supported by 18 foundry partners with process technology ranging from 250nm to 5nm, Arm said.
Earlier in October 2018, Arm announced its DesignStart program would be offering Cortex-M processors without any license fee or royalty on Xilinx FPGAs. Through expanding the program to offer Cortex-A5, Arm is looking to support innovation across the entire design spectrum of embedded and IoT devices. DesignStart also helps speed up SoC implementation with free access to the industry-leading library of physical IP, tailored for a range of fabs and process nodes, through Arm Artisan physical IP.