Join us at the next FPGA Network meet-up on Tuesday 11th October in Swindon!

FPGA experts who care about tools and methodologies can’t afford to miss the next meeting of the NMI FPGA Network... You will find this meeting especially compelling if you are an architect, designer, verification specialist, project manager or engineering manager.

We know how important design tools and methodologies are in creating better FPGA designs and FPGA systems-based, this is why we are excited to be sponsoring this event and would be delighted to see you there too!

On the day we will contribute to the debate with a discussion on ‘FPGA Platform Development Kit Enables Fast TTM’ delivered by Chad Hamilton, VP of Intellectual Property (IP), Software and Support at BittWare.

Chad will join the discussion along with FPGA specialists from other Industry leaders.

Confirmed Speakers 
Synopsys: Flexible debug and visibility techniques to enhance all FPGA design and deployment cycles
BittWare: FPGA platform development kit enables fast TTM
Mentor Graphics: Staying competitive by evolving your FPGAverification methodologies
Bitvis AS: A game changer for VHDL verification: advanced VHDL verification – made simple for anyone
Telexsus: FPGA real-time debug with vastly increased operational capture time – live demo
Cadence: 100M gate designs in FPGAs – fact or fiction?
Altera now part of Intel: Zen and the art of high-speed design
Xilinx: Vivado HLx Design Methodology
ITDev: Static code analysis using Blue Pearl software

See full details (pdf)

We are also very pleased to have Manuele Papais from DAVE Embedded Systems with us, showcasing their Xilinx Zynq based hardware and talking to engineers about Asymmetric Multi Processing on Cortex-A CPU: system integrity and reliability on Linux and RTOS cores.

Find out more and book your place here.

We look forward to seeing you at the FPGA Network Event ‘Design Tools and Methodologies’!

NMI FPGA Network: Design Tools and Methodologies - 11th October 2016

The National Microelectronics Institute (NMI) was created to increase the quality and quantity of electronic engineering and manufacturing in the UK.

NMI provides:

• A focal point for this industry; connecting industry, academia and stakeholders to build a strong eco-system
• A mechanism to work together to address common challenges in engineering and manufacturing sharing domain knowledge and know-how across vertical applications
• Opportunities to raise your profile and develop your business through new partnership and programs addressing business opportunities
• This industry with a voice by building industrial coherence on the strategic issues and opportunities; seeking to inform government and its agencies; supporting their decision-making processes
• A response to your individual business needs

NMI Infographic – Click to view full size

FPGA Network – Design Tools & Methodologies

On October 11th the NMI is hosting an event in Swindon which will allow members to share experiences of how FPGA design tools and methodologies impact build schedules, solve difficult problems, affect quality, optimise architecture and bridge hardware and software communities.

This event is ideal for you if you are an architect, designer, verification specialist, project manager or engineering manager and you care about tools and methodologies to help do a better job of creating FPGA designs or systems based on FPGAs.

Confirmed Speakers:

Synopsys: Flexible debug and visibility techniques to enhance all FPGA design and deployment cycles  
Mentor Graphics: Staying competitive by evolving your FPGA verification methodologies
Cadence: 100M gate designs in FPGAs – Fact or Fiction?  
BittWare: FPGA Platform Development Kit Enables Fast TTM  
Telexsus: FPGA real-time debug with vastly increased operational capture time – live demo  
Altera (now part of Intel): Zen and the art of high speed design

We have 5 free tickets for this event. If you'd like to join us please contact Sarsen Technology to register your interest - info@sarsen.net

3rd DAVIng Event - Learn, Discuss, Eat, Repeat!

Last week Nigel and Christos made the short hop across the continent to spend a couple of days with the DAVE Embedded Systems team in Porcia, Italy.

Following the success of last year's DAVing event the distribution network once again got together to meet and take part in a number of active training sessions as well as share their thoughts and ideas on how they can help DAVE Embedded Systems develop the business over the next 12 months. Sarsen Technology participated alongside Cynetis Embedded, Smart Embedded Systems DAVE Embedded Systems Germany and Digimax S.r.l.

As we know, all work and no play makes one very dull, so although the event was packed with training and interactive discussions there was still a little time for some sightseeing. Pordenone is a town about 15 minutes from the DAVE Embedded Systems offices, and the team enjoyed a tour of the town followed by a beautiful meal at La Ferrata.

Thanks to Eleonora and everyone at DAVE Embedded Systems for organising such an informative and motivating event! We're looking forward to working on some exciting new projects with you all this year.

NMI Event - “Managing FPGA Projects: A Cat-herders Guide” - November 25th 2015

Sarsen Technology is taking part in the “Managing FPGA Projects: A Cat-herders Guide” event next week, organised by NMI.

About NMI



Agenda items include:

“Leveraging ASIC and Software methodologies for FPGA design” – Leon Wildman – Aptcore

“Managing complexity: version control basics for FPGA projects” – Sven-Erik Knop – Perforce

“Teaching an old dog new tricks – The opportunities and resulting challenges of getting consumer silicon into safety critical systems” – Mike Allen, Jon Wright – GE Avionics

“Management sans frontiers: Removing the roadblocks in FPGA projects” – Chris Higgs – Potential Ventures

“Optimizing the HW/SW partition of complex embedded systems” – Simon George – Xilinx

“Inspiring the next generation of FPGA engineers: Skills management in the long term” – Jeremy Bennett – Embecosm

“Requirement driven development for safety-critical applications” – Alex Grove – FirstEDA/Aldec

“Applying Agile Techniques to FPGA Projects” – Nigel Elliott – Mentor Graphics

. . . plus an open discussion to share hints and best practices.

Sarsen will be showcasing Altera and Xilinx FPGA-based hardware from BittWare, Extreme Engineering and DAVE Embedded Systems, as well as C to FPGA software for Xilinx and Altera FPGAs from Impulse Accelerated.

REGISTER NOW

Registration is now open, so please join us to learn some new tips, tricks and “agile” methods that teams are using in order to keep on top of ever-more complex FPGA designs.

Embedded Design Show 2015

We had a great time at the Embedded Design Show again this year, where we spent two days showcasing the latest technology from DAVE Embedded Systems.

The Embedded Design Show has been running alongside the Electronics Design Show and Engineering Design Show at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry for the last few years, with 2015 looking like the most successful year to date.

If you didn't get the chance to visit the show don't worry, just get in touch with the sales team to request a datapack, which will give you a great overview of the DAVE Embedded Systems' product line, covering FPGA technology, ARM Cortex-A architecture, Freescale and Texas Instruments processors and the new Xilinx 'Zynq' SoC.

If you'd like to know more about DAVE Embedded Systems, or the Embedded Design Show, please contact Sarsen Technology on +44 1672 511166

DAVE Embedded Systems Gets a Facelift

Author - Laura

The team over at DAVE Embedded Systems have just unveiled their shiny new website, and it’s pretty impressive. With new graphics and clean, simple lines the new site provides a more streamlined user experience, without losing any of the familiar DAVE branding. 

 

With an emphasis on technical support the site now links directly to the DAVEWiki;
a fantastic archive full of documentation, user guides and software tools that provides developers with everything they need to get started.


 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Check out their efforts by going to the all-new DAVE Embedded Systems website – www.dave.eu

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

DAVE Embedded Systems is a well-established and constantly growing Italian company, focused on designing, manufacturing and selling of miniaturised embedded systems solutions. Since its foundation, back in 1998, DAVE Embedded Systems has developed its business and now provides CPU modules solutions or System-On-Module (SoM) based on the latest technologies including Multi-Core ARM Cortex, PowerPC, X86 and FPGA.

DAVE Embedded Systems Hosts First Partners Meeting

Last week Nigel and Alberto made the short hop across Europe to north-west Italy to visit our friends at DAVE Embedded Systems.

DAVE invited their partners to their headquarters in Porcia to take part in the very first 'Daving' event - a three day training session designed to share information, news and future plans for DAVE Embedded Systems and their partners.

The three days, which lasted from the 29th of May to the 31 of May 2014, were packed full of presentations, team building exercises and training sessions. But it wasn't all work and no play...

There was plenty of opportunity to build relationships and have some fun!

About DAVE Embedded Systems - DAVE Embedded Systems is a well-established Italian company, focussed on the design of highly complex miniaturised embedded electronic systems. They offer a complete line of CPU modules covering ARM and PowerPC architectures, from entry level models right through to high end ruggedised boards. DAVE Embedded Systems modules are suitable for applications in the industrial, transportation, home automation, medical, networking, smart grid and telecom markets.

Embedded Systems 'R' Us!

Here at Sarsen embedded systems are just what we do. They are our core business, and we’ve got a crack team of manufacturing partners that enable us to help you, the lovely customer, find solutions for your embedded computing requirements. It can be a challenge, so we offer a wide range of high quality, high reliability products that support a lot of different market sectors.

One of our newest additions to the product line, Dave, has risen to the challenge of embedded product development by designing and manufacturing complete devices, including both software and hardware. The result is a complete line of CPU modules, covering x86, ARM and PowerPC architectures, with high-end and entry level models.

Dave’s aim is to help customers save development time and engineering costs, which is why each CPU is available with its own evaluation board and development kit, so you can easily test all the features on the module.

The BORA is the newest high performance CPU module from DAVE, powered by the Dual Cortex-A9 with the FPGA "Zynq" XC7Z010 / XC7Z020 application processor from Xilinx. The BoraEVB-Lite is a carrier board designed to host the Bora system-on-module.
Features Include -

• 10/100/1000 Ethernet
• 1x USB OTG
• Serial port (RS232)
• 1x MicroSD
• External DDR3 SDRAM bank
• +12V power connector
• JTAG
• 2.54mm-pitch pin-strip connectors for Bora PS and PL configurable peripherals (MIO and EMIO interfaces, GPIOs, custom IPs ..)

For more information about the development kits from Dave, or evaluations for any of our products, please get in touch with our wonderful sales team on +44 1672 511166, or email us – info@sarsen.net

Have a great weekend!

Defence and Aerospace Roadshow Confirmed Schedule

The schedule for the Dream Marketing Defence & Aerospace Roadshow has been confirmed.

Sarsen will be visiting all of the sites on the list, sharing some exciting technology from BittWare, Dave, Extreme Engineering, General Standards, Tech Source and Trenton Systems.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Mon 16th Sep	- BAE Systems Barrow
Tues 17th Sep	- Rolls-Royce - Derby
Wed 18th Sep	- Rolls Royce - Derby
Thur 19th Sep	- Selex ES - Basildon
Fri 20th Sep	- Safran Power - Pitstone
Mon 23th Sep	- Messier Dowty - Gloucester *TBC
Tues 24th Sep	- GE Aviation - Cheltenham
Wed 25th Sep	- Cobham Mission Systems - Wimborne
Thur 26th Sep	- QinetiQ - Boscombe Down
Fri 27th Sep	- General Dynamics - Newport
Mon 30th Sep	- BAE/Airbus - Filton
Tues 1st Oct	- Rolls Royce - Bristol
Wed 2nd Oct	- L-3 Comms - Tewkesbury
Thur 3rd Oct	- Agusta Westland - Yeovil

Check out Dream Marketing on LinkedIn

Introducing the BORA from Dave

So, we have some exciting news for you today....

Our newest addition to the product line, Dave, has released their newest product - the Bora.

This is very exciting, because it could save you development time, resources and physical space, as well as give you increased flexibility, improved performance and a diverse set of peripherals.

The Bora is based on the recent Xilinx "Zynq" XC7Z010 / XC7Z020 Dual Cortex-A9 + Artix-7 FPGA application processor. Customers will benefit from using a compact solution that includes both a CPU and an FPGA, avoiding complexities on the carrier PCB. The Artix-7 FPGA integrated on-chip means you can develop your embedded system without sacrificing performance. The industrial temperature operation also enables designers to create rugged products suitable for harsh mechanical and thermal environments.

The BORA is suitable for a variety of high-end applications such as:

• Medical instrumentation
• Advanced communication systems
• Critical real-time operations
• Safety/Security applications

If you have any questions, or you'd like to know more about the new Bora from Dave, please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or email us: info@sarsen.net

Need to take control of your home? Maya can help!

Home automation is no longer a science fiction idea of the future.
(And by ‘Home Automation’ we mean something a little more sophisticated than ‘Clap on, Clap off’....)

The Clapper was one of the 20th Century's most
iconic pieces of technology

Home automation, or to give it the posh title, ‘Domotics’, could include anything from control of lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and security locks to home entertainment systems, garden watering and pet feeding.

You can set your sprinklers to water your garden
automatically with a central control hub.

The ‘Lite’ product family from Dave has been designed for applications where size, weight and cost are critical factors, like home automation, digital signage and motion control systems.

The Maya is the latest 'Lite' CPU module from Dave, based on Texas Instruments DM814x (DaVinci) and AM387x (Sitara) ARM Cortex-A8 high performance application processors. It is based on the industry standard 204-pin SODIMM form factor (67.5mm x 40mm) and features a range of interfaces including dual Ethernet, dual CAN and native 3.3V I/O.

The Maya from Dave

If you’d like to check out the Maya for yourself why not try the Maya Embedded Linux Kit – (MELK), which contains the following to get you set up:

• MayaEVB-Lite Evaluation Board
• Maya CPU module (part number: DIxxxxx)
• NaonEVB-Lite Evaluation Board
• U-Boot bootloader (source code and binaries)
• Linux operating system (source code and binaries)
• Dave Virtual Development Kit (Linux virtual machine with pre-installed development kit)
• Full Naon documentation (Manuals, User's Guides, Application Notes, Evaluation Board schematics, ..)
• Periodic updates (documentation revisions, new Application notes, new Design notes.

Maya and MayaEVB-Lite carrier board

If you’d like any more information please visit our website www.sarsen.net and click on the Dave logo. Or you can give us a call on +44 1672 511166.

A Visit from Dave

July is nearly upon us, and with it comes a visit from our newest addition to the product line.

Manuele Papais from Dave S.R.L

Manuele Papais from Dave will be joining the sales team next week to visit some new and existing customers, and to meet with the Sarsen Team for a spot of product training.

Dave designs and manufactures rugged embedded CPU modules, Computer-On-Modules and systems based on ARM and PowerPC architectures, on very small form factors. DAVE modules are suitable for applications in the industrial, transportation, home automation, medical, networking, smart grid and telecom markets.

DAVE provides complete products, including both software and hardware, in order to help customers save development time and engineering costs. Each DAVE CPU module has its own development kit, so customers can evaluate all the features offered by the product.

The latest board from Dave is the Bora, a top-class Dual Cortex-A9 + FPGA CPU module based on the recent Xilinx "Zynq" XC7Z010 / XC7Z020 application processor. Bora offers great computational power, thanks to the extensive set of peripherals, the Dual Cortex-A9 and the Artix7 FPGA. It is available for both commercial and industrial temperature operation, and provides multiple interfaces on a very small form factor.

For more information please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or email us!

Everyone knows a ' Dave '..... But do you know THIS Dave?

Drum roll please……

Sarsen Technology has been named as the exclusive UK distributor for Dave S.R.L embedded modules!

Exciting times!!

Dave was founded in 1998 as an engineering services company, and has since established itself as one of the leading European companies for embedded solutions. This expands our already pretty extensive product portfolio, to include ARM-based CPU Modules and Turnkey Systems to customers across the UK and Ireland.

The latest product in the Dave line up is the Bora – A dual Cortex-A9 + FPGA CPU module, based on the recent Xilinx "Zynq" XC7Z010 / XC7Z020 application processor. Bora offers great computational power thanks to the rich set of peripherals, the Dual Cortex-A9 and the Artix7 FPGA inside.

We are looking forward to getting stuck in to some new opportunities – targeted towards low cost, high volume projects, Dave will allow us to boldly go where we may not have been able to go before...

A final word from the boss –
“We are excited to work with DAVE. We believe that the wide range of embedded modules from DAVE coupled with our market development expertise will mean that the DAVE embedded solutions will be a great success in the UK and Ireland. DAVE’s innovative ARM CPU modules and Zynq FPGA modules cut project development costs and improve time- to- market for our OEM customers in industrial, transportation, home automation, medical, networking, smart grid and telecom markets.”

For more information about the new relationship, or any of the Dave products please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email.