An automatic synchronization feature to share the computing load

Tag : single-chip computer

The 40C18 is an array of 40 fully functional CPUs operatingasynchronously, each of the cores a complete computer, with its ownROM, RAM, and interprocessor communication. Together they candeliver up to 26 billion operations per second.
IntellaSys executives claim it has the smallest core size design(0.13 mm2), and consumes 28 times less power while running 240times faster than competing architectures.
According to Chuck Moore, CTO of IntellaSys and inventor of the Forth programming language, this is done by by creating a RAM and ROM oneach core. This allows individual cores run at the full nativespeed of the silicon instead of being throttled down to a slowerexternal system clock frequency.
An automatic synchronization feature between cores allows theprocessors to share the computing load by talking to each other topass data, status signals and even code blocks. When individualCPUs are not active, they automatically shut down or sleep.
"The beauty of this single-chip 40 CPU processing solution is thatit is completely programmable -- meaning if a spec changes, it is acode issue, not a silicon turn," said Moore.
"With 40 cores operating independently on the chip, designers candedicate groups of them to handle specific tasks. For example, somecould be assigned compute-intensive Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT)while others handle wireless connectivity, standard I/O interfacesor drive external memory."
When it becomes available in sample and production quantities, theprocessor will be offered with VentureForth, a Forth-based IDE thatincludes fully interactive programming, testing, and debuggingfacilities.
VentureForth includes compilers for both Windows and Linux and asimulator for debugging, and contains low-level primitives as wellas the high-level tools necessary to map programs across the arrayof cores in a SEAforth processor.
The SEAforth 40C18 is capable of executing 80 percent of itsVentureForth instructions in 1.38 nanoseconds while drawing 7mW ofpower or less per CPU.