XMOS
Encyclopedia
XMOS is a fabless semiconductor company
that develops multi-core multi-threaded processors designed to execute several real-time tasks, DSP
, and control flow all at once.
), James Foster (former CEO of Oxford Semiconductor), Noel Hurley (formerly at ARM Holdings
), David May
(former chief architect of Inmos
), and Hitesh Mehta (Acacia Capital Partners). It received seed funding from the University of Bristol
enterprise fund, and Wyvern seed fund
(formerly the Sulis Seedcorn fund).
In the autumn of 2006, XMOS secured funding from Amadeus Capital Partners, DFJ Esprit, and Foundation Capital
.
The name XMOS is a loose reference to Inmos
. Some concepts found in XMOS technology are part of the Transputer legacy.
XMOS' processor technology is general-purpose and has therefore been exploited in a range of different markets, including audio, LED tiles, communications, robotics and amateur innovation. This enables third parties to establish products and businesses based around the technology - and in June 2009, it was announced that venture capital firms were considering funding XMOS-related startups.
In December 2009 XMOS launched a community website, the XCore Exchange as a site to enable and encourage innovative and entrepreneurial discussion and collaboration.
that can route messages between cores, and a link that can be used to interconnect switches and carry traffic using a transition-based protocol.
XMOS coined the term Software Defined Silicon
to describe hardware devices that can be programmed to implement low level I/O protocols. XMOS describes its processors as event-driven.
The technology has been embodied in the XS1-G4 XCore processor (a four-core device that can run up to 32 real time tasks), and the XS1-L1
(a single core device that can run up to 8 real time tasks). Each core has up to 64 I/O pins that are under software control. The LLVM compiler and GDB
have been ported to target the XCore family.
XMOS has also developed free programming tools that support C and C++ (through LLVM) and XC
(a language developed to best exploit the architecture) through an XMOS-originated compiler. The programming tools are multi-platform and can be used from the command line or from an Eclipse-based GUI.
XMOS has produced a range of development kits for those wishing to develop using their processors. In November 2009, the first non-XMOS development kit using XMOS technology was released by SparkFun Electronics
.
- or even native assembler. LLVM-based C and C++ compilers exist as well as an XMOS-developed XC compiler. Some of the hardware features are best exploited using the language XC - which is a subset of the C programming language extended with high-level programming constructs for explicit concurrency and timed I/O.
Fabless semiconductor company
A fabless semiconductor company specializes in the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing the fabrication or "fab" of the devices to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry...
that develops multi-core multi-threaded processors designed to execute several real-time tasks, DSP
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...
, and control flow all at once.
Company history
XMOS was founded in July 2005 by Ali Dixon (then final-year student at the University of BristolUniversity of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
), James Foster (former CEO of Oxford Semiconductor), Noel Hurley (formerly at ARM Holdings
ARM Holdings
ARM Holdings plc is a British multinational semiconductor and software company headquartered in Cambridge. Its largest business is in processors, although it also designs, licenses and sells software development tools under the RealView and KEIL brands, systems and platforms, system-on-a-chip...
), David May
David May (computer scientist)
Michael David May, born February 24, 1951, is a British computer scientist. He is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Bristol and founder and Chief Technology Officer of XMOS Semiconductor.May was lead architect for the transputer...
(former chief architect of Inmos
INMOS
Inmos Limited was a British semiconductor company, founded by Iann Barron, with both the head office and the design office at Aztec West in Bristol, it was incorporated in November 1978.- Products :...
), and Hitesh Mehta (Acacia Capital Partners). It received seed funding from the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
enterprise fund, and Wyvern seed fund
Seed money
Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding, friends and family funding or angel funding , is a securities offering whereby one or more parties that have some connection to a new enterprise invest the funds necessary to start the business so that it has enough funds to sustain itself for a period...
(formerly the Sulis Seedcorn fund).
In the autumn of 2006, XMOS secured funding from Amadeus Capital Partners, DFJ Esprit, and Foundation Capital
Foundation capital
Foundation Capital is a venture capital firm located in Silicon Valley. The firm was founded in 1995, and manages over $2.4 billion in investment capital. It raised its seventh and largest fund of $750 million in April 2008...
.
The name XMOS is a loose reference to Inmos
INMOS
Inmos Limited was a British semiconductor company, founded by Iann Barron, with both the head office and the design office at Aztec West in Bristol, it was incorporated in November 1978.- Products :...
. Some concepts found in XMOS technology are part of the Transputer legacy.
XMOS' processor technology is general-purpose and has therefore been exploited in a range of different markets, including audio, LED tiles, communications, robotics and amateur innovation. This enables third parties to establish products and businesses based around the technology - and in June 2009, it was announced that venture capital firms were considering funding XMOS-related startups.
In December 2009 XMOS launched a community website, the XCore Exchange as a site to enable and encourage innovative and entrepreneurial discussion and collaboration.
Products
XMOS has developed several core pieces of technology including a multi-threaded multi-core processor; an interconnect switchXSwitch
The XSwitch is an interconnect used by the XCore processor. The interconnect protocol is defined by XMOS, and is based around routing messages comprising 9-bit tokens between cores on a network...
that can route messages between cores, and a link that can be used to interconnect switches and carry traffic using a transition-based protocol.
XMOS coined the term Software Defined Silicon
Software Defined Silicon
Software Defined Silicon is a computer chip technology created by XMOS of Bristol . XMOS was jointly-founded in 2005 by INMOS transputer architect David May. Software Defined Silicon is the name given to the family of multithreaded multicore on-chip processors that XMOS is developing....
to describe hardware devices that can be programmed to implement low level I/O protocols. XMOS describes its processors as event-driven.
The technology has been embodied in the XS1-G4 XCore processor (a four-core device that can run up to 32 real time tasks), and the XS1-L1
XCore XS1-L1
The XS1-L1is a processor designed by XMOS. It is a 32-bit processor, that runs up to 8 concurrent threads. It was available as of June 2009 running at 400 MHz. As of April 2010 500 Mhz versions are available. Each thread can run at up to 125 MHz; four threads follow each other through...
(a single core device that can run up to 8 real time tasks). Each core has up to 64 I/O pins that are under software control. The LLVM compiler and GDB
GNU Debugger
The GNU Debugger, usually called just GDB and named gdb as an executable file, is the standard debugger for the GNU software system. It is a portable debugger that runs on many Unix-like systems and works for many programming languages, including Ada, C, C++, Objective-C, Free Pascal, Fortran, Java...
have been ported to target the XCore family.
XMOS has also developed free programming tools that support C and C++ (through LLVM) and XC
XC Programming Language
The XC Programming Language is a computer programming language developed by XMOS.XC is an imperative programming language with a computational framework based on C. XC programs consist of functions that execute statements that act upon values stored in variables...
(a language developed to best exploit the architecture) through an XMOS-originated compiler. The programming tools are multi-platform and can be used from the command line or from an Eclipse-based GUI.
XMOS has produced a range of development kits for those wishing to develop using their processors. In November 2009, the first non-XMOS development kit using XMOS technology was released by SparkFun Electronics
SparkFun Electronics
SparkFun Electronics is an electronics retailer in Boulder, Colorado, United States. It manufactures and sells microcontroller development boards and breakout boards.-History:...
.
Programming XMOS Processors
XMOS processors can be programmed using C, C++ or XCXC Programming Language
The XC Programming Language is a computer programming language developed by XMOS.XC is an imperative programming language with a computational framework based on C. XC programs consist of functions that execute statements that act upon values stored in variables...
- or even native assembler. LLVM-based C and C++ compilers exist as well as an XMOS-developed XC compiler. Some of the hardware features are best exploited using the language XC - which is a subset of the C programming language extended with high-level programming constructs for explicit concurrency and timed I/O.