Jan 07, 2004
A fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Campbell, Calif. and Crewe, U.K., Anadigm� provides FPAAs and associated design software that greatly reduce the time, effort, and expense required to create analog interfaces in audio, telecommunications, and industrial applications.
At The NAMM Show, Anadigm� will demonstrate a five-channel crossover filter and an analog synthesizer based on new reference designs that illustrate the power of adding software interaction to analog circuits in audio subsystems. Serving as the silicon platform for both solutions are dynamically reconfigurable FPAAs, the first analog integrated circuits for audio that can change their parameters in real time or even undergo a complete state change�all so instantaneously as to be inaudible to the most experienced ear.
Anadigm��s dynamically programmable five-channel crossover filter design will be demonstrated as applied to an active nearfield monitor system. Run under software control, its latency-free analog filters can be swept in frequency and amplitude, independently or in synchronization. Implemented in an FPAA, the Linkwitz-Riley filters can be changed instantaneously and inaudibly from 12 dB/8 ve to 24 dB/8 ve at the flick of a software switch, allowing the user to tune speaker parameters instantly to suit the speaker enclosure and performance space.
The analog synthesizer design provides true analog signaling from self-resonant oscillator circuits through the filtering system to the speakers. Its twin oscillators offer a variety of waveforms over a full seven-octave range and can be mixed in a monophonic mode or operate separately in a duophonic mode. The highly scaleable design allows a variety of filter types and audio effects to be implemented under the control of software-based LFO and ADSR controls, which can modulate virtually any parameter of the system, including oscillator pitch, filter frequencies, amplitudes, resonance, and mark-space ratio. The design allows for plug-ins, full snapshot recovery of synthesizer settings, and full MIDI interfacing to software-based sequencers. The modular FPAA approach allows the implementation of designs with multiple oscillators and audio channels.
�This is the first time that a true analog synthesizer has been fully integrated with software-based controls, yet it�s just one example of the endless possibilities for audio opened up by dynamically programmable FPAAs,� said Brian Hodges, vice president of worldwide marketing at Anadigm�.
Using the drag-and-drop AnadigmDesigner�2 EDA software, both designs being demonstrated at The NAMM Show required less than two weeks of development work to create a first working prototype. Both run on a PCB loaded with three Anadigm� AN221E04 FPAAs and require no hardware setup changes to switch between the crossover filter and analog synthesizer functions, since both configurations are entirely software-controlled.
A multimedia demonstration of AnadigmDesigner�2 v2.4 can be viewed at the Anadigm� Web site at http://www.anadigm.com. A free trial copy of AnadigmDesigner�2 v2.4 is available for download at http://www.anadigm.com/Down_05_a.asp. A complete evaluation kit with a development board, entry-level software, and updated documentation is now available at a promotional price of $199. Pricing for FPAA silicon starts at $4.95 in 1,000-piece quantities.
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About Anadigm�
Anadigm� brings platform-based design to the analog world with pre-qualified software and hardware components that allow complex analog circuits to be implemented in an analog equivalent to the FPGA. Designed to implement signal conditioning, filtering, data acquisition, closed-loop control, and other analog functions in a wide range of embedded systems, Anadigm� FPAAs are the first programmable analog ICs that can adapt on the fly to perform multiple functions, adjust to different environmental conditions, or compensate for equipment aging. Founded in January 2000 as a venture-backed technology spinoff from Motorola, Anadigm� maintains its U.S. headquarters in Campbell, Calif., and European headquarters in Crewe, UK. For further information, visit Anadigm� on the Web at http://www.anadigm.com.
Anadigm� and AnadigmDesigner� are registered trademarks of Anadigm�. All other trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.
