December 20, 2004 09:01 AM US Eastern Timezone

3Plus1 Technology Delivers First Compiler and Demonstrates Development Flow With JPEG

SARATOGA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2004--

3Plus1 Technology Inc., a Silicon Valley-based fabless semiconductor company, today announced shipment of the first alpha release of a non-native compiler for its advanced multiprocessor architecture. The architecture has been used as the basis for a series of CoolProcessor(TM) devices aimed at addressing the low-power needs of mobile-system manufacturers, running multimedia and communications applications concurrently.

In addition, 3Plus1 announced that working with a partner in Japan, it has successfully demonstrated the software application development flow of JPEG for the first member of the CoolProcessor family 3P3200.

"The smooth integration of hardware and software layers with a well accepted, industry-standard development flow has been one of the goals of the company since inception," said Allan Cox, President and CEO. "Partners successfully using the first version of the compiler in addition to the existing assembly, simulation and kernel library tools, to create full applications such as JPEG, is not only a validation of this smooth integration, but also of the CoolProcessor ultra low power, low area, and high performance, and of the underlying programmable architecture itself," he added.

Based on consumer demands for operation of both multimedia and communications applications, 3Plus1 Technology has created an architecture specifically designed for low-power, concurrent execution of specific applications, including MPEG 2/4, H.263/4, JPEG/2000, 802.11 a/b/g, 802.16 Bluetooth, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, CDMA 2000/WCDMA, MP3, and GPS, in various combinations. This has been accomplished in a sub-100mw processor when implemented in a standard 130nm low-power CMOS process.

"The non-native compiler is an important first step in the 3Plus1 compiler roadmap. It allows customers to compile their existing applications with their own software build environment while linking properly to the advanced 3Plus1 algorithm kernels library," said Prof. Wen-mei Hwu, Walter J. ("Jerry") Sanders III-Advanced Micro Devices Endowed Chair at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an advisor to the company. "Such a capability immediately gives 3Plus1 access to a wide customer base. The success with the partner in Japan demonstrates this capability."

"The non-native C compiler enables users to integrate cycle-accurate simulations of heavy duty algorithms from the 3Plus1 kernel library with the voluminous control code written in C and compiled by the non-native compiler," said Dr. Amir Zarkesh, Executive Vice President. "3Plus1's algorithm kernel library includes highly efficient standard DSP algorithms like FFT, DCT, Viterbi, and VLC."

"The non-native compiler provides a powerful and efficient way to develop code for the CoolProcessor architecture while still enjoying the benefits of a native platform," said Prof. Tom Conte of North Carolina State University and an advisor to the company. "It will seamlessly integrate with the cutting-edge native compiler and optimizing high-level assembler technology that 3Plus1 is actively developing for release."

The company is addressing the needs of the 600-million-plus mobile handset, camera and PDA market. 3Plus1 has assembled a group of world-class technologists, including leading academics in their fields, addressing the problems of real-time voice, video and data processing -- at ultra low power levels and minimum silicon die size -- from the fundamental software and hardware architectural perspectives.

3Plus1's CoolProcessor family comprises six members, all upwardly code compatible with a single programming model. Development of software applications follows a standard DSP tool flow, and the company is currently delivering its initial applications-development software and modeling tools to early evaluation partners. The first member of the CoolProcessor family, the 3P3200, is capable of running scenarios where combinations of H.264 MPEG, JPEG, GSM and 802.11 operate concurrently. The 3P3200 is planned for release in Q3, priced at $10 in quantities of 5K pieces.