Analog Devices launches new software platform

Analog Devices Inc, a US-based semiconductor applications company, on Thursday announced the launch of Blackfin Fusiv platform, which will deliver secure, high-speed data, voice and video convergence in a single solution.

Addressing a press conference, Hari Surapaneni, director (network media platforms) of Analog Devices Inc, said: "By uniting the media processing of Blackfin architecture with the next-generation network processing of its Fusiv technology, this new convergence platform enables high-quality video, voice and data services for applications such as data and media gateways, integrated access devices and internet protocol-PBXs for residential and business market."

He said that this solution would reduce the prices and increase the demand for customer premises equipment devices. The company also introduced a new Fusiv-Vx processor, based on the ADSP-2100 core digital signal processing technology, for the fast growing voice over internet protocol (VoIP) market.

"Other semiconductor companies are focusing on either media processing, network processing or voice processing, but this is the first time that all these capabilities are united in one system," Surapaneni said.

The company expects the Blackfin Fusiv Platform business to be around $300 million per year from 2006 onwards. "Since this is the first year, the Blackfin Fusiv Platform has entered the market we expect to get orders between $80 million to $100 million," he said.

Surapaneni said that Groupe Sagem, an internationally based technology group, has ordered for two million units of Blackfin Fusiv for their projects with French telecom providers.

Surapaneni also announced that the benchmark tests conducted by the Tolly Group, an independent testing and strategic consulting organisation, to demonstrate that Analog Devices' new Fusiv-Vx 200 processor had outperformed other processors from Intel and Texas Instruments.

Surapaneni said that the Fusiv-Vx achieved 31 times the small-packet mixed-system virtual private network (VPN), throughput to its closest competitors, delivering wire-speed fast Ethernet routing, firewall and VPN throughput.