XMOS simplifies audio system design with real-time debugging tools

BRISTOL, UK & BURLINGAME, USA: XMOS, developer of the industry’s first event-driven 32-bit embedded processor, announced the release of its new XMOS Development Environment (XDE) tool suite with enhanced support for real-time system design.

Audio interfacing and signal processing systems require low-latency transport and predictable processing of data. To address this need, XMOS development tools incorporate the unique XScope and XMOS Timing Analyzer (XTA), which allow designers to verify functionality, meet timing and tune audio processing. The tools also include updated compilers for C, C++ and XC, a multi-core debugger, simulator and flash programmer, and are accessible from the command line.

XScope real-time instrumentation exports user-specified data from the target device using an XMOS-powered High Speed USB 2.0 debug adapter. XScope can capture up to one million samples per second and visualize them in a software oscilloscope on the host; fast enough to monitor high-quality multi-channel audio at sample rates of 192kHz.

The unique XTA tool statically analyzes software and accurately reports execution times, enabling hard real-time systems to be developed quickly and easily. The tool not only allows timing to be closed on interfaces, but also guarantees timing for audio signal processing functions, ensuring samples are never dropped.

“Designing embedded systems is becoming increasingly challenging, with more stringent requirements on functionality and timing, and ever more complex software,” said Mark Lippett, XMOS VP of engineering. “This new release of the XDE makes it even easier to rapidly develop and maintain differentiated embedded systems using XMOS devices. Tool advancements are allowing an increasing number of XMOS users to take products from prototype to production weeks, and sometimes months, faster than alternative approaches.”

XDE release 11.11 software development tools are immediately available for Microsoft Windows, Apple OSX and Linux operating systems and include support for the latest XS1-S High-Speed USB integrated devices. The development tools are available for download, free of charge.