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Replacing fighter planes and reconnaissance aircraft with robotic drones turned out to be a far easier task for the military than replacing soldiers with bots. But DARPA remains determined to one day enlist robots for all military jobs, and among other research, it’s working hard to develop a relatively low-cost set of artificial arms and hands that can perform everyday mundane tasks. More »

ARM and TSMC have announced that they have completed the tape-out of the first ARM Cortex-A57 processor. The processor was taped-out on TSMC’s 16nm FinFET technology. ARM says that this new processor is its highest performing and is designed to extend the capabilities of future mobile and enterprise computing devices.

The processor will eventually find its way into high-end computer, tablet, and server products according to ARM. TSMC and ARM say that this is the first milestone in the cooperation between the two companies to optimize the 64-bit ARMv8 processor series using the FinFET process technology. From RTL to tape-out of the new processor was completed in six months according to the companies.

During the process, ARM and TSMC used ARM Artisan physical IP, TSMC memory macros, and RDA technologies that were enabled by the TSMC Open Innovation Platform design ecosystem. Through the collaboration between the two companies optimized, power efficient Cortex-A57 processors and libraries were created to support early customer implementations on 16nm FinFET for high-performance ARM-based SoCs.

Neither of the two companies have offered details on when we might expect to see Cortex-A57 processor equipped devices come to market. One interesting tidbit about TSMC is that the company produced 15.1 million 8-inch equivalent wafers in 2012. The company is the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry.

[via ARM]

First ARM Cortex-A57 processor taped-out is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

ARM’s new CEO will resist the siren call of acquisition, chasing smaller, more ubiquitous chips rather than a lucrative pay out from Apple or other 300 licensees of the widespread SoC technology. Currently president of the firm, Simon Segars told the Guardian that ARM would cling resolutely to independence no matter how big the wallet waved under its nose, describing the strategy as “the right model” in a market that demands confidentiality.

ARM is privy to the roadmaps and product plans of hundreds of companies, Segars pointed out, many of whom are arch rivals in the marketplace. “They rely on the neutrality of our position” he insists, a continuation of the strategy of outgoing CEO Warren East. East will step down from his role in July, ending twelve years in charge of the chip tech firm.

However, while ARM’s current good fortune is on the back of smartphones and tablets, such as Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Segars isn’t in idle. The company is looking to the so-called “internet of things” – every device having a web connection, and able to intercommunicate its status – where it envisages the the next surge in growth.

ARM chips “could be embedded in lightbulbs, the concrete of the road you’re driving on, in the bathroom scales” Segars explains, or “in your refrigerator working out when the milk is going to go off.”

Some of the company’s biggest licensees, such as Texas Instruments, have already thrown their weight behind the internet of things. The OMAP manufacturer will backtrack from smartphone chips and instead look to embedded SoCs, it announced back in September 2012, with a new line of low-power wireless options.

Meanwhile, ARM is also looking to crank up the pressure on Intel, with plans to push its chip technology into what would traditionally have been considered the domain of x86 processors. Servers and mainstream PCs are another target for ARM, with 64-bit models in the pipeline.

However, it’s the potential for a big name like Apple to jump ship from Intel and instead use low-power, efficient ARM-based chips that has many tongues wagging in the industry. That has prompted speculation that Apple might try to invest or even acquire ARM outright, something though that does not look likely with Segars at the helm.

New ARM CEO: We’ll resist buyout offers, Apple or otherwise is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When you’re getting to know the 8 CPU cores of the Samsung Exynos 5 Octa SoC, you’ll first want to understand that they absolutely do not work the same way as multi-core mobile processors have in the past. While the Exynos 5 Octa does have 8 CPU cores, they’re never being used all at once. Instead you’ve got 2 distinct pairs of 4 CPU cores, four of them “big”, the other four “LITTLE”. The Exynos 5 Octa SoC works with what’s called big.LITTLE architecture, this term coming from the British processor company ARM.

Inside the Samsung Exynos 5 Octa processor you’ll find two sets of CPU cores, both of them made with ARM technology. There are four Cortex-A15 CPU cores as well as four Cortex-A7 processor. The Cortex-A15 processors take care of processing-intense (read: “big”) tasks while the Cortex-A7 cores take care of lighter (LITTLE) workloads. That’s two sets of four cores that are never all being used on the same task at once.

What you’re about to see is a chart showing in a very basic way how big.LITTLE technology works with the Cortex-A15 and Cortex-A7 CPU units working together.

According to Samsung, the Exynos 5 Octa will be enhancing the 3D graphics processing capabilities by a factor of two – or more – over that of the Exynos 4 Quad processor. That processor was found in devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note II, the Galaxy S III (international edition), and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1.

The company has also noted that the Exynos 5 Octa is able to drive devices with displays as large as WQXGA (2560×1600) pixels sharp. Devices with this dense a display have not yet hit the market at the time of this article’s publication – but we may see beasts like this inside the next year. Perhaps on the Samsung Galaxy S 5. The Exynos 5 Octa works with e-MMC (embedded multimedia card) 5.0 as well, and works with a USB 3.0 interface for the “first time in the industry” according to Samsung.

With the Exynos 5 Octa you’ve got incorporation of a full HD 60fps (frame per second) video hardware codec engine made powerful enough for 1080p video recording and playback. Also included is a 13 mega-pixel 30fps image signal processor interface as well as a 12.8GB/s memory bandwidth interface that enables use of a Full HD Wifi display.

Samsung has today let the world know that the Exynos 5 Octa application processor will be going into mass-production in Q2 of 2013. They’ve made it clear that this processor architecture will be made specifically for high-end mobile devices and – at the time of the publication of this article – the first release of the Exynos 5 Octa will be inside the Samsung GALAXY S 4.

Have a peek at our hands-on with the Samsung GALAXY S 4 now and stick around the Samsung GALAXY S 4 tag portal for more information leading up to (and through) the final market release of this smartphone.

SlashGear 101: The Samsung Exynos 5 Octa Processor is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Raspberry Pi has been on sale for just over a year. Key distributor RS Components wants to celebrate the tiny computer’s first birthday with more than just a greeting card, though. It’s producing a limited edition Model B, the Blue Pi, with a blue circuit board and a suitably-hued case. The mini PC is guaranteed to stand out in any hobbyist project, provided it’s not hidden in a box. There’s only one catch: you can’t buy one. RSC is donating a batch to good causes, and only 1,000 are up for grabs in giveaways running between now and June. Those who make a convincing argument for Blue Pi ownership will accordingly be part of an exclusive club — and the envy of any Raspberry Pi owner who’s been bored with plain green.

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Via: Raspberry Pi

Source: RS Components