Recently the formation of a new non-profit organization named "Open-Source FPGA Foundation" (OSFPGA) which is oriented to development, promotion and creation of an environment for joint development of open hardware and software solutions associated with the use of programmable logic integrated in FPGA circuits (Field Programmable Gate Array), which allows the work of logic reprogramming after the manufacture of the chip.
The key binary operations (AND, NAND, OR, NOR, and XOR) on such chips are implemented using logic gates (switches) that have multiple inputs and one output, the configuration of the connections between which can be changed by software.
About the Open-Source FPGA Foundation
Among the founders of the OSFPGA organization are some prominent researchers related to FPGA, representing companies and projects such as EPFL, QuickLogic, Zero ASIC and GSG Group.
Under the auspices of the new organization, a set of free and open source tools will be developed for rapid prototyping based on FPGA chips and support for electronic design automation (EDA) tools. The organization will also oversee the collaborative development of open standards related to FPGAs, providing a neutral platform for companies to share expertise and technology.
It is expected that thanks to the activities of OSFPGA, chipmakers can ditch some of the engineering processes in FPGA manufacturing, end solution developers will receive a ready-to-use configurable software stack for FPGAs and will work together to create new quality architectures.
It is also noted that OSFPGA's open source tools will maintain the highest levels of quality that meet or exceed industry standards.
"The Open Source FPGA Foundation will serve to enhance the spectrum of innovation for FPGAs globally," said Dr. Naveed Sherwani, Co-Chair of the Open Source FPGA Foundation. “There is a very strong demand for more flexible designs, tools and open source methodology that will enable much greater innovation in the FPGA design space. We thank all of our partners for their strong support of our launch and we look forward to working with our members to drive the true democratization of FPGA technology. "
The main objectives of the Open Source FPGA Foundation are:
- To be able to provide resources and infrastructure to develop a set of tools related to FPGA hardware and software.
- Promote the use of these tools through various events.
- Provide support, development and opening of tools to investigate advanced FPGA architectures, as well as related software and hardware developments.
- Maintain a catalog of publicly available FPGA architectures, design technologies, and board designs derived from expired patent publications and descriptions.
- Prepare and provide access to training materials that help build a community of interested developers.
- Simplify interactions with chip manufacturers to reduce the cost and time of testing and validating new FPGA hardware and architectures.
The Open Source FPGA Foundation today announces its formation as a non-profit organization focused on accelerating global awareness and widespread adoption of open source FPGA technology. The OSFPGA Foundation will work to democratize and promote FPGA technology by providing an open, user-centered, inclusive and collaborative environment.
Open source technology will play a critical component for FPGA businesses and help increase the capabilities of the entire industry by sharing both innovation and best practices. The OSFPGA Foundation will ensure that the tools are of the highest quality, meet and exceed industry standards, and are fully open source.
Finally if you are interested in knowing more about it about this the Open-Source FPGA Foundation, you can consult everything about it on its official website which you can visit from the following link.