OMAP - TI Technology

  

The wireless market is huge and growing. As demand grows, so do consumer expectations. The wireless revolution is moving rapidly beyond voice to include such sophisticated applications as mobile e-commerce, real-time Internet, speech recognition, audio and full-motion video streaming. As a result, wireless Internet appliances require increasingly complex mobile communications and signal processing capabilities. And while consumers expect state-of-the-art functionality, they continue to demand longer battery life and smaller, sleeker products. To provide these seemingly paradoxical characteristics—processing power for sophisticated applications with no reduction in battery life, wireless Internet appliance OEMs require the highly efficient, power-stingy processing delivered by the Open Multimedia Applications Platform™ (OMAP™ ) architecture from Texas Instruments. OMAP hardware and software can decode data streams, such as MP3 audio and MPEG-4 video, in real time with just a fraction of the power required when using a best-in-class RISC processor.

Texas Instruments OMAP (Open Multimedia Application Platform) is a category of proprietary system on chips (SoCs) for portable and mobile multimedia applications developed by Texas Instruments. OMAP devices generally include a general-purpose ARM architecture processor core plus one or more specialized co-processors. Earlier OMAP variants commonly featured a variant of the Texas Instruments TMS320 series digital signal processor.

In addition, the OMAP application environment is fully programmable. This programmability allows wireless device OEMs, independent developers, and carriers to provide downloadable software upgrades as standards change or bugs are found. Since there is no need to develop new ASIC hardware to implement changes, OMAP OEMs can respond to changing market conditions much more quickly than many of their competitors can.

The OMAP architecture is based on a combination of TI’s state-of-the-art TMS320C55x™ DSP core and high performance ARM925T CPU. A RISC architecture, like ARM925T, is well suited for control type code (Operating System (OS), User Interface, OS applications). A DSP is best suited for signal processing applications, such as MPEG4 video, speech recognition, and audio playback. The OMAP architecture combines two processors to gain maximum benefits from each. Both processors utilize an instruction cache to reduce the average access time to instruction memory and eliminate power hungry external accesses. In addition, both cores have a memory management unit (MMU) for virtual-to-physical memory translation and task-to-task memory protection.

The OMAP family consists of three product groups classified by performance and intended application:

§  High-performance applications processors

§  Basic multimedia applications processors

§  Integrated modem and applications processors

Additionally, there are two primary distribution channels - not all parts being available in both channels. The genesis of the OMAP product line is from partnership with cell phone vendors, and the main distribution channel involves sales directly to such wireless handset vendors. Parts developed to suit evolving cell phone requirements are flexible and powerful enough to support sales through less specialized catalog channels; some OMAP 1 parts, and many OMAP 3 parts, have catalog versions with different sales and support models. Parts that are obsolete from the perspective of handset vendors may still be needed to support products developed using catalog parts and distributor-based inventory management.

Applications including MPEG4, text-to-speech, unified messaging, Internet audio, videoconferencing, video clip playback, and others—require more powerful processors that drain less battery power. They also create dramatic new opportunities for independent software developers who can provide leading-edge applications and features. The OMAP architecture’s parallel combination of DSP and RISC processing provides the flexibility to accommodate applications like these while preserving battery life. The open architecture makes it easy for third-party developers to create these and other wireless multimedia applications not yet even imagined. Technology available from TI today provides the gateway to huge new markets tomorrow.

OMAP Products:

Many mobile phones use OMAP SoCs, including the Nokia N90, N91, N92, N95, N82, E61, E62, E63, E90, N800, N810 and N900 Internet tablets, Motorola Droid, Droid X, and Droid 2. The Palm Pre, Pandora, Touch Book also use an OMAP SoC (the OMAP3430). Others to use an OMAP SoC include the Sony Ericsson Satio, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz, the Samsung Omnia HD, Sony Ericsson Idou, the Nook Color and some Archos tablets (such as Archos 80 gen 9 and Archos 101 gen 9).

The OMAP multiprocessor architecture has been optimized to support heavy multimedia applications, such as video and speech in 3G terminals. Such a complex architecture, combining two heterogeneous processors (RISC and DSP), several OS combinations, and applications running on both the DSP and ARM can be made accessible seamlessly to application developers because of the DSP/BIOS Bridge feature. Moreover, this dual processor architecture is more cost efficient and power efficient than a single processor solution.

Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real world and computer generated data.  It is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one AR technology includes head-mounted displays and virtual retinal displays for visualization purposes, and construction of controlled environments containing sensors and actuators.

Video games have been entertaining us for nearly 30 years, ever since Pong was introduced to arcades in the early 1970s.Computer graphics have become much more sophisticated since then, and game graphics are pushing the barriers of photorealism. Now, researchers and engineers are pulling graphics out of your television screen or computer display and integrating them into real-world environments. This new technology, called Augmented Reality, blurs the line between what's real and what's computer-generated by enhancing what we see, hear, feel and smell.

On the spectrum between virtual reality, which creates immersive, computer-generated environments, and the real world, augmented reality is closer to the real world. Augmented reality adds graphics, sounds, haptic feedback and smell to the natural world as it exists. Both video games and cell phones are driving the development of augmented reality. Everyone from tourists, to soldiers, to someone looking for the closest subway stop can now benefit from the ability to place computer-generated graphics in their field of vision.

Augmented reality is changing the way we view the world -- or at least the way its users see the world. Picture yourself walking or driving down the street. With augmented-reality displays, which will eventually look much like a normal pair of glasses, informative graphics will appear in your field of view, and audio will coincide with whatever you see. These enhancements will be refreshed continually to reflect the movements of your head. Similar devices and applications already exist, particularly on smart phones like the iPhone.

Applications:

Advertising: Usage of AR to promote products via interactive AR applications is becoming common now. For example Nissan(2008 LA Auto Show), Best Buy(2009) and others used webcam based AR to connect 3D models with printed materials. There are numerous examples of connecting mobile AR to outdoor advertising.

Navigation: AR can augment the effectiveness of navigation devices. For example, building navigation can be enhanced to aid in maintaining industrial plants

Military and emergency services: Wearable AR can provide information such as instructions, maps, enemy locations, and fire cells.

Art: AR can help create art in real time integrating reality such as painting, drawing and modeling.

Entertainment and Education: AR can create virtual objects in museums and exhibitions, theme park attractions, games and books.

Collaboration: AR can help facilitate collaboration among distributed team members via conferences with real and virtual participants

Translation: AR systems can provide dynamic subtitles in the user's language

Possible Enactments:

Devices: Create new applications that are physically impossible in "real" hardware, such as 3D objects interactively changing their shape and appearance based on the current task or need.

Multi-screen simulation: Display multiple application windows as virtual monitors in real space and switch among them with gestures and/or redirecting head and eyes. A single pair of glasses could "surround" a user with application windows.

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