ARM and National Instruments Launch Development Solution for Power Optimization

ARM® Development Studio 5 (DS-5™) toolchain interfaces with National Instruments multifunction data acquisition (DAQ) devices for power analysis of ARM Linux and Android targets.

November 29, 2012 -- ARM today announced the release of the ARM DS-5 toolchain version 5.12. This latest version adds, among other improvements, the ability to connect the ARM Streamline™ Performance Analyzer to National Instruments (NI) DAQ devices. This provides combined performance and power optimization of ARM processor-based Linux and Android systems. ARM and NI have worked closely together to provide a solution that helps equipment manufacturers to bring to market highly energy-efficient products in a short timeframe.  

The Streamline Performance Analyzer provides system-level visibility of complex SoCs. This enables developers to correlate thread activity and application events with performance counters from different system components such as CPUs, GPUs and fabric, highlighting bottlenecks and areas for improvement in the software. Streamline currently supports NI X and M series USB DAQ devices and extends its functionality with the visualization of voltage, current and/or power consumption on multiple power domains with high levels of accuracy. This functionality helps developers to understand how software and system utilization affects their product’s energy consumption.  

NI X and M series USB DAQ devices push Streamline performance further than ever before by providing up to 18-bit resolution, 80 channels of analog voltage input and simultaneous sampling. You can closely monitor a multitude of power domains on your target for higher granularity optimizations. The new data acquisition interface complements the lightweight ARM EnergyProbe, which provides power measurement for up to three channels, and is ideal for application-level optimizations.

      ARM DS-5 Combined Software Performance and Power Analysis  

Why:

“Energy efficiency is a primary design concern of hardware and software engineers in an increasing number of market applications,” said John Cornish, executive vice president, System Design Division, ARM. “Our partnership with National Instruments sets a new standard in combined power-performance software tuning. Together, ARM DS-5 and NI-DAQ devices provide a scalable and flexible solution that meets the requirements of the next generation of ARM processor-based products.”  

“We are pleased to work with ARM to integrate our multifunction DAQ devices into the power optimization workflow,” said Chad Chesney, director of marketing, DAQ acquisition, National Instruments. “With the versatility of NI data acquisition products and the performance of ARM DS-5, electronic equipment manufacturers can accelerate time to market for power-optimized products.”

Where:

A fully featured 30-day evaluation copy of ARM DS-5 Professional Edition v5.12 is available for download today.

Who:

About ARM ARM designs the technology that is at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM’s comprehensive product offering includes microprocessors, graphics processors, video engines, enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity products, peripherals and development tools. Combined with comprehensive design services, training, support and maintenance, and the company’s broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. Find out more about ARM by following these links:

• ARM website: http://www.arm.com/
• ARM Connected Community®: http://www.arm.com/community/
• ARM Blogs: http://blogs.arm.com/

About National Instruments

Since 1976, National Instruments (www.ni.com) has equipped engineers and scientists with tools that accelerate productivity, innovation and discovery. NI’s graphical system design approach to engineering provides an integrated software and hardware platform that speeds the development of any system needing measurement and control. The company’s long-term vision and focus on improving society through its technology supports the success of its customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders.