Axis Systems' Xcite Shortens Time to Market for WIS Technologies' New Multimedia Processor

Sunnyvale, CA - May 8, 2002 - Axis Systems Inc. today announced that WIS Technologies has purchased the Xcite simulation acceleration system to verify the company's next-generation multimedia compression processors. WIS Technologies is a pioneer in the development of hardware and software solutions for the multimedia communications market.

Using Axis Systems' Xcite, WIS Technologies verified the complex design of its new single-chip MPEG-4 streaming media encoder, which combines multiple video input formats with data compression, more than 500 times faster than software simulators.

"We considered other verification tools, but after benchmarking Xcite, we determined no other solution could give us the same simulation performance," said Patrick LeFevre, vice president of operations and business development for WIS Technologies.

The new MPEG-4 streaming media encoder combines processor design with sophisticated software and advanced algorithms to support multimedia over ADSL, LAN, and broadband networks. The chip is designed to bring high-cost clarity to video and audio compression at lower cost, and is completely programmable using an elegant partition between hardware and software.

LeFevre notes that compared to previous FPGA prototyping methods, which took months to bring up, Xcite was up and running in less than a week. An added benefit was that the design team was able to resolve integration issues with third-party IP and uncover other bugs that might have gone undetected. Additionally, WIS was able to debug hardware and software drivers simultaneously, substantially shortening time to market.

Mike Tsai, president and CEO of Axis, said, "WIS' success with Xcite in speeding delivery of the new encoder chip demonstrates the power of our ReConfigurable Computing technology. We are pleased to be a partner in their success."

Axis' verification products are based on the company's patented ReConfigurable Computing (RCC) technology, which consists of a single system with a unified design database that can be used for software simulation, acceleration, emulation, and hardware-software co-verification. RCC handles behavioral, RTL, and gate-level designs, and enables designers to swap between the hardware verification engine and the software simulation engine, providing hardware-based runtime performance while debugging designs in a familiar software environment.

About Axis Systems
Axis Systems, Inc. offers high-performance verification platforms for the hardware and software development of complex electronic system and system-on-chip designs. Axis' products help customers increase confidence in new designs, improve overall verification productivity and shorten time to market. On a single platform and with one design database, patented RCC technology provides software simulation, accelerated simulation, system emulation and hardware/software co-verification. Customers include the world's leading networking and multimedia companies. Axis is headquartered at 209 Java Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. To learn more about Axis, visit www.axiscorp.com.
 
 

Axis Systems - Yukari Chin, (408) 716-1554, yukari@axiscorp.com
Cayenne Communication - Lois DuBois, (650) 854-5485, lois.dubois@cayennecom.com