Xilinx unveil Zynq-7000
Xilinx unveil that at the middle of Mobilicom's new MCU-30 software-defined radio is Xilinx's Zynq-7030 All Programmable System-on-a-Chip, a member of Xilinx's Zynq-7000 family. Mobilicom's MCU-30 SDR is a very small, flexible, light-weight, battery-powered wireless radio that can be embedded into a wide variety of devices – from security cameras to public safety – to provide broadband connectivity for disaster relief, surveillance, military and other mission-critical applications.
Due to its support in multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna diversity for better multipath performance, multiple operating frequency bands, on-the-move communication, and multi-hop capability for extended communication range, the MCU-30 SDR can be used to provide seamless communication anywhere without the need of any commercial wireless infrastructure.
The outstanding combination of digital signal processing (DSP) capabilities, ARM processor-based performance and reprogrammable logic made Xilinx's Zynq-7030 All Programmable SoC the obvious choice as the core of our new MCU-30 SDR. Not only does it meet the programmable systems integration requirements of the MCU-30 SDR, but it has also helped us to speed product development and achieve a lower bill-of-materials (BOM) compared to a multi-chip ASIC or ASSP design, said Yossi Segal, vice president of research and development at Mobilicom. In addition, the exceptionally low power requirements of the Zynq-7030 All Programmable SoC enabled us to maximize battery life, which is especially critical for public safety and other mobile applications.
Mobilicom's design engineers used the Zynq-7030 All Programmable SoC as the heart of its MCU-30 SDR platform to develop a custom advanced wireless networking protocol without the major expense and risk of custom ASIC development. By taking advantage of the Zynq-7030 All Programmable SoC's ARM® dual-core Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ processing system with tightly coupled programmable logic on a single die, Mobilicom's design team developed a solution with a robust and adaptive ad-hoc wireless networking protocol using an LTE PHY and their custom MAC and Layer 2 software.
Our success with Mobilicom is another example of the great fit Zynq-7000 All Programmable SoCs provides for public safety radio applications, said Yousef Khalilollahi, senior director of business segments at Xilinx. By integrating processors, DSP and reprogrammable logic onto a single device with small form factor and low power, the Zynq-7000 family is a natural fit for the public safety radio systems design requirements.
Availability
The MCU-30 is sold globally through authorized representatives. Mobilicom's products include their flagship product, the MCU-100, a 4G wireless communication unit that provides instant, ad-hoc/mesh communications as a part of a mobile network, the MC-HPA High Power Amplifier and the MC-EMA Element Management Application and the MC-NMA Network Management Application tools.