200MHz DSP for demanding audio and video analytics

These applications are opening up a world of possibilities that add capabilities such as face detection, object tracking and voice recognition to a new generation of smart products. Along with the improved performance, the C5517 DSP also offers a compelling combination of low stand-by and low active power, making it the best choice for battery-powered, portable systems requiring analytics.

With the addition of this full-featured C5517 DSP, TI now offers a scalable C5000 device portfolio with lower performance (50/100MHz) C5535 DSPs to mid-range (120/150MHz) C5514/15 DSPs and now high performance with the newest C5517 DSP (200MHz).

The McSPI enables low-power analytics through connectivity to external sensors. It operates in master or slave modes, as well as adds to the standard SPI ports on the device to support greater serial connectivity. McBSP is a flexible serial port that allows customers to connect to standard codecs. It also enables continuous full-duplex communication and supports up to 128 channels in TDM mode.

The Universal Host Port Interface (UHPI) is an easy way for a host processor to connect to the DSP while allowing direct access to the DSPs memories for sharing of data between elements. Customers can pack signal processing performance into systems with challenging space and power restrictions due to the C5517 DSPs small 10x10mm footprint and ultra-low power operation.

The DSP offers a greater number and variety of peripherals and greater signal processing performance than previous members of TI’s ultra-low-power DSP family. This enables developers to add new capabilities or improve analytic performance of an existing product line, while leveraging the same tool and software basis previously used.

The C5517 is software compatible with previous C5000 devices, which allows existing customers to easily take advantage of the new features and 200MHz operation. In addition to software compatibility, TI offers a complete tool chain which includes a full chip support library that customers can use to start their designs. C5517 DSP customers also have access to tips from TI’s experienced partners and active TI E2E communities from whom they can get advice, recommendations and support for their designs. For example, one of the third-party developers, SNAP Sensor technology, helps turn TI’s C5517 DSP into a machine vision solution with their specific hardware, software and vision module.

TI’s C5517 EVM is available now $499 and includes a TPS65023 integrated power management step-down converter to manage the power. Additionally, the silicon is sampling now for $9.05/ (USD) each in 1,000 unit quantities.