VisSim(TM) Embedded Controls Developer Shortens Development Time for TI F2833x Digital Signal Controllers

Visual Solutions Incorporated (VSI) announces the immediate availability of VisSim/ECD version 7.0 with support for Texas Instruments' (TI) TMS320F2833x floating-point digital signal controllers (DSCs). Providing 300 million floating point instructions per second (MFLOPS) performance at 150 MHz, the F2833x devices bring higher performance and simpler software development to embedded applications such as industrial control, digital power supplies and advanced sensing. Version 7.0 of VisSim/ECD adds support for the F2833x series to its existing support of all previous F28xx controllers.

VisSim/ECD allows developers to program the F2833x DSC without writing a single line of code by easily constructing block diagrams to form DSC algorithms. With blocks to support standard math and signal processing operations, as well as all of the on-chip peripherals of the F2833x controllers, programming for TI DSCs is now easier than ever.

The ability to simulate algorithms on the PC allows offline troubleshooting and optimization, shortening development time by a factor of 2 or more and removing the need for a dedicated programmer. VisSim/ECD's advanced code generator results in interrupt latencies and low RAM and flash usage comparable to hand-coded assembly.

"VisSim/ECD provides designers with the ability to develop an entire application based upon the F2833x controllers working only at the block diagram level while utilizing the full performance of the F283xx," said Andrew Soukup, C2000 worldwide marketing manager for TI. "With this new offering, VSI allows any developer, even those without prior DSC experience, to quickly bring new products to market."

VisSim/ECD v7.0 adds support for the increased flash, RAM and clock speed as well as the floating point unit on the new F2833x controller series from TI. In addition, VisSim/ECD v7.0 adds general programming features such as:

-- Stack and heap probe

-- Idle loop task scheduling

-- Enhanced I2C support

-- State machine driven serial protocol examples

-- Tighter code generation including direct generation of timer interrupt function

-- Control sampling rates over 1MHZ on F2833x parts

-- Interrupt driven serial queue, with user selectable queue length up to 255 bytes

-- Low memory footprint uses as little as 630 words flash, 206 words data

VisSim/ECD's advanced feature set makes C and assembler programming a thing of the past. Systems designers who are unfamiliar with TI's DSCs or hand coding can now take advantage of the simpler software development provided by the F2833x controllers, resulting in eliminating weeks -- even months -- of development time.

Dr. Ziaur Rahman, Director of Electrical Controls at Electric Motion Systems, is using VisSim/ECD 7.0 to develop PMSM electric motor control using the TMS320F2801 controller from TI. According to Dr. Rahman, "VisSim/ECD is an essential tool for us in developing vector motor controls for electric bicycles. Code development time is greatly reduced with VisSim/ECD's ready-to-use block sets and efficient debugging capability."

Trial versions of the VisSim/ECD 7.0 software, tutorials and product information are available free from the Visual Solutions web site: http://www.vissim.com.

About Visual Solutions

Since 1989, VSI has been a pioneer in the development of Windows-based software for the modeling and simulation of dynamic systems and model based embedded development. VisSim is the winner of Electronic Design News Magazine's Hot 100 New Technologies. VisSim software is easier to use and offers faster simulation speeds than competitive products.

About the Texas Instruments Developer Network

VSI is a member of the TI Developer Network, a community of respected, well-established companies offering products and services based on TI analog and digital technology. The Network provides a broad range of end-equipment solutions, embedded software, engineering services and development tools that help customers accelerate innovation to make the world smarter, healthier, safer, greener and more fun.