What Can I Do with Programmable Logic?

In March 2018, Avnet, Xilinx, and 96Boards collaborated to create the ARM-based Ultra96 development board, featuring the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC, based on the Linaro 96Boards Consumer Edition specification. The Ultra96 board not only expands Linaro’s 96Boards portfolio offerings in its Consumer Edition class, but also provides 96Boards developers with a unique and powerful development board.

So what makes Ultra96 different?

Ultra96 has some similarities to the other offerings in Linaro’s 96Boards portfolio, such as a quad-core A53, GPU, and high-speed RAM. The big difference is in the embedded Programmable Logic that's tightly coupled with the processing system.

What can you create with the programmable logic?

This is where it gets interesting! Custom accelerators that speed code by 10x or even 100x. Deterministic circuitry to keep up with real-time demands. Multiple personality systems that change based on current circumstances. A custom peripheral controller to interface with a device that doesn’t use a common signaling standard. All this with latest “Software-defined” SDx tools from Xilinx that don’t require you to be a Verilog or VHDL expert to create designs.

What you will learn in this live webinar?

Learn how programmable logic can be useful, powerful, and flexible for circuit applications, including:

• Accelerators
• Bus adapters
• Custom peripheral controllers
• Deterministic, real-time responses
• On-chip logic analysis
• Multiple personalities without changing chips
• Security

Please join us and see what you can create with programmable logic!

Bryan Fletcher, Technical Marketing Director, Avnet

For 15 years, Bryan has been helping Avnet’s engineering customers adopt cutting edge technologies by creating development boards, writing tutorials, developing hands-on SpeedWay training sessions, or presenting at X-fest events. His latest project is the Ultra96.

Kevin Keryk, Technical Marketing Manager, Avnet

Kevin Keryk is a Computer Engineer by degree, Technical Marketing Manager by day, and an embedded software programming addict from an impressionable age which has turned into a mostly-healthy fascination with FPGA and other hardware craft over the past 10 years at Avnet.

Robert Wolff, Engineer and Community Manager for 96Boards at Linaro

Robert Wolff is a technical writer, open source evangelist, community leader, and engineer with a history of working in and around esteemed academic institutions and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) based educational programs. Right now, Robert works as community manager for 96Boards at Linaro. He helps monitor and maintain several of 96Boards’ Open Source orgs and repositories, runs a variety of community driven projects/initiatives, and hosts his live, weekly online video “podcast” called “96Boards OpenHours”.

Ultra96™ is an Arm-based, Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+™ MPSoC development board based on the Linaro 96Boards specification. The 96Boards’ specifications are open and define a standard board layout for development platforms that can be used by software application, hardware device, kernel, and other system software developers. Ultra96 represents a unique position in the 96Boards community with a wide range of potential peripherals and acceleration engines in the programmable logic that is not available from other offerings.

Ultra96 boots from the provided Delkin 16 GB MicroSD card, pre-loaded with PetaLinux. Engineers have options of connecting to Ultra96 through a Webserver using integrated wireless access point capability or to use the provided PetaLinux desktop environment which can be viewed on the integrated Mini DisplayPort video output. Multiple application examples and on-board development options are provided as examples.

Ultra96 provides four user-controllable LEDs. Engineers may also interact with the board through the 96Boards-compatible low-speed and high-speed expansion connectors by adding peripheral accessories such as those included in Seeed Studio’s Grove Starter Kit for 96Boards.

Micron LPDDR4 memory provides 2 GB of RAM in a 512M x 32 configuration. Wireless options include 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 (provides both Bluetooth Classic and Low Energy (BLE)). UARTs are accessible on a header as well as through the expansion connector. JTAG is available through a header (external USB-JTAG required). I2C is available through the expansion connector.

Ultra96 provides one upstream (device) and two downstream (host) USB 3.0 connections. A USB 2.0 downstream (host) interface is provided on the high speed expansion bus. Two Microchip USB3320 USB 2.0 ULPI Transceivers and one Microchip USB5744 4-Port SS/HS USB Controller Hub are specified.

The integrated power supply generates all on-board voltages from an external 12V supply (available as an accessory).