The programmable logic industry is moving rapidly, with new FPGA devices announced every few months. Whereas five years ago each vendor might offer two families of devices (one high-performance, one low-cost), in recent years there has been a profound increase in the different types of devices available. Now, each product family has a plethora of devices, each with different features optimised for different applications. Features of modern FPGAs include embedded RAM, DSP blocks, processor cores, flexible clock sources, high-speed serial transceivers, non-volatile memory, advanced power management, configurable I/O, internal reconfiguration. Even the structure of the basic logic fabric (for years based on four-input look-up tables) has changed.

FPGAs use leading-edge manufacturing processes, and their capacities continue to grow almost exponentially. This means increased capability: significant digital systems can now be built within an FPGA. However, it also means increased design complexity. To deal with design complexity, vendors and third-parties constantly add new design tools to their existing portfolios.

Confirmed speakers include:

Mikko Terho, Nokia
George Constantinides, Imperial College London
Michael Hübner, Karlsrühe University
Tom Kean, Director, Algotronix Ltd
Mayur Kumar, Mentor Graphics
Philip Leong, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Satnam Singh, Microsoft Research

Attendees will:

• Learn about the latest developments in FPGA products and tools.
• Gain insight into selecting the right device for their application.
• Discover how to get the most from their chosen FPGA.
• Hear the inside word from leading figures in industry.
• Learn about exciting new directions in FPGA research from world-class academic institutions.
• Find out where FPGAs are heading.
• See what hot new applications are driving future FPGAs.
• Have the opportunity to network with FPGA insiders, developers and researchers