Arkle Res Regulatory News (ARK)

11 Jul 2007 09:00

Arc International PLC11 July 2007 Media Contact: Lee Garvin Flanagin ARC International +1 408 437 3433 lee.flanagin@arc.com 11 North American Companies Adopt ARC's Low Power Configurable Solutions for a Wide Range of High-Volume Applications ST. ALBANS, England, July 11, 2007 - Low power consumption is one of the mostimportant considerations for system-on-chip (SoC) designers creating productsfor next-generation electronic applications. This is a key reason why elevencompanies in North America have adopted ARC International's (LSE: ARK)configurable media subsystem and processor solutions to create power-sensitivechips for medical, government/security, multimedia, and networking/peripheraldevices. See the companion announcement dated July 11, 2007 for more details onone of these newly announced customer licensing agreements. ARC's configurable solutions offer some of the lowest power consumption of anyin the semiconductor intellectual property (IP) industry. For example, an "out-of-the-box" ARC(R) 750D core requires approximately half the power of an ARM1136 or a MIPS32 24Kc core with similar configurations. SoC designers can lowerpower consumption of an ARC 750D processor (or any other ARC processor) evenfurther by leveraging ARC's easy-to-use configurable technology to tailor it tospecific application requirements. ARC is extending its leadership in low power configurable subsystems andprocessors through internally led research and development (R&D) programs,working in tandem with advanced computing departments at renowned universities,and via joint initiatives with companies such as Cadence Design Systems andVirage Logic. The results of these efforts will be integrated into new productsand technologies from ARC International. Details on ARC's Newly Announced Customer Engagements: Medical Applications CVRx Long battery life is a requirement for implantable medical devices, such asblood pressure monitoring systems. For this reason, CVRx(R) based its new RheosTM Baroreflex Hypertension TherapyTM System Monitor on a low power, configurableARC 600 family core. CVRx is a private company located in Minnesota that hasdeveloped proprietary technology for the treatment of high blood pressure (alsoreferred to as hypertension) that cannot be controlled with medications. Seecompanion ARC news announcement dated July 11, 2007 for more details. Unnamed Medical Applications Customer #1 This unnamed ARC customer is a world-recognized company, and a leader in theglobal medical products industry. Its less-invasive medical technologies offeralternatives to major surgery and other procedures that can be traumatic to thehuman body. This ARC customer's pacemaker devices incorporate configurable ARCcores, which were selected because they enable very low power consumptionthrough the removal of unnecessary features in the ARC CPU. This greatlyprolongs the battery life of this customer's ARC-BasedTM products - a criticalconsideration for implantable medical applications. Unnamed Medical Applications Customer #2 This unnamed ARC customer manufactures battery-powered, implantable medicaldevices. It is using a configurable ARC core to create an ultra low powerproduct with a long operational life that can be inserted directly intopatients' bodies. Government/Security Applications Edgewater Computer Systems Edgewater Computer Systems develops real time, high performance multiprocessorsystems for military, government, and commercial operations. The company'sproducts include multi-channel wireless and wired data communications.Edgewater is developing a wireless communications controller for use onaircraft, and will be using ARC's configurable solutions to minimize the powerconsumption and die size to exactly meet the stringent system requirements. Unnamed Government/Security Customer This unnamed customer is a leader in command, control and communications,intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, government services, and relatedindustries. The company chose a configurable ARC core for government andmilitary applications because of its extremely low power consumption, which iscritical to operating remote systems over long periods of time in unserviceableenvironments. Networking/Peripheral Applications Conexant Systems Conexant is a worldwide leader in semiconductor solutions for communications inthe digital home. The company is using its license for a configurable ARC coreto create an integrated solution that can be used in peripheral devices withcombined printer/fax/scanner/copier functionalities. ARC's configurable corehelps Conexant's design team reduce overall system power consumption byeliminating unneeded elements within the ARC CPU. iVivity iVivity is a leading developer of innovative, multi-protocol accelerationsilicon for both the networking and storage markets. At the heart of theiVivtiy SoC is a patented hardware-based protocol acceleration engine that canterminate and regenerate multiple protocols in real time and at full line rate,independent of packet size. An ARC customer for a number of years, iVivity hastaken a new license for the configurable ARC 725 core to create multi-processorSoCs. Leveraging the power of ARC's configurable core technology, iVivity'sengineers will be able to optimize the ARC-Based chip for speed by adding custominstructions to the ARC core while keeping power consumption to a minimum byeliminating unneeded transistors. Teranetics Teranetics is a leading mixed-signal integrated circuit (IC) company thatdevelops silicon products for advanced communication applications. Teranetics'chips enable 10-Gigabit speeds over the traditional copper cabling, which is anorder of magnitude improvement over speeds in current enterprise networks. Thecompany selected a configurable ARC core for its next-generation design becauseit enabled the creation of a low power solution with small die size that helpsthe company's products meet customer price points. Multimedia Applications Augusta Technology Augusta provides mobile device manufacturers with a spectrum of solutions fromstate-of-the-art digital communications components to complete communicationssystems, such as cell phones and portable video viewing devices. Augusta isusing a configurable ARC product to lower power consumption in theirnext-generation mobile solutions. Qpixel Technology Qpixel Technology is a leading innovator in video compression silicon andsoftware solutions. The company specializes in digital consumer applicationsthat balance superior video quality with extended hours of portable operation atmass market prices. Using its license for a configurable ARC core, Qpixel hassuccessfully produced and deployed into the market its QL20x family of H.264codecs, capable of supporting both Baseline and Main Profile standards. The lowpower nature of the configurable ARC processor enabled the QL201B and QL202Bchips to provide flexible audio processing while consuming very low power, whichis critical for portable multimedia applications such as digital cameras,camcorders, and portable media players. VisionFlow VisionFlow is focused on developing ultra-low power H.264 video and multi-coremedia SoC solutions aimed at mobile and wearable video market applications.These include mobile-TV, wearable PMPs, and mobile video phones. Emergingmarkets call for programmable and power efficient real-time video compression/decompression solutions. To meet these challenges, VisionFlow has taken alicense for numerous configurable ARC 600 family cores to design products suchas the VF1000 ultra-low power H.264 video solution. According to John Yuan,VisionFlow's CEO, the ARC 600 core family offered the lowest power consumptionper MHz for any CPU on the market. In addition, VisionFlow is adding customizedinstruction extensions to enhance the ARC cores' performance and functionality,which also helps prevent rival companies from cloning VisionFlow's products. # # # About ARC International plc ARC International is the world leader in configurable media subsystems and CPU/DSP processors. Used by over 140 companies worldwide, ARC's configurablesolutions enable the creation of highly differentiated system-on-chips (SoCs)that ship in hundreds of millions of devices annually. ARC's patentedsubsystems and cores are smaller, consume less power, and are less expensive tomanufacture than competing products. ARC International maintains a worldwide presence with corporate and research anddevelopment offices in California and St. Albans, UK. For more informationvisit www.ARC.com. ARC International is listed on the London Stock Exchange asARC International plc (LSE: ARK). ARC and the ARC logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ARCInternational. All other brands or product names contained herein are theproperty of their respective owners. This press release may contain certain"forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, including thedevelopment, implementation, and release of features described herein. Theseare at the sole discretion of ARC International. For other factors that couldcause actual results to differ, visit the company's Website as well as thelisting particulars filed with the United Kingdom Listing Authority and theRegistrar of Companies in England and Wales. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange