n
B
&
S / ECE Magazine:
The market for em-
bedded systems is gigantic and it continues to
grow. Which developments can we expect in
this area?
Scott Aylor:
“The embedded market consists
of various segments and forms the fundamental
basis for the surround computing era. The seg-
ment of intelligent embedded systems (those
equipped with high-performance microproces-
sors, IP connectivity and high-level operating
systems) is poised to experience extremely fast
growth. I believe that it will soon become the
most important segment within the embedded
industry. According to a recent study by market
researcher VDC (VDC Research - Strategic In-
sights 2012: Embedded Processing Technolo-
gies) the market for CPUs for traditional and
intelligent embedded systems will grow by 36
percent, from around 330 million units in 2013
to more than 450 million units in 2016. Devices
with x86 and ARM architectures will account
for 82 percent of the total addressable market.”
B
&
S / ECE Magazine:
How well is AMD pre-
pared for this market growth?
Scott Aylor:
“We are very well prepared. AMD
offers developers in the embedded community
the solutions they need to be successful in this
rapidly expanding and transforming market.
We know what the market demands are and
know how we have to react. This is best
reflected in our embedded roadmap for this
year. We’ve set a strong roadmap in motion;
all developers need to do is jump on board.”
B
&
S / ECE Magazine:
What specific require-
ments do customers in this market have?
Scott Aylor:
“Customer demands differ signifi-
cantly depending on the market segment – from
low-power to high-performance, from Linux to
Windows and from x86 to ARM. With our up-
coming lineup we are in a position to cover all
these needs.We are the first vendor to announce
our ability to provide both ARM and x86 proces-
sor solutions for low-power and high-perfor-
mance embedded computing designs. According
to JimMcGregor, principal analyst with TIRIAS
Research, ‘The unprecedented rise of intelligent
connected solutions over the next several years
will require a myriad of ultra low-power to
ultra high-performance solutions connecting
devices to the cloud.’We plan to lead the industry
in offering a set of solutions that are flexible,
scalable and innovative.”
B
&
S / ECE Magazine:
How exactly does AMD
plan to satisfy all these diverse demands?
Scott Aylor:
“Our near-term roadmap includes
two leading x86 APUs (accelerated processing
units) and CPUs (central processing units), a
high-performance ARM system-on-chip (SoC)
and the next-generation discrete AMD Em-
bedded Radeon GPUs (graphics processing
units). This range extension offers the embed-
ded developer community a much wider choice
and, in so doing, helps them meet design
requirements in a more exact way.”
B
&
S / ECE Magazine:
With a view to these up-
coming developments, where do your products
offer advantages over existing platforms in the
market?
Scott Aylor:
“With our ARM and x86 architec-
tures we can realize corporate visions of devel-
oping an ambidextrous ecosystem. This wide
solution range for embedded design developers
is supported by our embedded longevity pro-
gram for supply stability assurance to fit their
every need.”
B
&
S / ECE Magazine:
What specific technical
areas has AMD been focused on for the new
products?
Scott Aylor:
“The upcoming roadmap has been
designed towards improving two ratios: per-
formance-per-watt and performance-per-euro.
Together with the recent launch of the prize-
winning AMD Embedded G-Series SoC family,
which sets a new benchmark in terms of per-
formance-per-watt of low-power multi-core
APUs, our latest additions to the roadmap for
embedded products represent a further signif-
icant strategic push for AMD in the high-
growth embedded market.”
B
&
S / ECE Magazine:
There has been much
speculation about AMD’s upcoming embedded
ARM products. Can you give us some more
information?
Scott Aylor:
“We are building out plans to
launch the Hierofalcon processor family, which
is based on ARM Cortex A57 architecture. Hi-
erofalcon is a real milestone, as it will be
AMD’s first 64-bit ARM-based embedded plat-
form which serves datacenter, communications
infrastructure, and industrial applications.”
B
&
S / ECE Magazine:
Can you divulge any fur-
ther details?
Scott Aylor:
“The Hierofalcon platform will
integrate up to eight ARM Cortex A57 CPUs
with an expected clock rate of up to 2.0GHz
Interview about AMD's roadmap
for the embedded market
M
ICROPROCESSORS
Scott Aylor, Vice President and General
Manager of AMD Embedded Solutions
April 2014
20
The embedded computer market
is growing rapidly while at the
same time undergoing profound
changes. AMD is responding to
these market needs with a dual
strategy for embedded customers:
the company is offering the
freedom to choose between
and/or combine ARM and x86
processors. As a part of this dual
strategy, AMD has announced
plans to extend its already-
successful Embedded G-Series and
R-Series SOC and APU product
lines and to deliver the next-
generation embedded AMD
Radeon GPU family.
