Altera showcases single-chip configurable processor capabilities in its latest MAX 10 FPGA suite

     Altera Corporation announced the availability of the second-generation Nios II Embedded Evaluation Kit (NEEK), which installs Altera's non-volatile MAX 10 FPGA along with the Nios II soft-core embedded processor. The MAX 10 NEEK is a feature-rich platform that provides an easy and convenient way for embedded designers to experience custom embedded processor capabilities with non-volatile FPgas. The MAX 10 NEEK was jointly developed by Altera and its board partner Terasic.

     The MAX 10 NEEK combines a MAX 10 FPGA-based circuit board with a 7-inch 5-point multi-touch display. Embedded developers can choose from a variety of network, audio, video, and image processing reference designs and, at the touch of their fingertips, start designing for real-world applications. The package includes a number of handy features that enhance human machine interface (HMI), machine vision and surveillance operations, including an 8-megapixel MIPI CSI-2 camera, HDMI support, humidity and temperature sensors, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a built-in microphone.

     The Nios II softcore processor and MAX 10 FPGA combined with tubes-based flash provide advantages over microcontroller based solutions, including support for custom hardware configurations, product obsolescence, and custom hardware acceleration for real-time processing. Embedded designers can configure the most suitable processor system with the Nios II processor and MAX 10 FPGA, which is not possible with the limited peripherals of standard microcontrollers. The Nios II processor is flexible enough to meet your low-cost, real-time, safety-critical (DO-254) system needs.

     The MAX 10 FPGA is a revolutionary non-volatile integrated device that incorporates dual-configuration flash memory, analog, and embedded processing capabilities in a single-chip, small-form factor, low-cost, and instant-on-programmable logic device package. The MAX 10 FPGA is now available.