BACK to: CiSRA Hardware Development

	Hardware Development: Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC)
	The Hardware Development Group forms an important part of CiSRA's development strength, specialising in developing custom hardware to exploit the novel algorithms created by CiSRA researchers. CiSRA's Hardware Group consists of both Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) design teams, allowing CiSRA to develop complete software/hardware solutions. The ASIC team designs the core algorithms into stand-alone ASIC solutions for direct inclusion into Canon products, or as Intellectual Property (IP) Cores which are embedded into products designed by Canon's SOC group, adding CiSRA's core algorithm into larger products. The PCB design team supports ASIC development with evaluation and demonstration boards, and with production boards for some of CiSRA's products. A recent development was Surf ASIC which embodies the Ultra Fast Rendering (UFR) algorithm developed by CiSRA. This provides acceleration of full colour page rendering, and has now been deployed in the iRC3200 colour printer/copier product, where it maintains full engine throughput of 32 pages per minute on highly complex colour pages. The ASIC team works at the forefront of semiconductor technology, with new designs being developed for leading edge deep sub-micron processes. IP cores developed by CiSRA are now embedded in a number of mainstream Canon products, with new developments seeking to broaden the range. The highly-experienced board design team also continues to push the boundaries of technology. CiSRA was the first Australian company to develop a board using RAMBUS memory technology, and has gained valuable experience in high-speed board design and layout.
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