AMD details ARM and x86 Embedded R-Series chips for the Internet of Things

Chipmaker will deliver a range of chips in 2014 to meet the diverse needs of the embedded market

AMD plans to introduce two high-performance embedded processor families based on 64-bit ARM and x86 technology to target the growing embedded market and the Internet of Things. The firm said it will offer a range of choices to match customers' exact design needs, with improvements in performance-per-watt and performance-per-dollar.

The chipmaker said that its Embedded R-Series roadmap for 2014 will comprise the Hierofalcon system on a chip (SoC) family based on the ARM Cortex-A57 architecture; Bald Eagle APU and CPU chips based on AMD's upcoming Steamroller x86 core architecture; a Steppe Eagle SoC based on the current Jaguar x86 core; plus a discrete GPU for embedded applications based on its Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture and codenamed Adelaar.

AMD has previously detailed its server processor roadmap for 2014, which will also feature a mix of chips based on the ARM architecure and its Steamroller cores.

The firm sees the embedded systems market as a vast untapped opportunity, and is readying a range of solutions that will enable it to meet as wide a range of customer requirements as possible in this segment, from high-performance chips down to products emphasising power efficiency.

Arun Iyengar, vice president and general manager for AMD's Embedded Solutions division, said: "There are different customer needs in different segments of this market, from low power to high performance, Linux to Windows and x86 to ARM, and now with our upcoming product portfolio, we are addressing them by providing embedded design engineers with a range of solutions backed by our embedded longevity program for supply stability assurance to fit their every need."

Hierofalcon will be AMD's first 64-bit ARM-based product targeting embedded data centre applications, communications infrastructure and industrial solutions. The chips will have up to eight Cortex-A57 cores running at up to 2GHz with dual 64-bit channels for DDR3 or DDR4 memory and integrated 10Gbps Ethernet and PCI Express (PCIe) interfaces.

Bald Eagle will be available as both CPU and accelerated processing unit (APU) designs, the latter integrating power-optimised AMD Radeon GPU functions. Both versions will feature up to four of AMD's next-generation Steamroller x86 CPU cores and new power management features, such as a configurable thermal design power (TDP) envelope, according to AMD.

Meanwhile, Steppe Eagle chips will be based on an enhanced version of AMD's existing Jaguar x86 cores and will target low-power embedded applications. These will offer better performance-per-watt at a lower TDP than AMD's current Embedded G-Series SoCs while pushing the clock speed above 2GHz. They will be compatible with existing G-Series board designs and software, according to AMD.

Finally, the Adelaar Embedded Radeon GPU will be delivered as a multi-chip module (MCM) that integrates 2GB of graphics memory into the same chip package. It will be able to offer multiple display outputs and support DirectX 11.1, OpenGL 4.2, and both Windows and Linux.

The Hierofalcon ARM chips are due to start sampling in the second quarter of 2014 with production in the second half of the year, while Bald Eagle, Steppe Eagle and Adelaar are all expected in the first half of 2014, AMD said. All of the chips will be manufactured using a 28nm fabrication process.