Wipro Tech unveils USB 2.0 technology

Mumbai: Wipro Technologies, the global IT services division of Wipro Ltd (www.wipro.com), has announced the commercial availability of its high-speed Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 technology.

The USB 2.0 technology is driven by the market need for the high-speed data transfer between personal computers (PCs), and high-performance peripherals and broadband Internet services. This next generation interface standard has already been widely embraced by market leaders like Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Microsoft among other USB implementer forum members.

The USB 2.0 specification ensures high performance serial data transfer at rates of up to 480 Mbps, thus enabling high-speed video capture and video-editing as well as a faster storage. The technology is ideally suited for high bandwidth applications like digital cameras, DVDs, mass-storage devices, printers, scanners and a host of other peripheral devices. The plug-and-play nature of the USB allows a user to add a new peripheral without going through an elaborate configuration process.

Wipro's USB 2.0 Device Controller is a Verilog synthesisable core, available with a host interface that supports the PCI standard and can be easily customised to other local host systems as well. The core is up to 40 times faster than the older USB 1.x Devices, running at speeds of 480 Mbps, compared to speeds of 12 Mbps supported by the older USB 1.x Devices. It is fully backward compatible with existing USB 1.1 Devices, thus making the user's migration from USB 1.1 to USB 2.0 easier.

Besides, it offers additional features like SoftDisconnect (an early warning system for self detection or correction of faults without having to restart the system - a feature that is ideal for high-speed data transfers), double buffering designed especially for Isochronous (real time) data transfer to reduce the latency or delay in transmission and Auto Retry for failed packets, a design aspect that ensures quality of service.

Complementing the Device Controller is Wipro's USB 2.0 software stack that is fully compliant with USB specification Version 2.0 and is currently available on the VxWorks platform. The stack offers 1.5 Mbps low-speed support for devices such as keyboards and joysticks, 12 Mbps full-speed support for faster devices like scanners and printers and 480 Mbps high-speed transfer rates for bandwidth demanding applications.

“The development of the USB 2.0 Device Core and the USB 2.0 Software Stack will enhance our leadership position in the wireline connectivity space,“ says Wipro Technologies (embedded and Internet access solutions division) CEO Ramesh Emani. “The core and software will add to our portfolio of successful reusable components for wired applications. The USB 2.0 is a high-speed connectivity solution and it reflects our commitment to work on cutting-edge technology.“

Wipro has a complete set of USB technology enablers, consisting of both host and controller cores for the USB 1.1 along with the USB 2.0 Device Controller Core and software stacks. Wipro is also committed to develop the USB-on-the-go (OTG), defined to make low-power consuming portable devices USB compliant.

Wipro's USB cores and software are thoroughly tested and can easily fit into any system design. Wipro's portfolio of USB IPs is supported by a vast spectrum of VLSI and system design as well as embedded software expertise that allows it to offer customers a comprehensive, end-to-end solution.