FEATURE DISPLAYS & UIS
A graphic image for mobile devices
The new PowerVR G6020 GPU from Imagination Technologies targets ultra-affordable mobile and IoT devices with a plethora of new capabilities for mobile devices
E
ven though most headlines at MWC 2015 focussed on flagship devices, a lot of the
growth in mobile at the moment is coming from emerging markets where sub-$100 smartphones are selling in large volume. To match this trend Imagination Technologies has announced a new and highly efficient Rogue GPU that provides an ideal solution for the ultra-affordable mobile market as well as embedded and IoT applications; think trip computers for affordable cars, smart appliances inside the home, multi-purpose printers and scanners – anything that needs a screen. The company's new PowerVR G6020 GPU has been specially designed for graphics efficiency in ultra-compact silicon area, obtaining better real device performance and compatibility without unnecessary overhead. It is the smallest member of its PowerVR Series6XE family, with four arithmetic logic unit (ALU) cores and a silicon footprint of 2.2mm2
(28nm process
technology at 400MHz). To enable this, the GPU features a highly optimised universal shading cluster (USC) engine designed specifically for UI experiences. Specially configured to enable the optimal feature set in the smallest possible area and power envelope, the new USC is completely compatible with other Rogue USCs. Reduce the clock rate to a few hundred
MHz, and you might find it is also a suitable graphics processor for next generation high-end wearables. While the previously announced Series5XE-based GX5300 GPU focused on mainstream wearables, this device goes for premium smartwatches and glasses, offering up to two times more performance at a similar process node while also improving battery life. This solution also features a carefully
designed microarchitecture, which is optimised for cost-sensitive devices where area efficiency and a balanced feature set are the main driving factors (Figure 2 shows an overview of the area optimisations that have been made to the USC (unified shading cluster) architecture for this GPU) Since user interfaces do not require a lot of geometry, Imagination focused on
10 JUNE 2015 | ELECTRONICS
Chip makers can now deploy the PowerVR Rogue architecture across multiple markets (mobile, IoT, automotive, home entertainment, etc.), targeting every category of devices from entry-level to high-end.
implementing FP16 ALU pipes that deliver high-quality image processing at significantly lower area instead of wasting valuable resources on FP32 precision. In addition, the company ensured that its
G6020 delivers a sustained pixel fillrate to match its GFLOPS performance; this balanced approach is critical for entry- level applications like fluid 3D user interfaces or casual gaming.
Figure 1:
The PowerVR G6020 GPU from Imagination
Figure 2 shows an overview of the area optimisations that have been made to the USC (unified shading cluster) architecture for this GPU
DESIGN FEATURES Designed to deliver a smooth user experience for high-definition displays (720p at 60fps) the G6020 features full OpenGL ES 3.0 capability, providing the optimal feature set needed to meet next- generation requirements for a range of devices. The PowerVR is the ideal GPU for mobile and embedded because its programmable shader-based tile based deferred rendering (TBDR) architecture leads to high performance efficiency and the lowest power consumption per frame. In addition, it maximises bandwidth efficiency with Imagination’s advanced PVRTC2 texture compression technology that also ensures minimum memory footprint and superior image quality. The new G6020 is a key member of the
Figure 3:
company’s Rogue product line-up that features an OpenGL ES 3.0 feature set and compatibility across this range for easy software development, enabling users to build an entire product line based on these devices from the entry level to the high end. The new GPU is designed to support operating systems such as Android, Android Wear, Linux and RTOS (real-time operating systems). Figure 3 presents an example of a chip designed for ultra-affordable mobile devices, including a multicore MIPS I6400 64-bit CPU, high-performance multimedia (PowerVR G6020 GPU, PowerVR D5300/E5300 VPU and PowerVR V2500 ISP) and a low-power Ensigma C4521 RPU for multi-standard connectivity. Imagination provides developers with free access to the PowerVR Graphics SDK, a cross-platform toolkit designed to support all aspects of 3D graphics application development. Developers can join the PowerVR Insider community, download the SDK for free and interact with the community of members through developer forums at:
www.powervrinsider.com.
Figure 3 presents an example of a chip designed for ultra- affordable mobile devices
Imagination Technologies
www.imgtec.com 01923 260511
Enter 201 / ELECTRONICS
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