IEEE Forms Study Group On VSI Alliance Technology

Piscataway, NJ -- The IEEE has formed two study groups to explore the creation of IEEE standards based on work done at the VSI Alliance (VSIA). The groups, which will evaluate VSIA's existing Quality IP (QIP) Metric standard and its encryption activities, grow out of VSIA's recent announcement that it will cease operations and donate key products to the IEEE. Both groups are sponsored by the IEEE Design Automation Standards Committee (DASC).

The VSIA QIP Metric standard gives companies a way to evaluate intellectual property (IP) from internal groups or third parties for the components used to construct integrated circuits. VSIA's encryption work, which began earlier this year, is based on a document contributed by Simplicity and aims to provide a standard to safeguard semiconductor IP cores.

"I'm pleased to be working with VSIA to transition their technology into the IEEE," said Victor Berman, DASC chair and president & CEO of Improv Systems, Inc. "Their technology complements many IEEE system-on-chip design standards, so adding it to our standardization activities will benefit the electronics industry and extend IEEE's expertise into areas of increasing importance to the industry."

The study groups will make their recommendations on whether or not to proceed with formal standards development in the next 90 days. Before doing so, they will explore each possible standard from such perspectives as market potential, compatibility with related standards, differences from other projects, and whether a viable pool of volunteer leadership and participants exists.

"We are pleased that the IEEE has formed study groups to investigate developing standards based on our QIP and encryption work," said Kathy Werner, president of the VSI Alliance. "These areas represent thousands of man-hours of engineering work donated by leading electronics companies. We have brought them to the IEEE because it has become the home for SoC design standards."

"The QIP Metric standard has been downloaded by hundreds of companies. We believe the credibility of having it associated with the IEEE will generate further adoption worldwide. The encryption work will benefit from having the IEEE advance this concept and write an appropriate standard."

Companies participating in the Quality IP Study Group include Freescale, LSI, EDAcentrum, Mentor Graphics, and Cadence. It is chaired by Kathy Werner, IP strategy and business manager, Freescale.

Companies participating in the Encryption Study Group include Synplicity, Altera, LSI, Synopsys, Mentor, and CAST. It is chaired by Gary Delp, distinguished engineer, LSI.

The IEEE and the DASC invite all interested parties to participate in these study groups. For further information on the Quality IP Study Group, contact Kathy Werner at kathy.werner@freescale.com. For further information on the Encryption Study Group, contact Gary Delp at Gary.Delp@lsi.com.

SOURCE: IEEE