Singularity Board
The evolution of the Merlino Board, taken much further. An embedded board with an FPGA architecture, a main processor, a powerful processor dedicated to 3D graphics and soft-core processors synthesized inside the FPGA: a true SoPC, system-on-a-programmable-chip. One platform, two souls: gaming and general embedded. A project by Dialogicom's founder, Salvo De Luca.
Why "Singularity".
The name is a nod to the technological singularity: that point of discontinuity in evolution, beyond which the acceleration of progress outruns our very ability to predict it. An example? The spread of electricity: can you imagine a world without it? That was a point of no return.
The ambition, back then, was to build a board that would be a point of discontinuity for embedded: hardware you could rewrite in software, without ever touching the production line.
A chip that reprograms itself.
The Singularity Board's unmatched flexibility comes from its FPGA architecture. Beyond the main processor and the 3D graphics processor, soft-core processors are synthesized inside the FPGA: the principle of the SoPC, system-on-a-programmable-chip.
This makes it possible to go past the limits of traditional architectures: you can even implement a custom Assembler instruction set on the processor core, saving clock cycles and gaining a sharp performance increase. Several soft-cores can be synthesized and interconnected, each dedicated to the heaviest tasks. And if tomorrow you need more, you can even add DSPs, also synthesized in the SoPC, leaving the production hardware completely unchanged.
Everything on board.
- VideoDual VGA 1024×768 output, analog and DVI. Dedicated 3D graphics processor.
- Network & dataRJ45 for TCP/IP LAN, RS232 serial, CAN bus, USB host and client, SD memory slot.
- GamingThree CC-Talk ports, JAMMA connector (in the gaming configuration), dual independent smart card.
- Audio & video in20+20 W stereo audio amplifier, stereo audio input, dual camera video input.
- CoreFPGA with main processor, 3D graphics processor and synthesized soft-cores (SoPC).
Gaming and general embedded, one board.
In the gaming configuration, the Singularity Board carried the JAMMA connector and the interfaces typical of entertainment machines, inheriting the Merlino philosophy: handle the complexity and leave the game to the developer. In the general-embedded configuration, the same platform became the base for any dedicated product, leveraging the graphics power and the reprogrammability of the FPGA.
The same Merlino philosophy, taken further: an architecture that rewrites itself in software, without touching the hardware.
Hardware that thinks like software.
FPGA, SoPC, firmware, compliant systems: if your project lives on the boundary between hardware and software, it's our ground.