DSP architectures, algorithms, and code-generation: fission or fusion?

Continuing dramatic improvements in semiconductor manufacturing processes are enabling radical new signal-processing architectures at the chip level. But how do we ensure that the radical becomes practical? The development of these new architectures must be coupled, a fusion, with clearly defined target applications, a thorough analysis of applicable signal processing algorithms, and significant advancements in code-generation technology. The TMS320C6x development program involved the codevelopment of the VelociTI architecture, a new code-generation environment, and a large set of representative benchmarks.