Field Programmable Gate Array, WHAT? Why!
With a market size that has multiplied in size almost by 4 since 2010 to 9.8 billion in 2020.
I can only guess that this technology is here to stay, but why would a technology grow so much?
Well the answer its simple it as many many use cases, currently been used in, Aerospace and defense, Audio, Automotive, Artificial Neural Networks, Bioinformatics, Broadcast, Consumer Electronics, Data Centers, High Performance Computers, Industrial, Integrated Circuit Design, Financial, Medical, Scientific Instruments, Security, Test and measurement Equipment, Video and Image Processing, Wireless Communications and Wired Communications.
Well that is a lot, might make you wonder is this the Holy Grail!
It sort of is, since anything that can be done with an ASIC can also be done with an FPGA, and now with their size having decreased so much thanks to the innovation done by companies like Xiling and Altera, now owned by AMD and Intel. It’s quite convinient, since the price is lower for a smaller batch and the increased flexibility of not being predetermined, so you can change it while you develop software, alowing to have the cycle of Software Development go together with the cycle of Hardware Development, hence helping create a more robust development cycle without having to commit to high expenses that come with having to pay for big quantities of ASIC’s and deal with their development cycles being apart, hence lose synergy.
