A pilot program is now under way to develop standards and tools for handling virtual component (VC) information exchanges between VC providers, catalog providers, and VC users via the Internet. The program was organized through the Virtual Component Transfer Development Working Group of the Virtual Socket Interface Alliance (VSIA), based in Los Gatos, Calif.
The program unites a number of companies and industry organizations, including Design and Reuse, the Nokia Research Center, RAPID, the Silicon Integration Initiative Inc. (Si2), Synchronicity, and the Virtual Component Exchange (VCX).
The standards and tools to come out of the program will be based on VSIA's Virtual Component Transfer specifications currently under development, Si2's ECIX QuickData specifications, and the emerging VCX business and legal tools and services for intellectual property (IP) trade. As a result, VC users will be able to generate Internet-based real-time requests or queries for virtual components with specific characteristics.
These queries can then be sent under user control to one or more providers at the same time, with the aid of a "registry" of QuickData-compliant participants that identifies both providers and users.
Once candidate VCs are identified, additional information like openly available datasheets can be requested. So can protected assets that can be accessed within the VCX arena, such as such as simulation models and test benches.
The pilot program will be completed and demonstrated at this year's Design Automation and Test Exhibition in Paris. Draft versions of the Si2 specifications and demonstrations of the VCX tools and services will be available at that time. Final versions of the specifications, in addition to several software products based on the specifications, are targeted for release in June.
Active participation in the pilot program is now being solicited from potential customers, suppliers, and catalog providers. Interested parties should contact John Teets, ECIX program manager, at [email protected].