The convey hybrid-core architecture

Abstract

Hybrid Computing is a term that has originally been used for computations performed on analog/digital hardware and was popular until the late 1970s. Complex computations done under realtime conditions, such as signal processing, were left in the analog domain as the conversion times of A/D converters, sampling rates, and clock speeds of processors were significantly too low to solve complex equations in reasonable times. Today, processor layouts still contain analog components in the I/O areas as amplifiers, sensors or A/D converters. In the area of logical or arithmetical computations they became absolutely irrelevant. The renaissance that the term Hybrid Computing has experienced in recent years comes from a combination of hardwired multicore microprocessors and configurable integrated circuits (FPGAs). This chapter focusses on Hybrid Computing and Hybrid Core Computing which is a special form of Hybrid Computing introduced by Convey Computer Corporation.