Texas Instruments - Advantages of DSP

1981
TI establishes the first DSP University Program, designed to support universities interested in digital signal processing technology. TI's support helps move digital signal processor study from Ph.D. and Master’s level to undergraduate course curricula in universities across the country.

1982
TI introduces its first programmable general-purpose digital signal processor (DSP) to market - the TMS32010 DSP - operating at five million instructions per second (MIPS). It was ideal for modems and defense applications.

1984
TI is the first manufacturer to introduce a second generation of DSPs by disclosing the TMS320C2x.

1985
TI manufactures first DSP using CMOS process technology.
TI takes the lead in DSP support by setting up the industry’s first DSP technical hotline. Other support includes the industry’s first PC-based development tools and the first support information service accessible via modem.
TI encourages other companies to supplement the TI DSP development tools family.

1987
The first consumer toy to use DSP is World’s of Wonder "Julie Doll," using TI's TMS320C17 for voice recognition.
TI publishes its first DSP textbook, “Digital Signal Processing Applications with the TMS320 Family.”

1988
TI introduces the industry’s first floating-point DSP - the TMS320C3x. High-performance applications demanding floating-point performance include voice/fax mail, 3-D graphics, bar-code scanners and video conferencing audio and visual systems.
The world’s first DSP-based hearing aid uses TI’s TMS320C1x DSP.

1989
TI introduces highest performance fixed-point DSP generation in the industry, the TMS320C5x, operating at 28 MIPS. The ‘C5x delivers two to four times the performance of any other fixed-point DSP. Targeted to the industrial, communications, computer and automotive segments, the ‘C5x DSPs are used mainly in cellular and cordless telephones, high-speed modems, printers and copiers.

1990
TI offers the first DSP C-source debugger and optimizing ANSI C tools.
TI discloses the second floating-point generation, the TMS320C4x, the first DSP architecture designed for the construction of higher performance systems using parallel digital signal processing. Applications include 3-D graphics, digital base stations and other high-speed communication applications, virtual-reality simulators, image processing for MRI and CT medical imaging systems and speech recognition.
TI creates the industry’s first DSP Starter Kit - the ‘C2x DSK, a DSP tool that allows designers to experiment with and use DSPs for real-time digital signal processing without a large investment.

1991
TI announces the first DSP to cost less than $5 in single quantities. This price for the ‘C1x is comparable to 16-bit microcontrollers, but DSPs provides five to ten times the performance.
TI is the first to offer core-based DSP design with customizable DSP (cDSP). cDSP provides a higher level of DSP system integration with faster time-to-market.
TI sponsors the first Educators’ Conference for DSP educators and researchers.

1992
DSPs become one of the fastest growing segments within the automobile electronics market. The math-intensive, real-time calculating capabilities of DSPs provide future solutions for active suspension, closed-loop engine control systems, intelligent cruise control radar systems, anti-skid braking systems and car entertainment systems. Cadillac introduces the 1993 model Allante featuring a TI DSP-based road sensing system for a smoother ride, less roll and tighter cornering.

1993
TI publishes its second DSP textbook, "A Simple Approach to Digital Signal Processing."
TI creates the TMS320 Software Cooperative, the industry’s first comprehensive DSP software package, containing more than 100 off-the-shelf third-party digital signal processing algorithms for applications including speech, image, motor control and telecommunications software. The package provides quick access to the algorithms designers need to evaluate products using DSPs.

1994
TI unveils the industry’s highest performance DSP ever with two billion operations per second (BOPS) performance, ten times that of any other DSP. The TMS320C80 is the first commercially available single-chip processor to combine multiple parallel DSPs and a RISC processor onto one chip. The ‘C80 enables real-time, full-duplex interactive videoconferencing, imaging systems, fuzzy logic industrial control, PC sound cards and noise cancellation. More than 65 U.S. patent applications are filed for ‘C80 technology advancements.
TI creates the highest performance DSP Starter Kit - the ‘C5x DSK, at $99 each. It enables designers who are new to DSP technology to experiment with and use a DSP for real-time digital signal processing without a large initial investment.
TI introduces the first video CD chipset, which provides the manufacturers of home entertainment systems such as CD-based movie players, video games and karaoke systems, with the industry’s first complete integrated solution for a full-motion video (FMV) subsystem for these video CD applications.
cDSP technology enables the first uniprocessor DSP hard disc drive (HDD) from Maxtor Corp. - the 171-megabyte PCMCIA Type III HDD. By replacing a number of microcontrollers, drive costs were cut by 30 percent while battery life was extended and storage capacity increased. In 1994, more than 95 percent of all high performance disk drives with a DSP inside contain a TI TMS320 DSP.
TI teams with U.S. Robotics to cut costs and speed modem product development. Joint patents are filed for the first solution to PCMCIA interface integrated with USR’s modem chipset.

1995
TI is the first to bridge the gap between fixed- and floating-point DSPs price/performance with the TMS320C32, priced at less than $10 in high volume and run at 40 million floating-point operations per second (MFLOPS).
TI develops the first DSP Elite Lab program to award the most distinguished electrical engineering programs with DSP tools and technical support.
TI introduces the TMS320C2xx generation for high-performance, low-cost fixed-point design for applications like feature-phones, power-line monitors, modems and security systems. (Delivering 40 MIPS for less than $5 in high volume). The ‘C2xx generation makes a total of eight DSP generations in the TMS320 family, the largest DSP product offering from any supplier.
TI launches two different DSPs, the TMS320C545 and the TMS320C546, to provide the first single DSP solutions for next-generation cellular phone standards. TI is also licensing the industry’s first software for half-rate GSM.
TI introduces the industry’s most highly integrated DSP, the TMS320C82, with a performance of more than 1.5 BOPS. The ‘C82 DSPs are applied in cellular base stations, motor control, digital camcorders and video disk players, digital satellite system, and modems.
TI sponsors an expanded version of the regional DSP design contests - the first-ever worldwide university contest of its type, the “TI DSP Solutions Challenge.” More than 230 engineering teams worldwide enter to win a grand prize of US$100,000.
TI implements the first On-Line DSP Lab, an electronic laboratory for testing TI digital signal processing applications design and development tools on the worldwide web. TI also launches , and the first WWW DSP hotline, the “320 Hotline on-Line.”
TI produces the first DSP CD-ROM in conjunction with Electronic Engineering Times.

1996
TI discloses plans to release the TMS320C54x DSP generation to the mass market at 66, 80 and 100 MIPS performance.
TI discloses the industry’s first widely available (volume production) DSP with on-chip flash memory - the TMS320F206.
TI increases its DSP fab capacity with announcement of a new, $2 billion DMOS6 fabrication facility to be built in Dallas primarily for the manufacturing of DSPs.
TI gives a $7 million cash grant to Houston-based Rice University, the largest corporate donation ever made for DSP research to a private university.
TI is the first to win 1996 IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Corporate Innovation Award specifically for technical excellence in the design and application of DSPs.
TI establishs the Jack Kilby IEEE award recognizing accomplishment in DSP. The award is named after TI engineer Jack Kilby, the inventor of the integrated circuit.
TI introduces the first digital telephone answering device (DTAD) processors, which enable true full-duplex speakerphone, caller ID on call waiting and double the message recording time of digital answering machines up to 28 minutes. TI is also one of the first to develop DTAD processors that offer advanced speech compression software and interface directly to a new memory known as NAND flash.
TI creates the first DSP floating-point Starter Kit - the TMS320C3x DSK.
TI's cDSP technology enables Seagate, one of the world’s largest hard disk drive (HDD) maker, to develop the first mainstream 3.5-inch HDD to adopt a uniprocessor DSP design, integrating logic, flash memory, and a DSP core into a single unit. The T320C2xLP TI cDSP replaces five discrete devices, achieving cost savings compared to previous solutions, improving performance and reducing power consumption.
TI introduces TMS320C24x, industry’s first DSP specifically designed to improve system performance, lower system cost, and reduce component count in digital motor and motion control (DMC) systems. The ‘C24x provides optimized motor-control configurations with the integration of an event manager on-chip for applications such as heating and air conditioning systems.
By 1996, more than 170 third parties offer hardware and software tools for TMS320 DSPs.

1997
TI introduces the TMS320C6x DSP, the world’s most powerful DSP generation, performing at 1600 MIPS/200MHz and delivering 10 times the performance of typical DSPs.
TI’s DSP solution enabled the industry’s first-available 56Kbit modem with one of the world’s largest modem manufacturers, US Robotics. The TMS320 DSP modem chipset enables the fastest Internet access over standard phone lines for state-of-the-art modem technology via US Robotics’ x2 technology.
TI announces the successful demonstration of the industry’s first programmable DSP that operates at 1-volt and below while performing all the functions of a standard commercial DSP.
TI is the first DSP vendor to introduce a standard application program interface (API) to make the TMS320 DSP family easier to program, monitor, and debug.
By 1997, more than 200 universities worldwide teach digital signal processing courses at all levels.
TI opens the Kilby Center, an advanced research facility, named after Jack S. Kilby, the integrated circuit inventor.
TI establishes a $100 million capital venture fund to accelerate the DSP market and a $25 million university research fund to stimulate the development of DSP applications at universities worldwide.
TI discloses technology for the TMS320C67x core of floating-point DSPs -- the industry's first processor to cross into the 1-GFLOPS performance range.



1981		TI establishes the first DSP University Program, designed to support universities interested in digital signal processing technology. TI's support helps move digital signal processor study from Ph.D. and Master’s level to undergraduate course curricula in universities across the country.
1982		TI introduces its first programmable general-purpose digital signal processor (DSP) to market - the TMS32010 DSP - operating at five million instructions per second (MIPS). It was ideal for modems and defense applications.
1984		TI is the first manufacturer to introduce a second generation of DSPs by disclosing the TMS320C2x.
1985		TI manufactures first DSP using CMOS process technology. TI takes the lead in DSP support by setting up the industry’s first DSP technical hotline. Other support includes the industry’s first PC-based development tools and the first support information service accessible via modem. TI encourages other companies to supplement the TI DSP development tools family.
1987		The first consumer toy to use DSP is World’s of Wonder "Julie Doll," using TI's TMS320C17 for voice recognition. TI publishes its first DSP textbook, “Digital Signal Processing Applications with the TMS320 Family.”
1988		TI introduces the industry’s first floating-point DSP - the TMS320C3x. High-performance applications demanding floating-point performance include voice/fax mail, 3-D graphics, bar-code scanners and video conferencing audio and visual systems. The world’s first DSP-based hearing aid uses TI’s TMS320C1x DSP.
1989		TI introduces highest performance fixed-point DSP generation in the industry, the TMS320C5x, operating at 28 MIPS. The ‘C5x delivers two to four times the performance of any other fixed-point DSP. Targeted to the industrial, communications, computer and automotive segments, the ‘C5x DSPs are used mainly in cellular and cordless telephones, high-speed modems, printers and copiers.
1990		TI offers the first DSP C-source debugger and optimizing ANSI C tools. TI discloses the second floating-point generation, the TMS320C4x, the first DSP architecture designed for the construction of higher performance systems using parallel digital signal processing. Applications include 3-D graphics, digital base stations and other high-speed communication applications, virtual-reality simulators, image processing for MRI and CT medical imaging systems and speech recognition. TI creates the industry’s first DSP Starter Kit - the ‘C2x DSK, a DSP tool that allows designers to experiment with and use DSPs for real-time digital signal processing without a large investment.
1991		TI announces the first DSP to cost less than $5 in single quantities. This price for the ‘C1x is comparable to 16-bit microcontrollers, but DSPs provides five to ten times the performance. TI is the first to offer core-based DSP design with customizable DSP (cDSP). cDSP provides a higher level of DSP system integration with faster time-to-market. TI sponsors the first Educators’ Conference for DSP educators and researchers.
1992		DSPs become one of the fastest growing segments within the automobile electronics market. The math-intensive, real-time calculating capabilities of DSPs provide future solutions for active suspension, closed-loop engine control systems, intelligent cruise control radar systems, anti-skid braking systems and car entertainment systems. Cadillac introduces the 1993 model Allante featuring a TI DSP-based road sensing system for a smoother ride, less roll and tighter cornering.
1993		TI publishes its second DSP textbook, "A Simple Approach to Digital Signal Processing." TI creates the TMS320 Software Cooperative, the industry’s first comprehensive DSP software package, containing more than 100 off-the-shelf third-party digital signal processing algorithms for applications including speech, image, motor control and telecommunications software. The package provides quick access to the algorithms designers need to evaluate products using DSPs.
1994		TI unveils the industry’s highest performance DSP ever with two billion operations per second (BOPS) performance, ten times that of any other DSP. The TMS320C80 is the first commercially available single-chip processor to combine multiple parallel DSPs and a RISC processor onto one chip. The ‘C80 enables real-time, full-duplex interactive videoconferencing, imaging systems, fuzzy logic industrial control, PC sound cards and noise cancellation. More than 65 U.S. patent applications are filed for ‘C80 technology advancements. TI creates the highest performance DSP Starter Kit - the ‘C5x DSK, at $99 each. It enables designers who are new to DSP technology to experiment with and use a DSP for real-time digital signal processing without a large initial investment. TI introduces the first video CD chipset, which provides the manufacturers of home entertainment systems such as CD-based movie players, video games and karaoke systems, with the industry’s first complete integrated solution for a full-motion video (FMV) subsystem for these video CD applications. cDSP technology enables the first uniprocessor DSP hard disc drive (HDD) from Maxtor Corp. - the 171-megabyte PCMCIA Type III HDD. By replacing a number of microcontrollers, drive costs were cut by 30 percent while battery life was extended and storage capacity increased. In 1994, more than 95 percent of all high performance disk drives with a DSP inside contain a TI TMS320 DSP. TI teams with U.S. Robotics to cut costs and speed modem product development. Joint patents are filed for the first solution to PCMCIA interface integrated with USR’s modem chipset.
1995		TI is the first to bridge the gap between fixed- and floating-point DSPs price/performance with the TMS320C32, priced at less than $10 in high volume and run at 40 million floating-point operations per second (MFLOPS). TI develops the first DSP Elite Lab program to award the most distinguished electrical engineering programs with DSP tools and technical support. TI introduces the TMS320C2xx generation for high-performance, low-cost fixed-point design for applications like feature-phones, power-line monitors, modems and security systems. (Delivering 40 MIPS for less than $5 in high volume). The ‘C2xx generation makes a total of eight DSP generations in the TMS320 family, the largest DSP product offering from any supplier. TI launches two different DSPs, the TMS320C545 and the TMS320C546, to provide the first single DSP solutions for next-generation cellular phone standards. TI is also licensing the industry’s first software for half-rate GSM. TI introduces the industry’s most highly integrated DSP, the TMS320C82, with a performance of more than 1.5 BOPS. The ‘C82 DSPs are applied in cellular base stations, motor control, digital camcorders and video disk players, digital satellite system, and modems. TI sponsors an expanded version of the regional DSP design contests - the first-ever worldwide university contest of its type, the “TI DSP Solutions Challenge.” More than 230 engineering teams worldwide enter to win a grand prize of US$100,000. TI implements the first On-Line DSP Lab, an electronic laboratory for testing TI digital signal processing applications design and development tools on the worldwide web. TI also launches , and the first WWW DSP hotline, the “320 Hotline on-Line.” TI produces the first DSP CD-ROM in conjunction with Electronic Engineering Times.
1996		TI discloses plans to release the TMS320C54x DSP generation to the mass market at 66, 80 and 100 MIPS performance. TI discloses the industry’s first widely available (volume production) DSP with on-chip flash memory - the TMS320F206. TI increases its DSP fab capacity with announcement of a new, $2 billion DMOS6 fabrication facility to be built in Dallas primarily for the manufacturing of DSPs. TI gives a $7 million cash grant to Houston-based Rice University, the largest corporate donation ever made for DSP research to a private university. TI is the first to win 1996 IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Corporate Innovation Award specifically for technical excellence in the design and application of DSPs. TI establishs the Jack Kilby IEEE award recognizing accomplishment in DSP. The award is named after TI engineer Jack Kilby, the inventor of the integrated circuit. TI introduces the first digital telephone answering device (DTAD) processors, which enable true full-duplex speakerphone, caller ID on call waiting and double the message recording time of digital answering machines up to 28 minutes. TI is also one of the first to develop DTAD processors that offer advanced speech compression software and interface directly to a new memory known as NAND flash. TI creates the first DSP floating-point Starter Kit - the TMS320C3x DSK. TI's cDSP technology enables Seagate, one of the world’s largest hard disk drive (HDD) maker, to develop the first mainstream 3.5-inch HDD to adopt a uniprocessor DSP design, integrating logic, flash memory, and a DSP core into a single unit. The T320C2xLP TI cDSP replaces five discrete devices, achieving cost savings compared to previous solutions, improving performance and reducing power consumption. TI introduces TMS320C24x, industry’s first DSP specifically designed to improve system performance, lower system cost, and reduce component count in digital motor and motion control (DMC) systems. The ‘C24x provides optimized motor-control configurations with the integration of an event manager on-chip for applications such as heating and air conditioning systems. By 1996, more than 170 third parties offer hardware and software tools for TMS320 DSPs.
1997		TI introduces the TMS320C6x DSP, the world’s most powerful DSP generation, performing at 1600 MIPS/200MHz and delivering 10 times the performance of typical DSPs. TI’s DSP solution enabled the industry’s first-available 56Kbit modem with one of the world’s largest modem manufacturers, US Robotics. The TMS320 DSP modem chipset enables the fastest Internet access over standard phone lines for state-of-the-art modem technology via US Robotics’ x2 technology. TI announces the successful demonstration of the industry’s first programmable DSP that operates at 1-volt and below while performing all the functions of a standard commercial DSP. TI is the first DSP vendor to introduce a standard application program interface (API) to make the TMS320 DSP family easier to program, monitor, and debug. By 1997, more than 200 universities worldwide teach digital signal processing courses at all levels. TI opens the Kilby Center, an advanced research facility, named after Jack S. Kilby, the integrated circuit inventor. TI establishes a $100 million capital venture fund to accelerate the DSP market and a $25 million university research fund to stimulate the development of DSP applications at universities worldwide. TI discloses technology for the TMS320C67x core of floating-point DSPs -- the industry's first processor to cross into the 1-GFLOPS performance range.