In the design of computers, there is a constant struggle to find the right balance between speed and versatility.

Microprocessors have been designed as general purpose devices capable of running a huge range of software. They perform several different functions but relatively slowly.

A faster alternative, is to use application-specific chips (ASICs) which can be integrated into the system separately and designed to perform a limited series of tasks, such as 3-D graphics. Manufacturers of all electronic products have to use ASICs to achieve acceptable and competitive performance.

However, ASICs are limited to their minimal range of predetermined tasks and several hundred would be required to produce an integrated circuit. This is extremely time consuming and with the market demanding a constant stream of product improvements, the ASIC design process is neverending and expensive.

An innovative solution involves an FPGA (field programmable gate array). This array is in the form of a chip that can be reconfigured any number of times in milliseconds. A single device can be configured first to be a mobile phone, then as a handheld PC and then as a music player.

FPGA chips rather than the standard microprocessor in electronic devices provides enormous speed gains - they can operate up to 200 times faster than current digital devices. Reconfigurability also reduces the initial design process dramatically, helping manufacturers achieve faster time-to-market reducing a 6-month design task to 12 hours.

The complexity of recongifuring these programmable chips is a process that requires manual input from expert chip designers. Embedded Solutions Ltd (now Celoxica) has resolved this.

Formed by the University of Oxford, Celoxica has produced technology that enables software engineers to design hardware - through the use of a high-level programming language called Handel-C - and a set of support tools. The success of Handel-C rests on its similarity to C, which makes it easily accessible to programmers.

OCC designed a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to provide a familiar Windows coding environment for programmers with a C/C++ background. In addition, the GUI runs simulations so that programmers can test the chips before use.

It is predicted that the impact of FPGA's will have have enormous implications on the likes of Internet acceleration, Internet security, multimedia entertainment and mobile/fixed telephony.