openCologne

Currently there is only one FGPA vendor in Europe (CologneChip). Their GateMate chips have some high quality features compared to other FPGA's, such as a high speed SerDes. Recently we have seen the appearances of a number of affordable boards with these FPGA's. The challenge (and opportunity) is now to make sure that the open hardware community can benefit from these FGPA's as soon as possible.

This project will design a new iteration of the popular open hardware ULX-boards (ULX5M) featuring GateMate chips, which will be compatible with the widely used CM4 form factor - so it can be slotted into many existing designs instantly. This opens up this strategic new FPGA target for a broader audience, and help breach the market. In addition, the project will make a portfolio of entry level projects that selectively put GateMate resources to good use, including its unique SerDes. Be they in RTL or HLS, implemented as pure hardware FSMs, or by using HW/SW co-design and SOC techniques, or integrated with LiteX - delivering a variety of real-life use cases.