ï~~Additionals on the 9600X:
2 million interrupts/sec
random number generator
special network version
(DSP 96002 )
on chip debug provided
3. Design and development of the multi-processor hardware
3.1.-Design strategy
The system should primarily be used for sound analysis,
synthesis and resynthesis with perfect control in real-time. In
future, other components will be added and they will be integrated in a digital mixing and recording environment. Also the
system is designed to be used as a -performing system, small
enough to carry arround.
The control system was chosen to be based on 680XX
processors and as a starting point, we use ATARI ST computers as
a host.
The Operating system we are currently working with is based on
FORTH (M. Bradleys Forthmacs) and already provides a convenient
extension, the Forth Music Language (FORMULA) for Midi-controlled
devices (D. Anderson and R. Kuivilla, 1986).
For graphic and I/O control we use a network of Atari Computers
(Camp: Koschorreck and Kosensky, 1988) that is able to distribute
processes on various machines.
As mentioned before the system has to work in real-time.
Therefore we decided to use inexpensive standard units and add as
much as was needed for speed and necessary processing power.
There is a multi-signalprocessing subsystem under development which is controlled, loaded and real-time debugged by an IBM
clone AT computer. After tests the DSP programs will be written,
assembled and downloaded on the host system as an integrated part
of the FORTH environment.
To communicate with the signal-processing units the fast and
standardized VME-Bus will be fast enough to handle the control
data for the sample-processing DSPs. One or more of the Atari
(Mega ST4) are interfaced to the VME-Bus for that purpuse.
The VME-bus will not be used for multi-channel audiosignal
routing.
A special very fast Bus (Sample-DMA-Bus) will connect the
DSP boards and transfer the sample data from and to their
dedicated units.
The sampling processing units (DSP boards) are also connected to the VME-Bus ( Figure 1). As many DSP units as our budget
allows serve as slaves to generate multitimbral voices.
Via direct memory access the control processors may directly
effect parameters or change programs on the DSP local memory.
Sample data may be loaded to the DSPs or visualized on the
screen.
In addition the DSP boards have a MIDI interface to play the
voices on a keyboard or use it as a device to control algorithmic
parameters interactively.
ICMC Proceedings 1988
260
