XMOSs

XMOSs are a family of multi-core microcontrollers designed by XMOS Ltd. They are built around the xCORE architecture, which places multiple processing tiles on a single chip to execute several software threads in parallel with deterministic timing. Each tile contains a compact CPU, local memory, and I/O interfaces; tiles are connected by a scalable switch fabric and communicate via hardware channels that provide low-latency, guaranteed data transfer. This architecture supports streaming, real-time processing with fine-grained parallelism while keeping software portable and scalable.

Programming and toolchain: XMOS devices are programmed with XS1, a synchronous programming language, and with a C-like language called xC. The xTIMEcomposer Studio toolchain compiles code, maps threads to tiles, and configures the inter-tile channels. The model emphasizes streaming concurrency: programs are organized as many lightweight threads that communicate through channels, enabling predictable performance for real-time tasks.

Applications: XMOSs are widely used in audio and multimedia devices that require deterministic timing and low latency, such as USB audio interfaces, digital mixers, and professional headsets. They are also employed in embedded control, motor drives, and communications interfaces where predictable timing and parallel processing are advantageous.

History and ecosystem: XMOS Ltd, founded in the mid-2000s in the United Kingdom, developed the xCORE family to address real-time, streaming processing needs. The product line includes devices with varying numbers of tiles and I/O capabilities, along with development boards and reference designs. The ecosystem includes third-party IP cores and software examples that facilitate rapid prototyping of streaming applications.