Tag: Verilator
Mandelbrot in Verilog
Mandelbrot in VerilogThis FPGA demo uses fixed-point multiplication and a small framebuffer to render the Mandelbrot set. You can navigate around the complex plane using buttons on your dev board. Read More...
Rasterbars
RasterbarsThis FPGA demo effect renders four animated rasterbars. I created this effect with benjamin.computer for All You Need, a Chapterhouse prod released at Revision 2022. Read More...
Sine Scroller
Sine ScrollerThis FPGA demo effect renders a horizontally scrolling message along a sine wave. I created this effect with benjamin.computer for All You Need, a Chapterhouse prod released at Revision 2022. Read More...
Castle Drawing
Castle DrawingIn this FPGA demo, we use multiple shapes (rectangles, triangles, circles) to render a simple picture of a castle. We don’t use any software or CPU, just shape rasterization and finite state machines. This Verilog design runs on the Digilent Arty A7 or as a Verilator/SDL simulation on your computer. Read More...
Racing the Beam
Racing the BeamWelcome back to Exploring FPGA Graphics. Last time, we got an introduction to FPGA graphics; let’s put our new graphical skills to work with some simple demo effects. I hope these examples inspire you to create your own effects and improve your hardware design skills. Read More...
Animated Shapes
Animated ShapesWelcome back to Exploring FPGA Graphics. In the final part of our introductory graphics series, we’re looking at animation. We’ve already seen animation with hardware sprites, but double buffering gives us maximum creative freedom with fast, tear-free motion. Read More...
Verilog Simulation with Verilator and SDL
Verilog Simulation with Verilator and SDLIt can be challenging to test your FPGA or ASIC graphics designs. You can perform low-level behavioural simulations and examine waveforms, but you also need to verify how the video output will appear on the screen. By combining Verilator and SDL, you can build Verilog simulations that let you see your design on your computer. Read More...
2D Shapes
2D ShapesWelcome back to Exploring FPGA Graphics. In 2D Shapes, we build on what we learned from Lines and Triangles in two ways: drawing new shapes and learning to colour them in. We’ll start with rectangles and filled triangles before moving on to circles. These basic shapes make it possible to create a wide variety of graphics and user interfaces. Read More...
Lines and Triangles
Lines and TrianglesWelcome back to Exploring FPGA Graphics. It’s time to turn our attention to drawing. Most modern computer graphics come down to drawing triangles and colouring them in. So, it seems fitting to begin our drawing tour with triangles and the straight lines that form them. This post will implement Bresenham’s line algorithm in Verilog and create lines, triangles, and even a cube (our first sort-of 3D). Read More...
Verilog Lint with Verilator
Verilog Lint with VerilatorHardware design can be unforgiving, so it pays to use any advantage you can get. Verilator is a Verilog simulator and C++ compiler that also supports linting: statically analysing your designs for issues. Not only can Verilator spot problems your synthesis tool might overlook, but it also runs quickly. Read More...
iCE40 FPGA Toolchain on Linux
iCE40 FPGA Toolchain on LinuxIn this post, I provide a quick guide to building an open-source FPGA toolchain for iCE40 boards, such as iCEBreaker, on Linux. This guide is designed for Ubuntu or Pop!_OS 20.04, but should be straightforward to adjust to your own distro. Read More...
Framebuffers
FramebuffersWelcome back to Exploring FPGA Graphics. In the previous part, we worked with sprites, but another approach is needed as graphics become more complex. Instead of drawing directly to the screen, we draw to a bitmap, which is read out to the screen. This post provides an introduction to framebuffers and how to scale them up. We’ll also learn how to fizzlefade graphics Wolfenstein 3D style. Read More...
Hardware Sprites
Hardware SpritesWelcome back to Exploring FPGA Graphics. In the previous part, we updated our display signals and learnt about colour palettes. This part shows you how to create fast, colourful graphics with minimal logic. Hardware sprites maintain much of the simplicity of our Pong design while offering greater creative freedom. Read More...
FPGA Pong
FPGA PongWelcome back to Exploring FPGA Graphics. Last time, we raced the beam; this time, we’ll recreate the arcade classic, Pong and play against our FPGA. Read More...
Beginning FPGA Graphics
Beginning FPGA GraphicsWelcome to Exploring FPGA Graphics. In this series, we learn about graphics at the hardware level and get a feel for the power of FPGAs. We’ll learn how screens work, play Pong, create starfields and sprites, paint Michelangelo’s David, draw lines and triangles, and animate characters and shapes. Along the way, you’ll experience a range of designs and techniques, from memory and finite state machines to crossing clock domains and translating C algorithms into Verilog. Read More...
FPGA Tooling on Ubuntu 20.04
FPGA Tooling on Ubuntu 20.04In this post, I test common FPGA tools for compatibility with Ubuntu 20.04 (AKA Focal Fossa), and my regular desktop OS: Pop!_OS 20.04. These tests are in no way exhaustive: I have tried using the applications as I usually do to exercise the main functionality. I have also included instructions for building the tools from source when available. Read More...