Green Plug Announces Greenscape Visual Development Platform for Rapid Prototyping and Optimization of Controller Designs

Green Plug announced the availability of Greenscapeâ„¢, an innovative GUI-based development platform that fosters rapid prototyping and tuning of designs, targeting competitively-priced controllers that are optimally sized for each application. With Greenscape, developers can make real-time changes to key thresholds, set points, startup sequences, timing, switching frequencies and more. Users get all the features expected of a high-performance, mixed-signal programmable controller, on par with the cost of fixed-function controllers. The same controller can be adapted easily to different topologies, power ranges and designs.

As a result of programmable controller features, power supply designers can now collaborate with their power driver chip suppliers to optimize integrated power devices for their applications. Conventional methods have simply not allowed for this collaboration. Power supply designers have traditionally been able only to specify requirements and work around whatever chips their suppliers deliver to them that meet those requirements. Collaboration up-front is expected to improve the pre-manufacturing design process significantly. Post-chip manufacturing, the programmable interface will allow for an unprecedented level of rapid prototyping and tuning.

According to Green Plug CEO and founder Frank P. Paniagua, Jr., increasing complexity and shorter product development cycles have made it extremely difficult to optimize power supply designs for new products.

“Power supply designers would greatly benefit from flexible, configurable and adaptable control platforms, but their power IC suppliers offer such features only for the very high-end -- read: high-cost -- applications,” Paniagua said. “With our introduction of Greenscape, Green Plug’s library of configurable hardware blocks -- such as ADCs, PWMs, DACs, comparators and other building blocks – will serve power supply designers with tools to meet exact power supply requirements.”