To accelerate the design of large System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions, the semiconductor industry needs a standard mechanism for describing and handling IP that enables automated integration through plug-in tools. SPIRIT's founding companies are combining their long experience in IP development, supply, integration and electronic design automation (EDA) to deliver such a mechanism. The consortium aims to establish a unified set of standards for importing complex IP bundles into SoC design tool sets, increasing integration efficiency.

SPIRIT intends to create two standards:

• IP meta-data description. The meta-data standard will create a common way to describe IP, compatible with automated integration techniques and enabling integrators to use IP from multiple sources with SPIRIT-compliant tools.
  
  
• IP tool integration API. The tool integration API will provide a standard method for linking tools into an IP framework, enabling a more flexible, optimized development environment. SPIRIT-compliant tools will be able to interpret, configure, integrate and manipulate IP blocks that comply with the proposed IP meta-data description.

Several of the SPIRIT consortium founding members will be actively testing the proposed standards within multiple live projects, providing a solid proof-of-concept. In addition, participating EDA and IP vendors are committed to making their IP and IP tools interoperable through the proposed SPIRIT standards. These standards will deliver a framework for improved SoC design environments and will be extendable to accommodate future developments in IP integration.