Hardware Software Codesign of Embedded Systems

Fall 2000, CPSC489-501

Department of Computer Science

Ever-increasing embedded system design complexity combined with reduced time-to-market window has revolutionized the embedded system design process. The traditional design techniques (independent hardware and software design) are now being challenged when heterogeneous models and applications are getting integrated to create a complex system on chip. In hardware-software codesign, designers consider trade-off in the way hardware and software components of a system work together to exhibit a specified behavior, given a set of performance goals and technology.

Course Objective: The course will cover system level design of embedded system with top-down design approach. The students will learn various design steps starting from system specifications to hardware/software implementation and will experience process optimization while considering various design decisions. Students will gain design experience with project/case studies using contemporary high-level methods and tools.

Prerequisite(s): Microprocessor Systems

Who can take this course: undergraduate and graduate students of Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering.

Text Book(s): [1] J. Staunstrup and W. Wolf, editors, Hardware/Software Co-Design: Principles and Practice, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997. [2] Lecture notes

1. Codesign Overview
2. Models and Methodology of Embedded System codesign
3. Hardware Software partitioning and Scheduling
4. Cosimulation, High level Synthesis (HW) and functional verification
5. Architecture Mapping, Hardware/Software Interfaces, re-configurable logic and devices
6. System on Chip (SoC) and IP cores
7. Hardware/Software codesign for application specific processor
8. Codesign tools and case studies

Credits: 4 (3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab. work per week)

Grading: Two tests: (60%), Labs and Projects: (40%)

Instructor: Rabi Mahapatra, Phone: 5-5787, 315B HR Bright, rabi@cs.tamu.edu