Embedded System Design and Modeling

EE382V, Unique: 17295
Semester: Fall 2008

Description

Embedded computer systems are ubiquitous, integrated into many devices we interact with on a daily basis. Driven by ever increasing application demands and technological advances that allow us to put complete multi-processor systems on a chip (MPSoCs), system complexities are growing exponentially. Together with tight constraints and market pressures, this makes the system design process a tremendous challenge and well-defined design methods and design automation techniques crucial to its success.

This course presents state-of-the-art methods, tools and techniques for system-level design and modeling of complete multi-processor systems from specification down to implementation across hardware-software boundaries. Using the SpecC language and the System-On-Chip Environment (SCE), we will specify, simulate, analyze, model and design systems based on examples of typical embedded applications.
 

Topics

Most likely covered in class at some point:

• Embedded systems, electronic system-level (ESL) design
• Models of Computation: FSMs, dataflow, process networks
• System-level design languages (SLDLs): SpecC, SystemC
• Discrete event simulation semantics
• System specification, profiling and analysis
• System-level design methodologies and tools: partitioning, scheduling, network design, communication synthesis
• System platform modeling: processor and RTOS modeling, transaction-level modeling (TLM) for communication
• Embedded hardware and software implementation: synthesis and cosimulation
• System design examples and case studies.
   

Prerequisites

• Embedded real-time system design and hardware/software interfacing (EE345L Microprocessor Applications & Organization, or equivalent)
• Working knowledge of C/C++, algorithms and data structures (EE322C Data Structures, or equivalent)
• Digital hardware design and hardware description languages (EE360M Digital System Design using VHDL, or equivalent).
   

Textbooks

• Required

  A. Gerstlauer, R. Doemer, J. Peng, D. Gajski, "System Design: A Practical Guide with SpecC", Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, June 2001. ISBN 0-7923-7387-1 ("Yellow book")

• Optional

  D. Gajski, J. Zhu, R. Doemer, A. Gerstlauer, S. Zhao, "SpecC: Specification Language and Methodology", Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, March 2000. ISBN 0-7923-7822-9 ("Green book")
  T. Groetker, S. Liao, G. Martin, S. Swan, "System Design with SystemC", Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, May 2002. ISBN 1-4020-7072-1 ("Black book")
  F. Vahid, T. Givargis, "Embedded System Design: A Unified Hardware/Software Introduction" (authors' site), John Wiley & Sons, 2001. ISBN 978-0-471-38678-0

Policies

• Grading
  • 30% Homework and lab assignments
  • 20% Midterm
  • 50% Final project
     
• Academic dishonesty
  • Oral discussion of homework/lab problems is encouraged. However, be sure to submit your own independent solution.
  • Final projects can be done in teams, i.e. collaboration on projects is encouraged and desired.
  • Copying of any part of a homework/lab solution or project report without explicit reference to its source is plagiarism and considered cheating.
     

Students with disabilities

The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY or the College of Engineering Director of Students with Disabilities at 471-4382.