Embedded System Design and Modeling

EE382V, Unique: 17303
Semester: Spring 2014

Background

Embedded computer systems are ubiquitous, integrated into many devices we interact with on a daily basis. With ever increasing application demands and advances in semiconductor technology, such systems are more than ever realized as application-specific, heterogeneous multi-processor systems-on-chip (MPSoCs). Exponentially growing complexities, tight constraints and rising chip design costs, however, have made traditional implementation approaches infeasible and instead demand novel, well-defined and formal methods for programming and design of complete systems across hardware and software boundaries.
 

Description

This course covers theory and practice of system-level design of embedded multi-processor and multi-core systems. Focusing on the necessary modeling foundations to enable design automation, the course will present state-of-the-art methods and techniques for specification/programming, synthesis/compilation and performance modeling at the system level. In the labs, the SpecC and SystemC languages and the System-On-Chip Environment (SCE) will be used to specify, simulate, analyze, model and synthesize systems based on typical embedded application examples.
 

Topics

Most likely covered in class at some point:

• Embedded systems, electronic system-level (ESL) design and design methodologies
• System-level design languages (SLDLs): SpecC, SystemC
• Models of Computation (MoCs), concurrency and time: finite state machines (FSMs), parallel programming models, threads, process networks, dataflow, discrete event
• System specification, profiling, analysis and estimation
• System-level synthesis: algorithms for mapping, scheduling and design space exploration
• System refinement, virtual platform prototyping and system simulation: processor and RTOS modeling, transaction-level modeling (TLM) for communication
• Embedded hardware and software implementation: synthesis and co-simulation
• System design tools, examples and case studies.
   

Prerequisites

• Embedded real-time system design and hardware/software interfacing (EE345M/EE380L.6 Embedded & Real-Time Systems, 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

• Recommended

  D. D. Gajski, S. Abdi, A. Gerstlauer, G. Schirner, Embedded System Design: Modeling, Synthesis, Verification, Springer, September 2009. ISBN 978-1-4419-0503-1 ("Orange book", authors' site)

• Optional

  E. A. Lee, S. Seshia "Introduction to Embedded Systems: A Cyber-Physical Systems Approach" ISBN 978-0-557-70857-4
  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")
  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")

Policies

• Grading
  • 20% Homeworks
  • 20% Labs
  • 25% Midterm
  • 35% Final project
  Late submissions will not be accepted.
   
• Academic dishonesty
  • Oral discussion of homework problems is encouraged. However, be sure to submit your own individual and independent solution.
  • Labs and final projects can be done in teams. Collaboration on projects is encouraged.
  • Copying of any part of a homework/lab solution or project report without explicit reference to its source is plagiarism and considered cheating.
     

Electronic Mail Notification Policy

In this course e-mail will be used as a means of communication with students. You will be responsible for checking your e-mail regularly for class work and announcements. The complete text of the University electronic mail notification policy and instructions for updating your e-mail address are available at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.html.
 

Use of Blackboard and Class Web Site

This course uses the class web page and Blackboard to distribute course materials, to communicate and collaborate online, to submit assignments and to post solutions and grades. You will be responsible for checking the class web page and the Blackboard course site regularly for class work and announcements. As with all computer systems, there are occasional scheduled downtimes as well as unanticipated disruptions. Notification of disruptions will be posted on the Blackboard login page. Scheduled downtimes are not an excuse for late work. However, if there is an unscheduled downtime for a significant period of time, I will make an adjustment if it occurs close to the due date.
 

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 Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 471-5259, http://ddce.utexas.edu/disability/.
 

Religious Holidays

Religious holy days sometimes conflict with class and examination schedules. If you miss an examination, work assignment, or other project due to the observance of a religious holy day you will be given an opportunity to complete the work missed within a reasonable time after the absence. It is the policy of The University of Texas at Austin that you must notify each of your instructors at least fourteen days prior to the classes scheduled on dates you will be absent to observe a religious holy day.