Recently J P Morgan announced the use of an "FPGA Supercomputer" to cut risk calculation times from 8 hours to under 4 minutes. Calxeda announced low energy servers based on traditional embedded architectures, targeted for data centers. Tablet computers are already replacing desktops and laptops for many applications.

These trends have one thing in common - traditional embedded systems are slowly and steadily taking over not only the traditional desktop and server but also entering the domain of the mainframe and super computer !

These seemin......

Embedded Security is increasingly becoming an important area of concern. Embedded security encompasses components, sub-systems and networks of systems.

Modern embedded systems incorporate several components including many that are active. Software and hardware from different sources is integrated into a single system often by teams that may not fully understand or have little control over the functioning of the individual components. This poses a major threat and area of concern for system architects.

System level design offers a significant advantage in terms......

System level messages were loud and clear at the ESC 2011 Bengaluru (Bangalore) Edition ...

LDRA was there displaying their system level standard compliance solutions

National Instruments displayed their system level modeling and prototype "incubator" solutions with their focus clearly on integrating prototypes into the HILS (Hardware In The Loop Simulation)

Intel was there with their partners showing off ready to use solutions built around Intel

Google was there, albeit in proxy, with the hugely successful Android workshop (Karim Yaghm......

Most of us are familiar with debugging complex applications on the algorithmic-plane (understand and fix issues in design) and the implementaion plane (understand and fix issues in implementation).

System level designers using a meta-model driven platform often have access to information like system traces which provide inputs that are not normally available - the system trace, which can include such things like messages being exchanged between components involving memory transactions, packets on a CAN bus, or a peripheral register being set.

This lev......

As model driven and meta-model driven design take hold, interesting paradigms for complex system design and verification are evolving. The line between modeling, design and verification is actually blurring.

As an example, when one builds an architectural model for a processor, the model can often be used for simulating the processor, for synthesizing the processor to RTL (often using a VHLS engine), for generating C/C++ tools as well as for automating verification by generating instruction sequences (test cases) and reference results.

Generally a particular t......

SysML or equivalent  modeling platforms will evolve during 2011, and VHLS Technology (Very High Level Synthesis) will start getting into the main stream.

Architectural modeling languages look at complex systems using a meta-model that consists of only 3 or 4 key meta-model elements,

Component Types - more specifically component types (ethernet usart processor..)

Components - Instances of Component Types

Relations - Relationships between Components in the System

Resources - Addressable resources within Components

The advantages of high level abstraction for......

A verification engineer often starts with the datasheet or specification of a device (in a language like English) and creates a set of test cases using a verification strategy to verify that the device conforms to the spec. The verification strategy is a set of guidelines that ensure that the test cases cover all of the test space to the required degree of completion.

Depending on the abstraction level at which a system is modeled, a system model captures the intended functionality and behavior of a system as well as a lot of "noise" or the implementation details.

The right abstrac......

Electronic and Embedded design is increasingly becoming complex. A model driven approach to design is one way to deal with this complexity by lifting the level of abstraction at which designers work. In fact modelling is an important aspect of ESL Design (Electronic or Embedded System Level).
A model is a specification of a device, processor or system that is being developed which has the look and feel of the final system (Example: prototype). It may also be a replica of an existing system used to analyse certain properties of the system.
Several kinds of modelling languages, frameworks and t......