A co-synthesis approach to embedded system design automation

Embedded systems are targeted for speci c applications under constraints on relative timing of their actions. For such systems, use of predesigned reprogrammable components such as microprocessors provides an e ective way to reduce system cost by implementing part of the functionality as a program running on the processor. Dedicated hardware is often necessary to achieve requisite timing performance. Analysis of timing constraints is key to determination of an e cient hardware-software implementation. In this paper, we present a methodology to achieve embedded system realizations as co-synthesis of interacting hardware and software components. This co-synthesis is based on synthesis techniques for digital hardware and software compilation under constraints. We present operation-level timing constraints and develop the notion of satis ability of constraints by a given implementation. Constraint analysis is then used to de ne hardware and software portions of functionality. We describe algorithms and techniques used in developing a practical co-synthesis framework, Vulcan. Examples are presented to demonstrate the utility of our approach.