Embedded Computing: New Directions in Architecture and Automation

embedded computing, special-purpose architectures, customization, custom architectures, off-theshelf customizable systems, FPGA, automation, architecture synthesis, hardwaresoftware co-design, processor-compiler codesign, frameworks, constructors, constructors, design space exploration, PICO, system synthesis, VLIW synthesis, nonprogrammable accelerator synthesis, cache hierarchy synthesis With the advent of system level integration (SLI) and system-on-chip (SOC), the center of gravity of the computer industry is moving from personal computing into embedded computing. The resulting upheaval is only just beginning to be widely appreciated. The opportunities, needs and constraints of this next generation of computing are somewhat different from those to which we have got accustomed in general-purpose computing. In turn, we believe that this will lead to significantly different computer architectures, at both the system and the processor levels, and a rich diversity of off-the-shelf and custom designs. Furthermore, we predict that embedded computing will introduce a new theme into computer architecture: automation of computer architecture. In this report, we elaborate on these claims and provide, as an example, an overview of PICO, the architecture synthesis system that the authors and their colleagues have been developing over the past five years.