Versat, a Minimal Coarse-Grain Reconfigurable Array

This paper introduces Versat, a minimal Coarse-Grain Reconfigurable Array (CGRA) used as a hardware accelerator to optimize performance and power in a heterogeneous system. Compared to other works, Versat features a smaller number of functional units and a simpler controller. This stems from the observation that competitive acceleration can be achieved with a smaller array and more frequent reconfigurations. Partial reconfiguration plays a central role in Versat’s runtime reconfiguration scheme. Results on core area, frequency, power and performance are presented and compared to other implementations.