Introduction
People Research
themes: Embedded Systems
Hybrid Systems
Deep Submicron
Logic Synthesis
Other links:
EE249
CHESS
GSRC
BWRC
|
Semantic Foundations for Heterogeneous Systems
Roberto
Passerone,
University of California at Berkeley
Jerry R. Burch, Cadence Berkeley Laboratories
Alberto L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, University of California at Berkeley
System level designs often include a wide range of hardware and software
components (e.g. control logic, data paths, sensors, actuators, drivers,
data-flow engines). Such different components can be most naturally formalized
using different models of computation (MoCs). Heterogeneous systems are those
systems that are best described with two or more different MoCs.
Typically, a formal methodology is only applicable to a particular MoC. The
objective of this research is to develop semantic foundations that can be
applied to the verification, analysis and synthesis of heterogeneous systems
involving an unlimited number of MoCs. Traditional methodologies that address
this problem often rely on ad hoc methods that a) make it difficult to insure
that errors are not introduced during the design process, and b) are not
easily transferred from one design to another, making it difficult to reuse
components. To that end, we are developing a mathematical framework [1] that
supports a very large number of MoCs. This framework is too general for there
to be a practical super MoC that unifies all the supported MoCs. However,
unifying MoCs can be constructed for particular classes of MoCs on an as
needed basis. The interaction of different system components in different MoCs
can be formalized by mapping the components into a unifying MoC that is
detailed enough to model the relevant properties of both original MoCs. These
techniques can also be used to unify different MoCs used to model the same
component during different stages of the design-by-refinement process. A
common mathematical foundation would ease the IP integration task. Because we
address the problems of models at different levels of abstraction, this
approach enables the integration of IPs from the mask level up to the
conceptual level, a much needed technology for early exploration in system
level design.
Currently, we are focusing the research on the application of the framework to
the problem of embedded system design, with particular attention to modeling
software components that interact with a physical environment [2]. As part of
the Metropolis project, this research will provide the basic semantic notions
in the Metropolis intermediate representation.
Publications:
J. R. Burch, R. Passerone, A. L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli. Overcoming
Heterophobia: Modeling Concurrency in Heterogeneous Systems, in Proceedings of
the Second International Conference on Application of Concurrency to System
Design, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, June 25-29, 2001.
J. R. Burch, R. Passerone, A. L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli. Using Multiple
Levels of Abstraction in Embedded Software Design, in Proceedings of the First
International Workshop on Embedded Software, Tahoe City, California, October
8-10, 2001.
Notice:
This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and
technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by
other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to
adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright.
|