This thesis presents the ViPERS (Virtual Prototyping of Embedded Real-time Systems) virtual prototyping methodology. The concepts, the implementation, and the experiments presented in this thesis were developed at the University of Sussex (UoS) in the Centre for VLSI and Computer Graphics and were part of an EU funded project. ViPERS refers to a design methodology which links the graphical and interactive features of virtual prototyping techniques with key design trends for SoCs. System level design is a widely adopted approach to deal with the complexity, short time-to-market, and heterogeneous nature of today's electronic systems. The integration of virtual prototyping with the SystemC design methodology is proposed to deal with issues such as the modelling of the interfaces and the exploration of user-machine interaction which are becoming of vital importance in embedded handheld devices. An exploration of virtual prototyping and SOC design is illustrated in the thesis to provide an understanding of the objectives of the ViPERS methodology. The ViPERS approach is assisted by a framework which provides the necessary tools needed for the implementation and simulation of virtual prototypes in the different phases of the suggested design flow. After illustrating the ViPERS methodology and environment the focus of this thesis will be on the links provided within the ViPERS framework to allow communication between the graphical models and the underlying functional counterparts. A key contribution includes the development of a design flow for SoCs, with special focus on the communication infrastructure which enables the graphical and functional models to interact at simulation time. Another contribution in this thesis is the illustrative case study where interactive photorealistic models of electronic handheld devices are combined with their respective functional models implemented in SystemC and UML. The case study presents the design of an RF-based remote control for home automation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:414786 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Trignano, Vincenzo |
| Publisher | University of Sussex |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.0017 seconds