Reengineering Legacy Embedded Systems
Systems that require reengineering are a fact of life in both the commercial and military arenas. The authors have developed a systematic methodology based on virtual prototyping, with accompanying tools and libraries, for rapidly upgrading electronic systems.
Virtual prototyping of embedded microcontroller-based DSP systems
We propose a hardware-software codesign process based on a design methodology called virtual prototyping. With this process, we integrate VHDL models of hardware components with application, control and diagnostic software to rapidly prototype complex, multiboard, embedded microcontroller-based DSP systems. In the virtual prototyping of a demonstration avionics system, in collaboration with Lockheed Sanders, Hughes, and Motorola RASSP teams, we reduced hardware-software integration and system test times from the typical industry figure of 10-24 months to less than a month. >
Autocoding: an enabling technology for rapid prototyping
Autocoding technology offers design aids and automatic code generation that reduce the cost of embedded signal processor design and eliminate hand code generation. This technology may be exploited in iterative design strategies that more closely couple prototyping and system development. Prototype designs may be rapidly generated and evaluated within the context of a design optimization strategy. Automated generation of production code from top level designs reduces software development costs. The productivity enhancements autocoding technology provides enables signal processor codesign iteration within practical program budgets. This paper describes the autocoding technology being developed by Management Communications and Control, Inc. (MCCI) and illustrates its use in an approach to software design optimization for an embedded signal processor target architecture.