EU researchers create embedded system modelling framework
1 min read
A European consortium has created a new embedded system modelling framework that lets designers strike the best balance between static, reconfigurable and analogue hardware and the software that runs on it.
The EU funded ANDRES project set out to find ways to help designers of embedded systems strike the best balance between the four domains as well as to make reconfigurable hardware easier to use.
The answer is a design process that allows the designer to work up an idea from an initial concept to a physical system. It includes a modelling language and a design tool called FOSSY, which helps with reconfigurable hardware.
"At the core of this ANDRES framework is a modelling language plus component libraries that enable the designer to describe these integrated systems containing hardware, software and analogue components," says Frank Oppenheimer, the project coordinator. "That means you can focus on the application, not the technologies."
Within the framework, the designer can simulate the proposed system to see how it works and try out modifications before specifying how it will be implemented. The language is an extension of SystemC, which means the ANDRES framework can be used with existing SystemC simulators.
According to ICT Reports, a spin off company will be created to market design services using the project's FOSSY synthesis tool for reconfigurable hardware. Currently seeking start up support, the company is expected to be launched in 2010.
