Virtual prototypes for software-dominated communication system designs

Over the last decade, a new reality has set in for the semiconductor industry. In a variety of application domains like wireless, multimedia, networking, and automotive, it has become more and more difficult to provide silicon solutions without the associated software executing on the hardware. Not only has software become the key functional differentiator in many areas; its development cycle now determines the overall project success. Market research firm International Business Strategies, Inc. claims that today at 90 nm the typical overall SoC-related development effort for software has already surpassed the effort for hardware. For 45 nm designs in the year 2011, IBS projects that less than 40 percent of the overall development efforts will be spent on hardware. Given the ever growing levels of complexity, traditional approaches to developing embedded software are failing to meet the challenge; a new era of software development has begun in which the majority of embedded software is developed with virtual prototypes, in contrast to traditional software development on hardware boards.