An automated approach to HW/SW-codesign (Hardware/software partitioning)

Embedded system design faces the HW/SW-partitioning problem. This is often solved by explicit designer decisions. We describe a partitioning method based on design specification analysis. Static and dynamic aspects influence the overall time behavior and are examined during two analysis phases. Each phase evaluates a cost function and classifies the suitability of the regarded partition for HW-implementation. Furthermore costs of the HW/SW-interface are taken into account because this overhead may not be neglected. The analysis method is demonstrated by several benchmarks and reasonable results are pointed out. It has also been pointed out that the efficiency of embedded systems is dramatically influenced by the interface between HW- and SW. We developed a pipelined interface using the features of the target architecture. The interface allows handling of multiple HW-components and parameter transfer is quick and flexible.