Design for reuse

The "Golden Age" of electronics is upon us. Traditional technologies such as computers, telecommunications and networking are fast converging into a set of consumer-electronic applications. What is emerging are consumer products-Internet appliances, set-top-boxes, wireless communications, toys and portable "everything". These products demand shorter product cycles, increased functionality and lower cost with every new release. They also tend to have very small "market windows". The electronics industry is faced with an enormous challenge of coming up with a solution to this problem. Continuing at the current rate of technology and EDA tools advancement will inevitably result in failure. There needs to be a new approach. This paper describes a new design paradigm based on "design reuse" as the pivotal element.