Specification and design of embedded hardware-software systems

Embedded-system specification and design consists of describing a system's desired functionality and mapping that functionality for implementation by a set of system components such as processors, ASICs, memories, and buses. This paper discusses the key problems of system specification and design, including specification capture, design exploration, hierarchical modeling, software and hardware synthesis, and cosimulation. The authors highlight existing tools and methods for solving those problems and describe a "specify-explore-refine" methodology for meeting today's embedded-system product development requirements.<>