Efficient reconfiguration of processing modules on FPGAs for space instruments

We consider optimization techniques for a problem that requires a valid scheduling and allocation of tasks on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). A concrete application on a scientific space instrument arises in the context of ESA's Solar Orbiter mission; making use of dynamic reconfiguration allows a good and flexible use of resources, but the resulting packing and scheduling problems in the presence of inhomogeneous allocation resources are quite challenging. In our scenario, modules are described by three parameters: their resource demands for different types of resources, their priority, and their clock frequency. These are to be allocated on an FPGA that provides a number of different resources that are available at specific locations. We first present an Integer Program that partitions the tasks in such a way that all constraints can be met and the reconfiguration overhead is minimized, and then give methods for allocating the processing modules of the partitioned tasks on the FPGA. We evaluate our methods on a real application of the Solar Orbiter PHI instrument. The results obtained indicate computational efficiency and a remarkable solution quality.