| The platform-centric SoC method is aimed at the design of today’s SoC systems with emphasis on real-time, embedded systems. The approach provides a guideline and an SoC design environment that promotes an integration of state-of-the-art tools and techniques necessary for the development of the systems. It renders a new and better perspective towards co-design approaches, while also raising a level of design abstraction. Because the configurable platform objects are designed off-cycle, they contribute to a general improvement in development time. By incorporating their usage, the overall method strikes a balance between total design flexibility and minimal time-to-market.
The book proposes a new methodology for realizing platform-centric design of complex systems, and presents a detailed plan for its implementation. The proposed plan allows component vendors, system integrators and product developers to collaborate effectively and efficiently to create complex products within budget and schedule constraints. This book focuses more on the use of platforms in the design of products, and not on the design of platforms themselves.
Platform-centric design is not for everyone, as some may feel that it does not allow them to differentiate their offering from competitors to a significant degree. However, its proponents may claim that the time-tomarket and cost advantages of platform-centric design more than compensate for any drawbacks.
We are grateful to the faculty, students, and industry partners, participating in the State of Georgia’s Yamacraw Embedded Software Research Program at the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC) of Georgia Institute of Technology for their support of our research in the past four years. We also thank professors Roger Webb, Nikil Jayant, Rao Tummala, Ron Schafer, Joy Laskar, and Herb Lehman at Georgia Tech, and Venu Dasigi of Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU) for their encouragement and support. |
