ECE 4984: Introduction to Codesign

How will you select a microprocessor for your next embedded project? Would you develop software for the whole project or are there some parts that would be much more efficient when implemented in hardware?

Modern embedded systems are not just software or hardware, they're both. A smart designer is one that knows how to partition the system into a software and hardware components, using an architecture strategy that will optimize performance, power consumption, development time, and cost.

'Introduction to Codesign' looks at design problems that cross the boundaries of hardware and software. We'll explore design techniques and tricks for hardware/software codesign, helping you to address design problems such as the following.

• Accelerate software programs by adding hardware coprocessors,
• Partition systems into hardware and software,
• Translate functions from C to hardware and vice versa,
• Use simulators to find the system performance before building it,
• Create processors with custom instruction sets.

Instructor: Patrick Schaumont
Prerequisites: ECE 3504, ECE 3534. (3H, 3C)
Questions? Contact the instructor at schaum@vt.edu