ESL

By taking a pragmatic approach, the two technology giants have comfortably adopted high-level synthesis and verification - and have shared their experiences.

In both data centers and automobiles deep learning is taking hold. But it is a technique that challenges conventional microprocessors, leading system designers to look at alternative architectures for acceleration.

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the term Electronic System Level (ESL), introduced by Gary Smith in 1996. Where are we now? And how will developments this year push the frontiers of practical ESL design?

High-level synthesis provides a way to explore hardware architectures to come up with the most efficient implementation for a given situation. But it has taken time for verification techniques to catch up with the idea and ensure design and architecture match.

System-level power is the next frontier for a power-intent standard – or rather a collection of them – being developed by a partnership between Accellera, Si2 and the IEEE.

Emulation is now served by all three leading vendors and is a hot topic for discussion among engineers. The major verification conferences need to follow suit.

We are moving towards a "continuum of compute", ARM CEO Simon Segars said at CDNLive Silicon Valley, a trend that will reshape design.

Emulation and simulation acceleration technologies provide the means to more efficiently detect power issues before tapeout – and find the worst-case modes that need to be fixed.

While some HW/SW co-design and verification techniques are in place, a power analysis methodology is only just emerging

Continuing our series on high-level synthesis (HLS) for low power design. Part Two details how HLS helps you make and evaluate architectural decisions.