CyberWorkBench: integrated design environment based on C-based behavior synthesis and verification

Welcome to the DATE 08 Conference Proceedings. DATE combines the world's favourite electronic systems design conference and Europe's leading international exhibition for electronic design, automation and test, from system level hardware and software implementation right down to integrated circuit design. The DATE 08 event features a technical program with 77 sessions covering the latest developments in system design and embedded software, IC design/test methodologies and EDA tools, together with an exhibition with the leading EDA, silicon and IP providers showing their new products and services. Challenges that you all face or soon will face in your daily practice are the increasing design complexity of highly integrated systems, the introduction of reconfigurability and embedded software, and the control of power and variability in nanometer IC designs. All these issues will be addressed in this year's DATE event. For the 11th successive year DATE has prepared an exciting technical programme, with the help of the more than 400 members of the Technical Programme Committee, who dedicated their time to thoroughly review the 839 submissions in 37 topics, ranging from system level down to circuit design and covering all the most relevant application domains. The submissions are organised in 4 major areas: D --- Design Methods, Tools, Algorithms and Languages A --- Application Design T --- Test Methods, Tools and Innovative Experiences E --- Embedded Software After a thorough review and selection process (with an average of 5 reviews per paper), finally 198 regular papers were selected for presentation at the conference. Additionally, there are 46 Interactive Presentations that are organised in 5 IP sessions. Together with the invited special sessions (panels, embedded tutorials and hot topic sessions), this has resulted in a high-quality technical program. The technical program provides a wide but high-quality coverage of design, design automation and test topics, from the system level to the integrated circuit level. Compared with previous years, submissions in the Embedded Software track has increased by 50%, showing a clear trend towards a comprehensive system design focus with integrated hardware and software solutions. DATE has established itself firmly as a true Electronic System Design Conference. This year the conference is held in Germany, at the ICM in Munich and spans an entire working week from Monday March 10 to Friday March 14. On Monday, eleven pre-conference tutorials will be given. The three-full day tutorials cover topics of great interest for system design. The first tutorial deals with techniques to automatically realising embedded system from high-level functional models. The second tutorial addresses the different issues related to communication based design and architectures in automotive electronic systems. The third tutorial discusses several key concepts on system-level design and application mapping for wireless and multimedia MPSoC architectures. Furthermore, eight half-day tutorials are also given, which cover a wide spectrum of topics on specification, modelling, design and test. The main conference opens on Tuesday March 11, with two very interesting and complementary keynote speeches. Dominique Vernay, Chief Technical Officer for Thales, will talk about the challenges of embedded systems design, and Giovanni de Micheli, Professor at EPFL, will present his views on designing micro/nano systems for a safer and healthier tomorrow. On the same day, the Executive Track offers a series of business panels with executives discussing hot topics in design: the perils of 45 nanometers, the changes in EDA strategies from IDM, to fablite to fabless, and embedded systems level design strategies. DATE 08 will again offer two specific days related to special themes. On Wednesday March 12, a special full-day track is devoted to Automotive Electronics---Software and Architecture. This special-day track will focus on the challenges faced by the automotive supply chain with particular attention to system and software architecture design. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of automotive architectures, including ECUs, sensors and communication standards and discusses how new methods, tools and standards for interoperability and component-based design can deal with the increasing complexity of software systems and their need for reliability and guaranteed timely behaviour. In addition, it addresses to what degree existing standards, including AUTOSAR and FLEXRAY and model-based development, can support the development of safety and time-critical software. On Thursday March 13, a second special full-day track focuses on Dependable Embedded Systems. This track will address both conceptual and applied issues for design, analysis and validation of dependable embedded systems. The utility of embedded systems and services is based, in large part, on our depending on their sustained functionality in spite of the encountered operational or malicious disruptions. As the number of transient and also permanent disruptions (given the decreasing device geometries, higher device density, lower voltage latching, faster clocks etc) is expected to increase substantially, this will not only be a key issue for the hardware community but also the systems community in general. Solutions using a combination of hardware and software might be more effective than hardware-only or software-only solutions. This track focuses on both conceptual and applied issues for design, analysis and validation of dependable embedded systems. Besides these special tracks, the main conference is organized in six parallel tracks of sessions, three devoted to design methods, tools, algorithms and languages, one to application design, one to test methods, tools and innovative experiences, and finally one to embedded software. The presentations of the selected regular papers in these parallel tracks are complemented by nine Special Sessions and two Invited Industrial Sessions. The special sessions are organized in the form of panels, hot topics, and embedded tutorials. The topics to be covered include quantitative evaluation for embedded systems design, design and manufacturing at 32 and 22nm, software for wireless networked embedded systems, test challenges for low power devices, quantitative productivity measurement in IC design, and 3D Integration. The two invited industrial sessions deal with industrial system designs in transportation and information technologies. To emphasise that DATE is the major event for the designers, DATE 08 features also invited sessions where Europe's famous consumer industry presents their best designs and design practices. Friday March 14 is the day for the DATE workshops. DATE 08 offers workshops on current and emerging important issues in design, test, EDA and software to complement the regular conference. They provide a unique opportunity for the various research and design communities to spend a day discussing the latest and the best, sharing their experiences and visions. This year's workshop program includes eight workshop themes. Four workshops are related to software engineering, ranging from dependable software to modelling, analysis and development tools. Four other workshop themes cover a variety of topics such as the impact of process variations on design and test, the merging world of Nano-Electro-Mechanical Systems, new directions in high level synthesis, and heterogeneous reconfigurable hardware. Each workshop features presentations, invited or submitted, from highly distinguished academic and industrial researchers. Finally, throughout the conference days, DATE offers a comprehensive overview of commercial design and verification tools in its large exhibition hall. Exhibitors include EDA vendors, silicon, FPGA and IP providers showing their new products and services. In addition, there is an Exhibition Theatre featuring talks from engineering managers of the leading electronic manufacturers on first-hand design experiences of commercial EDA tools. New this year is the European projects village where different European and large government funded projects will be able to show their ongoing research and results to the design community and have the opportunity for internal meetings and discussions. The DATE week will be also an opportunity for students and universities to show their research work, through the PhD Forum on Monday evening and the University Booth where hardware and software demonstrations will be shown by different universities on a rotation schedule. The DATE 08 event's program will be particularly attractive to industrial designers, at analog, IC, FPGA and embedded system level, as well as software designers, to researchers and academics as well as to design managers, and an increasing attendance is expected. We therefore invite you to take full advantage of the many opportunities offered to you by DATE 08, to extend your knowledge and/or business in electronic system's design and to exploit the abundant networking possibilities offered to socialise with colleagues, including fringe meetings and a memorable social party with bands and dancing. We hope that you will all enjoy the DATE 08 Conference and Exhibition.

This paper presents a formal approach to address the correctness of transformations in high-level synthesis. The novelty of the work is that a small set of properties that capture a general notion of refinement of control/data-flow graphs used in an industrial synthesis framework have been given, and the properties are independent of the underlying behaviour model. We have mechanized the specification and verification of several optimization and refinement transformations used in industrial hardware design. This work has enabled to find and rectify errors in the transformations. Further, the work has led to generalization of transformations typically used in high-level synthesis.

Despite the popularity of C-based High-Level Synthesis (HLS) tools, their generic input programming languages make it challenging for the designer to find the expression that will result in adequate hardware quality and performance. Moreover, the syntactic variance of the input description often causes the inability of the HLS tool to fully identify and benefit from the properties of the computations. In this work, we propose extending standard C-based HLS tools with the concept of computational patterns. In particular, we present a template-based hardware generation strategy which enables complete exploitation of the pattern properties to produce high-quality hardware modules. The parametric templates allow us to automatically scale the implementation to the resource and data-bandwidth constraints of the target device, independent from the analysis abilities of the HLS tool. To demonstrate the benefits of our approach, we generated hardware implementations for six applications which we composed using a set of computational patterns (i.e. map, zip and reduce), achieving 1.3× to 2.8× speed-up over a state-of-the-art commercial HLS tool.

The design of joints between parts is one of the most critical issues in the design of sheet metal assemblies. This paper presents a new part-to-part joint design evaluation index developed for dimensional control of sheet metal assemblies. The proposed index provides a new analytical tool to address the dimensional capabilities of an assembly process in the early product design stage. It covers the three basic types of joints, which encompass the whole domain of joints used in sheet metal assembly. The part-to-part interactions for each type of joint are studied, and an analytical model is provided. Two evaluation indices, (1) product joint design evaluation and (2) critical part determination, are developed. The developed methodology is demonstrated using two industrial design examples of sport-utility automotive bodies.

An expert system for machine screws selection in engineering design

An interactive graphical program is described, which uses an object oriented approach for developing conceptual designs. The program is written in the C programming language and designed on a UNIX operating system. It starts with the specifications list, develops function structures and searches for solutions, for systems with mechanical, electrical/electronic, fluid and other components. It can be used for developing new and improving existing devices, systems and processes. Applications include any designs which can be described in terms of interconnected functional blocks with definable input and output parameters. By running the system, the variety of functional blocks can be tested to determine the optimal solution based on the given specifications. Designers will benefit from the pictorial representation; data-based functional and connective representation; and the generation and evaluation of concept variants. The use of the program is illustrated by an industrial design example.

At the Intersection of Art and Design (1957) Shuzo Takiguchi Translated by Álex Bueno Design (dezain) and so-called art (bijutsu 美術) are most often thought of as clearly distinct areas of specialization, and exist and are treated in this way. Certainly, even looking at the poster as one example of graphic design, the work is a completely different thing from that of the painter's tableau and uses new materials and technology for new purposes, and it is therein that design draws a distinction. What is more, in some sectors, industrial designers (kōgyō dezainā) may appear to be doing work along the same lines as conventional craftsmen (kōgeika), but if one considers the design of automobiles and the like, it should be clear to anyone that it connects with a technological domain of an entirely different nature. Further, it can be said that the standing of design and the designers of our nation has finally reached an established level in the last ten years. It has been argued how design is to be differentiated from arts and crafts (bijutsu kōgei) and how important the inevitable development from the hand to mechanical technology is, along with the pioneering of new aesthetic sensibilities that accompany it. Whether design will continue to go through various complications and revisions, the larger direction it will take in form and function is not likely to be mistaken. However, because reality functions by presenting various complex conditions, it is doubtful whether the term "design" has in fact been generally accepted. For instance, the relationship between conventional craft (kōgei) and industrial design (kōgyō dezain) is practically one of indifference. Craft (shukōgei) itself must still play an important role in our society, but how do we orient it in the right direction? It is also necessary to relocate that which is true within tradition from a new angle. The majority of the foolishness of the field of arts and crafts is the foolishness of the mechanism from which it was created. To forget this and leave a new design to stand on its own would simply turn it into a product of industrialism, which could eventually be manipulated by machines. [End Page 31] The development of graphic design certainly has something revolutionary in it. Yet too exists the vast world of paintings, prints, and such. In this world, individual expression is the standard, a great number of experiments are taking place. Also in painting are movements aiming for sociality or collectivity. The reality of today's world, however, is that what occurs in painting does not necessarily completely match the sociality or collectivity of design. It is true that in the world of painting there also exist mechanisms that are no less foolish than those in the world of arts and crafts. However, these artists are constantly engaging in experiments and taking risks. What is the relation between their world and graphic design? While the categories of the two worlds differ, this does not mean they are different "worlds." In particular, because the word "design" is a foreign loanword, is not design in Japan generally thought of as a separate, distant world? Is the danger not at all seen that it may just run off in whatever direction it starts off in? The year before last, the exhibition 50 ans d'art aux Etats-Unis: Collections du Museum of Modern Art New York was held in Paris at the Musée d'Art moderne, and in its catalogue is a section called "Les arts appliqués" with "industrial design" in parentheses, which made me think "Oh!" It appears this sort of old-fashioned term is no longer used in England or America in the design world. This catalogue translates "designer" for Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen and others as dessinateur. This linguistic sensibility suggests we would be called "patternmakers" if not "draftsmen of pictures." Apparently the term Arts et Metiers, which corresponds to "arts and crafts" that the English design movement has decried, is still in use.1 While the conservative side of France can certainly be seen in this, it does not necessarily mean that this inhibits good French designers...

The use of abstract data types for high-level synthesis is addressed. It is demonstrated how data types can be used in the synthesis process to achieve reductions in area and delay of the logic level implementation. Four fundamental type constructs-structures, unions, vectors, and enumerations-are considered. Data types and functions on their values are extended to support don't care information. Supporting abstract data types in behavioral representations is addressed for both an internal data-flow representation and the ELLA hardware description language. Finally, synthesis results for several design examples are presented. Smaller and faster implementations are obtained by supporting encoding and don't care minimization in the high-level synthesis process. >

Cellular neural network (CNN) implementations used in real time image processing are rapidly generated by a formal High-level synthesis (HLS) toolset in this work. Industrial and academic hardware design projects can benefit from the use of the Custom Coprocessors Compilation (CCC) HLS behavioral synthesise, via the massive reduction in design and verification time. The CCC tool is built with formal compiler-compiler, Logic Programming and XML validation techniques, thus the generated RTL VHDL or Verilog models are provably-correct. In this work, we rapidly modeled CNNs in the ADA programming language, compiled and verified along with all the necessary testbenches in GNU ADA. Edge-detection, halftoning and morphological processing applications were prototyped, so as to evaluate the CCC HLS method, which was the main contribution of this work. The combination of Logic Programming and RDF validation techniques, as well as prototyping of CNN applications made this work unique.

Embedded systems used in real-time applications require low power, less area and high computation speed. For digital signal processing, image processing and communication applications, data are often received at a continuously high rate. The type of necessary arithmetic functions and matrix operations may vary greatly among different applications. The RTL-based design and verification of one or more of these functions could be time-consuming. Some High Level Synthesis tools reduce this design and verification time but may not be optimal or suitable for low power applications. The design tool proposed in this paper can improve the design time and reduce the verification process. The design tool offers a fast design and verification platform for important matrix operations. These operations range from simple addition to more complex matrix operations such as LU and QR factorizations. The proposed platform can improve design time by reducing verification cycle. This tool generates Verilog code and its testbench that can be realized in FPGA and VLSI systems. The designed system uses MATLAB-based verification and reporting.

We hypothesize that by providing decision support for designers in industry we can speed up the design process and facilitate the creation of quality cost-effective designs. One of the challenges in providing design decision support is that the decision workflows embody various degrees of complexity due to the inherent complexity embodied in engineering systems. To tackle this, we propose a Knowledge-Based Platform for Decision Support in the Design of Engineering Systems (PDSIDES). PDSIDES is built on our earlier work that is anchored in modeling decision-related knowledge with templates using ontology to facilitate execution and reuse. In this paper, we extend the ontological decision templates to a computational platform that provides knowledge-based decision support for three types of users, namely, Template Creators, Template Editors, and Template Implementers, in original design, adaptive design, and variant design respectively. The efficacy of PDSIDES is demonstrated using a Hot Rod Rolling System (HRRS) design example.

This paper proposes an enhanced scheduling approach for high-level synthesis, which relies on a multi-cycle behavioral timing analysis step that is performed before and during scheduling. The goal of this analysis is to accurately evaluate the criticality of operations and determine the most suitable candidate resources to implement them. The efficiency of the approach is confirmed by testing it on industrial examples, where it achieves, on average, 9% area savings after logic synthesis.

SUMMARY Two different kinds of information, i.e. qualitative and quantitative, are currently involved in the implementation of an engineering design. However, qualitative information has always been excluded from the numerical design optimization process, so that the solution obtained was actually suboptimal. A qualitative programming method for the design decision-making problem is described in the present paper, making use of qualitative information which has been obtained during the conceptual design stage of engineering design. Qualitative information as well as incomplete information could be considered during the design process by applying the qualitative programming method. Two engineering design examples, i.e. structural design and industrial design, are demonstrated to illustrate the application capability of the proposed approach.

In most studies of bridging between informal specifications, formal specifications are transformed from informal specifications after completion of specification of the whole system. Most of these formal specifications are used for rigorous study of the system in question, consistency checking, verification of behavior or support system synthesis. During the process of system specification, the strength of formal and informal methods are not complementing to each other. We identified a new specification approach which makes formal methods and informal methods complement each other to a greater extent. This new method interweaves formal methods with informal methods. We find out that this method leads to better quality of specifications, facilitate better changes management and maintenance. This is particular useful during initial specification of systems which is the first stage of specifying informal world in some formal languages. We report our preliminary findings of this novel approach in this paper and exemplify our approach with an example in JSD and CSP.

Anthropometry is systemic, quantitative representation of human body. Anthropometry is a Latin word. Anthropos means human and metry means measurement. Anthropometry is the study of the measurement of the human body in terms of the dimensions of bone, muscle, and adipose (fat) tissue. Anthropometry was first used in 19th and early 20th century in criminalities to identify criminals. Now it has wide application in the field of medicine, space programming and archeology. Anthropometry plays an important role in industrial design, clothing, design, ergonomics and architecture where statistical data about the distribution of body dimensions in the population are used to optimize products. Changes in life styles, nutrition and ethnic composition of populations lead to changes in the distribution of body dimensions (e.g. the obesity epidemic), and require regular updating of anthropometric data collections. In ancient Anthropometry the overall measurements were done in Swa-Angula Pramana. Our Seers explained the concept of Swa-Angula Pramana. It can be ideal parameter irrespective of sex, race and place. The growth of the body varies indifferent ages and gets ceased after a particular stage, though the average measurement of the body is fixed by random study, the variation of measurement in growing age may take place. If we see the development of modern Anthropometry it helps in various fields of Science, Art and Business, but the concepts of Ayurveda are unique as on the basis of these Pramana one can know not only about the prognosis diagnosis of diseases but also about the longevity of an individual. So it is necessary to explore the concept of Anthropometry practiced in ancient era as Pramana Sharir and its utility in clinical, Para clinical and surgical fields