Leveraging virtual hardware platforms for embedded software validation
By Bill Neifert, Carbon Design Systems
Embedded.com (06/16/08, 12:00:00 PM EDT)
A hybrid approach to configuring a virtual hardware platform enables developers to explore all facets of the system long before it's built.
The increasing pressure on software-development schedules for embedded systems has driven many companies to adopt system prototyping strategies. Typically, these prototypes are built from real hardware either as a number of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) on a custom-built board or a pre-built solution such as a hardware emulator.
These hardware-based solutions suffer from a number of limitations, however. High cost, low debugability, and difficult-to-replicate corner cases all combine to limit the overall value of a physical prototype.
A new generation of prototypes is arriving to address these limitations and give software designers even earlier access to a development platform. Virtual hardware prototypes help pull software design earlier in the system schedule and cost less than their hardware equivalents. This article, the first in a two-part series, will discuss the merits of various virtual prototyping approaches. The follow-up article will include a case study that walks you through a virtual prototype's construction and use.
Embedded.com (06/16/08, 12:00:00 PM EDT)
A hybrid approach to configuring a virtual hardware platform enables developers to explore all facets of the system long before it's built.
The increasing pressure on software-development schedules for embedded systems has driven many companies to adopt system prototyping strategies. Typically, these prototypes are built from real hardware either as a number of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) on a custom-built board or a pre-built solution such as a hardware emulator.
These hardware-based solutions suffer from a number of limitations, however. High cost, low debugability, and difficult-to-replicate corner cases all combine to limit the overall value of a physical prototype.
A new generation of prototypes is arriving to address these limitations and give software designers even earlier access to a development platform. Virtual hardware prototypes help pull software design earlier in the system schedule and cost less than their hardware equivalents. This article, the first in a two-part series, will discuss the merits of various virtual prototyping approaches. The follow-up article will include a case study that walks you through a virtual prototype's construction and use.
To read the full article, click here
Related Semiconductor IP
- LPDDR6/5X/5 PHY V2 - Intel 18A-P
- ML-KEM Key Encapsulation & ML-DSA Digital Signature Engine
- MIPI SoundWire I3S Peripheral IP
- ML-DSA Digital Signature Engine
- P1619 / 802.1ae (MACSec) GCM/XTS/CBC-AES Core
Related Articles
- Improving Software Driver Development and Hardware Verification Productivity using Virtual Platforms
- Fast virtual platforms open up multicore software development
- Virtual Prototyping Environment for Multi-core SoC Hardware and Software Development
- Leveraging Virtual Platforms for Embedded Software Validation: Part 2
Latest Articles
- FPGA-Accelerated RISC-V ISA Extensions for Efficient Neural Network Inference on Edge Devices
- MultiVic: A Time-Predictable RISC-V Multi-Core Processor Optimized for Neural Network Inference
- AnaFlow: Agentic LLM-based Workflow for Reasoning-Driven Explainable and Sample-Efficient Analog Circuit Sizing
- FeNN-DMA: A RISC-V SoC for SNN acceleration
- Multimodal Chip Physical Design Engineer Assistant