category: System-Level Design

category: Auto, Security & Edge AI

Can SaaS Really Make Chip Design Easier?
By Cheryl Ajluni - 17 Dec, 2008 - Comments: 0

By Cheryl Ajluni Software as a Service (SaaS) is not a technology. It is a software deployment business model where an application is hosted as a service that is provided to customers across the Internet. Thanks to success stories from companies like Google, Salesforce.com, WebEx, and TurboTax, among others, this business model has become quite popular and is now even being looked at by some E... » read more

What Happens When Ecosystems Stumble?
By Ed Sperling - 05 Dec, 2008 - Comments: 0

Economics and design generally are one step removed from each other, but the compression effect of the current design process, combined with extremely low stock prices and a shortage of hard cash are pushing these areas together like never before.   This is new ground, so the ultimate result is somewhat speculative. But given all the factors at play, it appears this downturn coupled with c... » read more

Houston…We Have A System-Level Problem
By Ed Sperling - 04 Dec, 2008 - Comments: 0

[youtube vid=iZ61OU12TNU] Just imagine what happens when the guidance system on the International Space Station goes on the fritz and the entire lab begins doing somersaults through outer space. Then the solar panels no longer work and the communication system fails, and suddenly you understand how serious system-level design problems can become. Ret. Capt. Daniel Bursch recounts the inciden... » read more

Vectors of Change
By Ed Sperling - 03 Dec, 2008 - Comments: 0

Downturns have a way of changing things forever—sort of like the earthquake of 1812, which permanently re-routed the Mississippi River in three places. And while the common thinking is that things will go back to where they were before, they never do.   For one thing, the trend isn’t just smaller, faster, cheaper. It’s also shorter development cycles. Incredibly complex chips now tak... » read more

What’s That Echo?
By Ed Sperling - 20 Nov, 2008 - Comments: 0

Multicore chips are one piece of the solution to creating chips at advanced process nodes, but they aren’t the whole solution. Don’t take my word for it. The powers that be—very large chip makers with big development budgets—are fretting over the future of multicore programming. The question being whispered is, ‘If it doesn’t work, what then?’ That’s a many-billion-dollar ‘i... » read more

SOI Goes Mainstream
By Ed Sperling - 20 Nov, 2008 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling The crossover for system on insulator (SOI) versus bulk CMOS was supposed to happen at the 22nm, but that was before software developers ran into problems programming multicore chips. For years, SOI was considered the high-performance cousin of CMOS—more expensive, more difficult to manufacture and unnecessary for most applications. It is the heart of the Cell processor, ... » read more

Better Ways to Connect IP
By Ed Sperling - 20 Nov, 2008 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling Re-usable intellectual property may sound great on paper, but actually getting pieces to be as interchangeable as Lego parts and automatically configuring them to work in a system on a chip requires more than technology. It requires a leap of faith on the part of chip engineers, and that doesn’t happen overnight. The first step toward providing the tools was creation of the ... » read more

Lead or Follow?
By Ed Sperling - 13 Nov, 2008 - Comments: 0

Like it or not, governments are going to be dictating energy policies in the very near future.   The scenario will start unfolding at the data center, make its way down to the device level, and ultimately land at the system level. At the chip design level, the situation will be particularly bad. For one thing, communication from the top never makes its way all the way down the food chain w... » read more

Why Some Tools Stick Around
By Ed Sperling - 06 Nov, 2008 - Comments: 0

Getting people to change tools or developing environments is like pulling teeth out of a sleeping crocodile. It’s difficult in the best of circumstances, and dangerous at worst.   The problem seems to be one of stubborn attachment coupled with an investment in training that most companies are unwilling to write off. We’ve seen this problem before, and it’s tough to make it go away. ... » read more

Special Report: Semiconductor Road Map Survey
By Ed Sperling - 06 Nov, 2008 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling The upcoming semiconductor industry road map, which sets up the industry’s strategy and identifies trends for the next 15 years, is filled with three very interesting shifts and gaps. The road map, which will be formally unveiled next month, consists of findings gleaned from all the top chip companies. Juan-Antonio Carballo, a partner at IBM Venture Capital Group who spea... » read more

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