Strategies for the integration of hardware and software IP components in embedded systems-on-chip

This paper presents an innovative taxonomy for the classification of different strategies for the integration of IP components. The taxonomy defines three main approaches, which can apply both to hardware and software components: standard-based design, communication synthesis, and IP derivation. The proposed taxonomy helps the understanding of current problems in embedded systems design and their associated proposed solutions. From the software side, the proposed classification considers all layers: application software, OS, and device drivers. The taxonomy is based on the separation between computation and communication of the components and shows alternatives for adapting both of these aspects of an IP component to be integrated into a SoC. The present paper also identifies open issues and possible future research directions in the design of embedded systems. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.