Automatic Test Generation for Electronic Design Automation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current design verification processes in electronic design automation are inefficient due to the need for human intervention, which is costly and time-consuming, and lack generalizable tools for verifying a wide variety of devices and device architectures, often requiring significant effort to prepare and implement verification methods for each new device.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for automatically generating test programs based on generalized scenarios, allowing users to provide guidance for test generation rather than creating complete test programs, which includes a two-stage process for generating code and test instances, utilizing hardware description languages and object-oriented programming to create and combine scenarios, sequences, and constraints for effective test program creation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual test program creation is used, then test verification accuracy is improved, but development time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic test program generation where the computer automatically creates test programs based on device specifications and test requirements, eliminating the need for manual programming while maintaining verification accuracy through automated constraint satisfaction and scenario generation
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an automated test generation system that acts as an intermediary between device specifications and test execution, using intermediate representations and constraint-based algorithms to translate high-level requirements into executable test programs without manual intervention
2Measurement precision
If device-specific verification methods are used, then verification accuracy for particular devices is improved, but adaptability to new devices decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a universal test generation framework that can handle multiple device types and architectures through parameterized device models and generic test scenarios, allowing the same system to adapt to new devices by loading different specifications without requiring device-specific verification methodologies
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses parameterized device specifications and configurable test constraints that can be adjusted for different devices, enabling the verification system to adapt to various device types by changing parameters rather than requiring fundamentally different verification approaches for each device
3Reliability
If complete test programs are manually created, then test coverage is improved, but human resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system generates comprehensive test programs by automatically analyzing device specifications, identifying test requirements, and creating complete test scenarios without human intervention, achieving thorough test coverage while eliminating the need for manual test program creation expertise
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical process of manual test program creation with an automated computational system that uses algorithms to generate test programs, substituting human intellectual labor with automated software that can produce comprehensive tests at scale
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for generalized scenarios, for automatically generating tests. The tests are generated from some underlying structure, such as one or more scenarios. The scenarios preferably include a plurality of constraints for generating a test program for generating input values to the test generation process. The scenarios provide a more generalized method for generating tests.