Back-Annotation Tool for Hardware Model Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
In model-based design for hardware systems, it is challenging for designers to optimize and balance metrics like performance, area, and energy usage due to the difficulty in relating low-level characterization data to high-level source models, especially in large systems where tracing back information manually is cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a back-annotation process that automatically annotates high-level models with information from target characterization data, providing critical path and other relevant details, allowing designers to make informed modifications and optimize design goals without manually tracing low-level effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If designers manually trace low-level characterization data back to high-level source models, then they can understand system metrics, but the process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming in large systems
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes and maintains mapping relationships between high-level model elements and low-level characterization data during the initial model creation and code generation phases. This preliminary action enables designers to access traceability information immediately without manual tracing, resolving the contradiction by preparing the traceability infrastructure in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediate mapping layer that connects high-level source models with low-level characterization data. This intermediary structure automatically maintains correspondence relationships, allowing designers to query system metrics and trace them back to source elements without manual intervention, thus eliminating time loss while preserving information traceability.
2Ease of operation
If designers work with high-level source models, then they can maintain system overview, but they cannot easily optimize performance, area, and energy metrics without manual tracing
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automatic feedback loops where characterization data from low-level synthesis is mapped back to high-level model elements. This feedback mechanism provides designers with precise metric information (performance, area, energy) directly associated with high-level blocks, enabling informed optimization decisions without manual tracing while maintaining ease of operation at the high-level interface.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediate mapping structure serves as a mediator between high-level design operations and low-level metric measurements. This mediator automatically translates high-level model element references into corresponding characterization data, providing precise metric information to designers working at the high-level interface without requiring them to manually trace to low-level implementations.
3Manufacturing precision
If the system provides detailed low-level characterization data, then optimization precision improves, but the complexity of relating this data to high-level models increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex mapping relationship into hierarchical layers: high-level model elements, intermediate mapping relationships, and low-level characterization data. This segmentation allows precise metric information to be maintained at the low-level while presenting simplified, organized data at the high-level interface, reducing the perceived complexity for designers without sacrificing optimization precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate mapping layer acts as a complexity-reducing intermediary that automatically manages the relationships between detailed low-level characterization data and high-level model elements. This mediator handles the complex data relationships in the background, providing designers with precise optimization information through a simplified high-level interface, thus maintaining precision while reducing apparent complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for facilitating system design includes a back-annotation tool that annotates a model of a hardware system with information derived from results of synthesizing the model to the target hardware description. The derived information may include timing information, information about area usage, power consumption, etc. The derived information may be displayed in conjunction with the model in a modeling environment.