UML-Executable Functional Models of electronic systems in the VIPERS Virtual Prototyping Methodology

This paper presents the use of UML-Executable Functional Models (UMLEFM) in the context of the ViPERS virtual prototyping methodology [tikyaLister et al., 2004a, Lister et al., 2004b] for System-on-Chip design. The concepts, the implementation and the experiments presented in this paper were developed at the University of Sussex (UoS) in the Centre of VLSI and Computer Graphics as part of an EU project [VIPERS]. The ViPERS methodology and its employment of the executable functional models have been developed to face the contemporary challenges of System-On-Chips by integrating key design methodologies with the graphical and interactive features of virtual prototyping. The fast evolution in silicon technology and its consequences on the market of hand held electronic products, is making the adoption of new design methodologies mandatory, with modern techniques for the design, development and manufacturing of consumer electronics. Executable functional models provide a means to simulate the target device in different phases of the design flow and analyse its requirements (behaviours, interfaces, etc), architecture (HW/SW partitioning) and finally its digital implementation. A key contribution includes the combination of an interactive 2D photorealistic model with its functional executable model implemented as a UML state machine; the experiment is applied to an RF home-based remote control used to control a cooking stack.