Wireless integrated sensor networks are a new class of embedded computer systems which have been made possible mainly by the recent advances in the micro and the nano technology. In order to efficiently utilize the limited resources available on a sensor node, we need to optimize its key design parameters which is only possible by making system-level design decisions about its hardware and software (operating system and applications) architecture. In this paper, we present the design of a sensor node development platform in relation to an application of wireless integrated sensor networks for sow monitoring. We also discuss the related hardware/software codesign tradeoffs.

Designing complex heterogeneous multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC) requires support for modeling and analysis of the different layers i.e. application, operating system (OS) and platform architecture. This paper presents an abstract system-level modeling framework, called ARTS, to support the MPSoC designers in modeling the different layers and understanding their causalities. While others have developed tools for static analysis and modeled limited correlations (processor-memory or processor-communication), our model captures the impact of dynamic and unpredictable OS behavior on processor, memory and communication performance. In particular, we focus on analyzing the impact of application mapping on the processor and memory utilization taking the on-chip communication latency into account. A case-study of a real-time multimedia application consisting of 114 tasks on a 6-processor platform for a hand-held terminal shows our frameworks co-exploration capabilities.

With the increasing number of transistors available on a single chip, the system-on-chip (SoC) paradigm has evolved to exploit its full potential. As many processors can be accommodated on a single chip, this paradigm has forced a communication-centric, as opposed to a computation-centric, design view. Thus, the choice, management and modeling of the SoC interconnect is essential for an accurate evaluation and optimization of the global performance of a system. Recently, the notion of network-on-chip (NoC) has been introduced as a way to extend the classical bus-based interconnection, which is still the dominant interconnect structure for SoCs, into a dedicated, segmented and, possibly, packet-switched network fabric (Benini et al., 2002). In this paper, we present a NoC model which, together with a multiprocessor real-time operating system (RTOS) model, allows us to model and analyze the behavior of a complex system that has a real-time application running on a multiprocessor platform. We demonstrate the potential of our model by simulating and analyzing a small multiprocessor system connected through different NoC topologies, and discuss how the simulation model may be used during the design-space exploration phase.