A new model-based approach to the co-design of heterogeneous systems

Abstract

This paper describes an approach to the design of heterogeneous Hardware-Software systems. It defines a strict sequence of transformations that begins with a system specification, and leads to an implementation of the system. The steps in the sequence are defined by system models on decreasing levels of abstraction, and every step in the sequence transforms an input model into an output model. The final output model is equivalent to the system implementation. The objective of our method is to add rigor to the prevailing inexactness in the development of heterogeneous systems by introducing well-defined formal synchronization points — the models — into the design process. The feasibility of our approach has been proven with two examples. Further we discuss the use of existing tools to support our method.