A platform for mixed HW/SW algorithm specifications for the exploration of SW and HW partitioning

The increasing complexity in particular of video and multimedia processing has lead to the need of developing the algorithms specification using software implementations that become in practice generic reference implementations. Mapping directly such software models in platforms made of processors and dedicated HW elements becomes harder and harder for the complexity of the models and for the large choice of possible partitioning options. This paper describes a new platform aiming at supporting the mapping of software specifications into mixed SW and HW implementations. The platform is supported by profiling capabilities specifically conceived to study data transfers between SW and HW modules. Such optimization capabilities can be used to achieve different objectives such as optimization of memory architectures or low power designs by the minimization of data transfers