Configurable Hardware Support for Single Processor Real-Time Systems

This thesis describes a further development of a building block for programmable devices in embedded systems handling real-time functionality. Embedded systems are included in a variety of products within different technical areas such as industrial automation, consumer electronics, automotive industry, and communication-, and multimedia systems. Products ranging from trains and airplanes to microwave ovens and washing machines are controlled by embedded systems. Programmable devices constitute a part of these embedded systems. Today, a programmable device can include a complete system containing building blocks connected with each other via programs written using a hardware description language. The programmable devices can be programmed and changed over and over again and this flexibility makes it possible to explore how these building blocks can best be designed in relation to system requirements, before final implementation. This thesis describes a further development of a building block for programmable devices implemented in a non-traditional way, i.e., the implementation is written using both hardware description language and traditional software languages. This new building block handles real-time functionality in a non-traditional way that enables certain benefits, such as increased performance, predictability and less memory consumption. Using a non-traditional implementation also has its drawbacks, and e.g., extensions and adjustments can be hard to handle since modifications are required in both hardware and software programming languages. The new building block was investigated in order to see how it could be facilitated when used for real-time functionality. The configurability of the block was extended which enables further customization of the building block. This leads to the possibility to use the block within a wider spectrumof applications. It is also possible to reduce the size and cost of the final product since resource usage can be optimized. Furthermore, a mathematicalmodel estimating resource usage for real-time functionality has been developed. The model enables distinctive trade-offs comparisons, and guidance for system designers, when considering what type of real-time operating system to use in a certain design