EDA & Development
New growth drivers set to empower electronic design automation
The EDA industry is having to adapt and change moving beyond its historical hardware-only focus and developing new capabilities for hardware/ software co-development and integration, as Lip-Bu Tan explains
B
y most estimates, long-term prospects for the electronics industry are positive. While global economies are
forecast to grow around 4% annually through 2016, the electronics industry is expected to grow at 5.5% annually and to be worth in excess of $2 trillion. And the semiconductor industry is forecast to grow even faster, at over 6% compounded annually through to 2016 when it could be worth over $400 billion. However, it’s a different electronics industry than it was a few years ago. Today, software applications or “apps,” not silicon, have become the key differentiator in the eyes of the end user. Apps are practically everywhere - on your cell phone, on recent model TVs, and in your car. And apps are created not only by the manufacturer of a product, but by an ever- expanding community of apps users and developers. The prevalence of apps is one of the key market trends driving electronics industry growth. One key app is video, which is driving growth in both devices and networks. Mobility is probably the most pervasive trend in electronics as consumers want lightweight, portable, connected devices they can take anywhere. Cloud computing is growing and is providing storage and access for more and more of our personal and business data, and “green tech” has become a requirement in order to save energy and maximise battery life.
All of these factors impact the way
electronic systems are designed. For example, the importance of software apps calls for a much deeper integration of software and hardware development,
14 September 2012
which until very recently have been two very separate activities. Today, systems companies want not just semiconductors, but complete hardware/software systems ready for apps development and deployment. Semiconductor companies are increasingly expected to provide not just chips, but software ranging from device drivers to an operating system, middleware, and perhaps even reference applications.
The EDA industry, as a
result, is changing and adapting. For the past 30 years, EDA has made the design and verification of increasingly complex semiconductors and systems possible. Now, EDA is moving beyond its historical hardware-only focus and developing new capabilities for hardware/software co-development and integration. Other essential capabilities include mixed-signal (analogue/digital) design, low-power design, integration of existing silicon intellectual property (IP) onto systems-on-chip (SoCs), and high bandwidth, high-performance design. Let’s take a closer look at the five drivers mentioned above and their impacts on electronic design.
Market drivers impact design Anyone who has a smartphone knows what an app is. Apps make it possible to play games, watch video, check the weather, get directions, surf the Internet, and much, much more. Apps on your TV might include Pandora, Netflix, and
Components in Electronics
YouTube. But
apps exist in less consumer- oriented markets as well. Apps in the mobile infrastructure could include data routing, deep packet inspection, and encryption/decryption. Apps are opening up a new revenue
stream for electronics manufacturers. In the old days, they would sell a product like a mobile phone or a TV and not derive any additional revenues from the customer until it’s time for the next upgrade. With apps, it’s possible to develop an on-going revenue stream. Of course, many apps come from third-party providers and from users as well, creating thousands of new communities and marketplaces. In a traditional development model,
hardware is developed first and the software is developed later by a totally separate group of people. In an
application-driven design approach, the apps drive many of the requirements for the hardware. Software and hardware development thus need to be on a more parallel path. This is giving rise to new EDA technologies such as virtual platforms, which allow early software development using software models of system hardware long before silicon is ready. An increasing number of apps involve video, not just on TVs or PCs, but also on smartphones and other portable devices. Video requires considerable bandwidth and memory resources, which in turn puts new pressures on semiconductor and systems design. Overcoming the CPU-to-memory bottleneck has become critical. Video
www.cieonline.co.uk
Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Cadence Design Systems
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