HeMPS-S: A homogeneous NoC-based MPSoCs framework prototyped in FPGAs

Abstract

Current chip transistor density enables the design of multiprocessor systems-on-chip (MPSoCs). MPSoCs are an alternative to create complex computational systems because they reduce the cost, area, power dissipation and design time per chip. Due to their complexity and huge design space to explore for such systems, CAD tools and frameworks to customize MPSoCs are mandatory. The main goal of this paper is to present an open source platform for MPSoC development, named HeMPS Station (HeMPS-S). HeMPS-S is derived from the MPSoC HeMPS. HeMPS-S, in its present state, includes the platform (NoC, processors, DMA, NI), embedded software (microkernel and applications) and a dedicated CAD tool to generate the required binaries and perform debugging. Experiments show the execution of a real application running in HeMPS-S.