Eccentric SoC architectures as the future norm

Abstract

Reconfigurable system-on-chip (SoC) platforms are now a physical reality. This gives a system substrate which, physically at least, is fairly neutral with respect to use models and system architectures. When embedded processors are present, the most obvious use model to follow is to consider the system on chip as a scaled-down version of a system on board: we call this a processor-centric model. To provide better access to many of the benefits of the new SoC devices, we introduce an alternative logic-centric model, where the environment of a system is the driving force behind its architecture. In particular, the role of embedded processors is to assist the majority processing being carried out in logic and in input/output interfaces. We see such 'eccentric' architectures as the norm for the future, particularly given the vision of the 'disappearing computer' and the rise of 'ambient intelligence'. We illustrate the general discussion with examples drawn from our current research into systems designed for message processing.