High-level synthesis in a rapid-prototype environment for mechatronic systems

The application of high-level synthesis techniques onto a rapid-prototyping board is presented. The board is part of a design methodology that supports the development of embedded information processing units in mechatronic systems during early design phases. The spectrum of realizations ranges from single task software implementations on a single board computer to an ASIC emulation in a heterogeneous multiprocessor environment. Emphasis is on the automatic synthesis of hardware modules to be realized as ASICs. A synthesis environment is presented which automatically maps modules to be implemented as ASICs onto a rapid-prototyping board.<>