Rapid System Prototyping with FPGAs: Accelerating the Design Process (Embedded Technology)
The push to move products to market as quickly and cheaply as possible is fiercer than ever, and accordingly, engineers are always looking for new ways to provide their companies with the edge over the competition. Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), which are faster, denser, and more cost-effective than traditional programmable logic devices (PLDs), are quickly becoming one of the most widespread tools that embedded engineers can utilize in order to gain that needed edge. FPGAs are especially popular for prototyping designs, due to their superior speed and efficiency.
This book hones in on that rapid prototyping aspect of FPGA use, showing designers exactly how they can cut time off production cycles and save their companies money drained by costly mistakes, via prototyping designs with FPGAs first. Reading it will take a designer with a basic knowledge of implementing FPGAs to the "next-level” of FPGA use because unlike broad beginner books on FPGAs, this book presents the required design skills in a focused, practical, example-oriented manner.
*In-the-trenches expert authors assure the most applicable advice to practicing engineers
*Dual focus on successfully making critical decisions and avoiding common pitfalls appeals to engineers pressured for speed and perfection
*Hardware and software are both covered, in order to address the growing trend toward "cross-pollination" of engineering expertise
Why Read This Book
You will learn practical methods to shorten development cycles by using FPGAs as system prototypes, from tool flow choices to board bring-up and validation. The book emphasizes real-world process improvements and integration tips that help you avoid common costly mistakes when moving from prototype to production.
Who Will Benefit
Embedded engineers and system designers with some HDL experience who need to prototype complex systems quickly and bridge hardware/software integration toward production.
Level: Intermediate — Prerequisites: Basic digital logic and FPGA concepts, familiarity with an HDL (Verilog or VHDL), and basic embedded software knowledge.
Key Takeaways
- Set up an efficient FPGA-based prototyping flow that shortens design iterations.
- Integrate embedded processors, peripherals, and off-chip interfaces into an FPGA prototype.
- Use board bring-up and lab-debugging techniques (JTAG, logic analyzers, in-system debugging) to validate prototypes quickly.
- Manage hardware/software partitioning and co-design tradeoffs during prototyping.
- Reuse IP and prototype artifacts to smooth the handoff to production or ASIC implementation.
Topics Covered
- 1. Why Use FPGAs for Rapid Prototyping
- 2. FPGA Architectures and Trends (overview relevant to prototyping)
- 3. Prototyping Design Flows and Toolchains
- 4. Board and Platform Selection for Fast Iteration
- 5. Hardware/Software Co-Design and Embedded Processors
- 6. Interfacing: I/O, Memories, and Peripherals
- 7. Synthesis, Timing Closure and Floorplanning for Prototypes
- 8. Bring-Up, Debugging and Validation Techniques
- 9. Case Studies and Example Prototypes
- 10. Managing IP, Versions and Production Handoff
- 11. Project and Team Processes to Accelerate Time-to-Market
Languages, Platforms & Tools
How It Compares
Covers similar system-level prototyping ground as Pong P. Chu's FPGA prototyping guides but focuses more on process, board-level integration, and rapid iteration rather than HDL-by-example tutorials.
