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April - 2010 - issue > CEO Spotlight
New Trends in Architectural Designs Spur EDA Opportunities
Deepak Shankar
Monday, March 29, 2010
Migration to multi-core processors and new scopes in architectural designs are expected to revamp the EDA sphere where currently there is a limited scope for large-scale architectural software deployment. A lot of systems in aerospace, mobile computing, and defense are on the verge of migrating from single-core to multi-core processors. However, much of the software in these systems is optimized for the maximum throughput on a single core processor with a single source of data memory access.

Introduction of 4, 8, 16, and higher number of cores in a single processor promises an arduous task to shift gears. The software migration process will not be a mere re-compilation of the code; it demands a substantial change in the code development methodology and rewriting of the legacy code. Experimenting with different software design approaches is an area where design tools will be very valuable. It would also be an extension to the current EDA tools, which are presently focused on the hardware or verifying the software built on the hardware.

Knowledge of rocket and launch technology has been limited, in the past, to a few countries and a small number of private corporations. With huge R&D investments in countries like India and private corporations such as SpaceX, new countries can focus on the less expensive satellite and instrumentation design. Countries like India offer affordable rocket-on-demand to launch satellites, allowing any country to expand their communication infrastructure, remote sensing for higher-quality weather forecasting, and military intelligence. Aerospace requires a lot of early feasibility studies, offering scope for new design companies to sell multiple licenses and aid in the design process.

Amidst the trends, there is a lack of knowledge that haunts every firm, as there are very few people with extensive experience employed in aerospace worldwide. This is a boon to EDA entrepreneurs who can leverage their intellectual property to start an organization that supports these new research oriented efforts and provide standard products that accelerate the customer specification process. As the new company begins its service, they must ensure that the first customer uses their solution for a concrete project, which would serve as a testimony to the solution’s capability. With a success story and reference in place, one can plan ahead of achieving the next million dollars via more client acquisition, while keeping oneself updated on the different opportunities unveiled amidst the changing trends in the ecosystem.


Deepak Shankar is the CEO of Mirabilis Design. Founded in 2003, Mirabilis Design provides systems engineering solutions for performance analysis, power estimation and architecture exploration of electronics and real-time software.

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