Note: @Extension Media, (2016). This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission Extension Media for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published February 1, 2106 in Embedded Systems Design http://www.extensionmedia.com
Booting an OS such as Linux gets the designer to the starting line, but how does the real work commence for complex multicore designs destined for gaming, digital signage, and more?
When software developers hear the word emulation, they often think software emulators and not hardware emulation. That’s changing, though, as the versatile hardware emulator gains a more widespread reputation for being able to ensure that the embedded system software works correctly with the underlying hardware. It’s happening as it becomes a shared resource between hardware and software teams to accelerate hardware/software integration ahead of first silicon. As it should, especially when the ratio of software developers is greater than hardware engineers on a chip project.
