NIRICT Design Labs
Rene van Leuken
Delft University of Technology
t.g.r.m.vanleuken@tudelft.nl
With acknowledgements to the DL partners
for their contributions!
NIRICT Strategiedag, Utrecht, 12 Feb. 2009
NIRICT Design Labs
Goal:
Provide a design environment to allow universities
and companies/institutes to design and realize
heterogeneous systems (dependable embedded
systems, sensors, intelligent signal processing
components, low power radio)
Branch coordinators:
Henk Corporaal (TUE)
Hans Kerkhoff (UTwente)
Rene van Leuken (TUD)
TUDelft Design Lab
Focus:
• Dependable, re-programmable, semi– and full
custom Systems-on-Chip (SoC) designs
• Heterogeneous designs that integrate sensors,
radios, and signal processing into embedded
systems
• Design platform
(software tool for
knowledge capture and
dissemination--enables
cooperation among the
various partners)
TUDelft Design Lab
Staff:
•
Scientific director: Alle-Jan van der Veen (in
future: Edoardo Charbon)
•
Executive director: Rene van Leuken
•
Senior designer*: Alexander de Graaf (Oct’07)
•
Post-doc*: Hyung-June Yoon (May’09)
*: funded by NIRICT
TUDelft Design Lab
Involved groups:
• Circuits and Systems (CAS): Charbon, Van Leuken
• Electronics (ELCA): Long, Serdijn, Verhoeven, De
Vreede
• Elec. Instrumentation (EI): French, Makinwa
• Elec. Materials Components (ECTM): Sarro
• Computer Eng. (CE): Wong, Gaydadjiev
Aim is at further extension in the direction of ICT
groups (e.g., Software Eng., Embedded Systems),
e.g. projects on sensor networks
TUDelft Design Lab
Lab facilities:
• Lab units (5) available from September 2008:
VLSI test+assembly lab, FPGA lab, optical and
biolab
• Design platform (software/beta version)
• Basic equipment: design stations, power supplies,
scopes, multi-meters, …
FPGA Boards
Semi Custom Design
Design Platform
TUDelft Design Lab
Current projects:
• Fusion-1: Interchip proximity communication (CAS,
EPFL, ST, NIRICT)
• Biochip designs, e.g. DNA probing, retina (CAS)
• Beyond Dreams: high-level heterogeneous
specification and model design (CAS/Point-One)
• TSMC semi-custom design flow expertise (90nm)
(NIRICT/CAS)
TUE Design Lab
Currently involved groups:
• EE-SPS, EE-ES, EE-ECO, CWTe
Facilities:
Laboratory at Laplace
• In preparation; approx. 30 work places
• Integrates Design Technology Lab and
Smart Environment Lab
Staff:
•One technician
TUE Design Lab
Goals:
• Supply HW / SW infrastructure for
dependable embedded system design
• Playground for students (education and
research)
• Prototyping for internal and external parties
• Advance the state-of-the-art in design of
dependable architectures and platforms
TUE Design Lab
Infrastructure plans:
• Wireless Sensor network
• Smart Vision network
• FPGA and other prototyping platforms
Application focus:
• Networked connected digital systems
• Interpret data to support people in daily life
• Well-being, safety, health, entertainment,
etc.
UTwente Design Lab
Currently involved groups:
• Computer Architecture of Embedded
Systems (CAES)
• Control Engineering (CE)
• Integrated Circuit Design (ICD)
• Short Range Radio (SRR). HL & UHD
positions filled-in.
Facilities:
Distributed laboratory
• First hardware and
software purchases
• Used in dependability
projects and 3TU M.Sc. ES
courses
UTwente Design Lab
Staff and Organization
• Clusters all HW and SW on dependability at UT
• Involved chairs: CAES, ICD, SRR
• Hiring a postdoc (Sept’09) for joint projects in
dependability. Initial research proposal available.
• Monthly meetings / presentations
• FP7 Ph.D. dependability (CRISP, CAES)
• 3TU-ICTO: 3-LEP (CE)
UTwente Design Lab
Strategic Research Orientation
Dependability (CTIT)
Future plans:
• Ph.D.s dependability (STARS?, EuReCon?)
• Joint CAES-CE proposal
• Joint STW proposal on dependability (CAES,
ICD, SRR)
NIRICT Design Lab: Strategy
• Bring competencies together, define comprehensive
projects with an ambitious scope (over multiple groups)
with a longer time span
Continuity of expertise:
• Cluster and standardize design tools, flows and
hardware platforms
• Focus on key technologies
• Collect / archive / share design blocks created in these
technologies (design platform)
Outreach:
• Break down boundaries between universities and
industry (e.g., joint projects, consultancy, open access)
• Stimulate SMEs to participate
Proposed SRA’s
• SRA Heterogeneous VLSI System Design
Heterogeneous electronic system specification,
simulation, synthesis and realization
• SRA VLSI computing
3D multi-chip assembly, Multi Core VLSI design
• SRA VLSI sensors
Biochip/Lab. on a Chip, Biomedical VLSI design
• SRA Broadband Communication
UWB, Gbit, cognitive, sensor
• ….
ICT should become ICT again !!!