A detailed cost model for concurrent use with hardware/software co-design

Hardware/software co-design methodologies generally focus on the prediction of system performance or co-verification of system functionality. This study extends this conventional focus through the development of a methodology and software tool that evaluates system (hardware and software) development, fabrication, and testing costs (dollar costs) concurrent with hardware/software partitioning in a co-design environment. Based on the determination of key metrics such as gate count and lines of software, a new tool called Ghost, evaluates software and hardware development, fabrication, packaging and testing costs. Ghost enables optimization of hardware/software partitioning as a function of specific combinations of hardware foundries and software development environments.