Distributed Collaborative Design of a Mixed-Signal IP Component

A novel approach for enabling distributed design of heterogeneous systems and components is introduced in the paper. It integrates concepts of visual knowledge modeling, engineering workflows, collaborative workspaces, design task patterns, and remote tool invocation. These concepts are supported by a collaboration platform a result of the EU FP6 project MAPPER. The design approach and the supporting collaboration platform have been applied in the USB2 OTG PHY IP core design that required collaboration among two dispersed SMEs. Mixed-signal USB design challenges, distributed design flow, requirements for enhanced EDA support, and selected design tasks enabled by the collaboration platform have been discussed. Finally, advantages and constraints of the design approach have been pointed to.