Digital power estimation flow combining academic and industrial tools

We analyse how a power estimation and optimisation design flow from the academic domain may be integrated into an industrial design flow and how this integration creates an open-source environment in which new techniques can be developed and compared. In this integrated design flow, new tools are introduced and several practical issues such as technology libraries and the use of simulation data to derive realistic power estimation results are addressed. Experimental results (enabling power saving of over 40%) demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the integration of the two design flows. The integrated design flow provides a solid platform for future research in logic synthesis, power estimation and power optimisation.