A modular-based assembly framework for autonomous reconfigurable systems

Abstract

Configurable systems community has recognized the value of FPGAs in adaptable and scalable autonomous systems. While the underlying hardware framework for supporting run-time reconfiguration has existed for years, there have been negligibly few FPGA applications that have benefited from this. This is likely due to the reconfiguration model provided by the vendors and as such several alternative modes of assembly have been suggested, such as a tile-based assembly and a modular-based assembly. This paper proposes a framework based on the aforementioned modular-based assembly. The framework builds on TORC, an open-source C++ infrastructure and tool set for reconfigurable computing. A GNU Radio generated ZigBee demodulator is implemented using the proposed solution.