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RASSP Autocoding for DSP Control Application Note

1.0 Executive Summary

Deliverable real-time Signal Processing Systems naturally decompose into a Signal Processing Program (SPP) and a Command Program (CP). The SPP is a data flow oriented program that performs high bandwidth numerical processing and typically executes on a suite of Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). The CP is a state-oriented program that executes on a host processor and is responsible for controlling the SPP in response to operator commands. In large aerospace applications, the CP is frequently viewed as a subsystem of the Command and Control System (CCS). Both programs have traditionally been hand coded and are thus expensive, difficult to integrate, difficult to maintain, and difficult to port to new platforms as the system evolves. But now autocoding a production quality SPP is a reality through the use of tools such as Lockheed Martin's GEDAE™, which provides an advanced environment for designing distributed signal processing applications and lets developers and application programmers graphically construct flow graphs that execute their applications and algorithms. This application note shows how autocoding technology has been pushed into the Command Program domain by exploiting the standardization autocoding tools bring to the Signal Processing Program architecture.

Command Program autocoding technology is in the prototype stage and has been successfully demonstrated on three Rapid Prototyping of Application Specific Signal Processors (RASSP) technology demonstration programs:

  1. Benchmark 2 Program, a Synthetic Array Radar application,
  2. Benchmark 3 Program, a Sonar application,
  3. Benchmark 4 Program, an Image Processing application.

In each application, the technology was used to generate more than 50 percent of the Command Program (CP). The CP development time and the SPP / CP integration time were significantly lower when compared to traditional methods. The autocoded CPs were simple, reliable and were used by the SPP application engineers at the earliest stages of SPP-to-Hardware integration. This technology will be made commercially available as part of the GEDAE™ development environment.

next up previous contents
Next: 2 Introduction Up: Appnotes Index Previous:Appnote DSP Index

Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited Dennis Basara