Guest Editor Introduction: Special Issue on Multiprocessor-based Embedded Systems

摘要

The hardware and software architectures of embedded systems have undergone a significant evolution with the increase in their functional complexity and performance expectations. Embedded systems are no longer necessarily characterised by a single fixed application. The need to execute several different, although related, applications, combined with time-to-market pressures have led to architectures with multiple processors on a system-on-a-chip (SoC). This brings back into relevance traditional multiprocessor environments: processor allocation and task scheduling become important topics; integration of software and the building of abstraction layers to make it immune to changing of underlying hardware platforms becomes essential; and network and communication architectures need careful analysis. However, the domain-specific nature of embedded systems continues to lead to new challenges and optimisation opportunities.