Virtualization is the abstraction of details. Algorithms and programming languages provide abstraction, too. Virtualization of hardware and embedded systems is becoming more and more important in heterogeneous environments and networks, e.g., distributed and material-integrated sensor networks. Communication and data processing with a broad range of hardware and low-level protocols can be unified and accessed uniquely by introducing virtualization layers implemented directly in hardware on chip. Hardware design is today still component-driven (like a circuit board), rather than transforming algorithms as an abstraction layer directly into hardware designs. Programs and protocols are algorithms, so do not handle them as devices like in traditional high-level synthesis design flows! Complex reactive systems with dominant and complex control paths play an increasing role in SoC-design. The major contribution to concurrency appears at the control path level. This article gives an in-depth introduction to SoC-design methodology using the Highest-Level Synthesis ConPro compiler framework and a process-oriented programming language that provides a programming model based on concurrently executing and communicating sequential processes (CCSP) with an extensive set of interprocess-communication primitives. Circuits are modelled and programmed on an algorithmic level, more convenient and natural than component-driven designs. Extended case studies of a smart communication protocol router and an advanced stack-based processor providing a programmatical virtualization layer are shown and evaluated. Both are used together as a smart node architecture deployed in high density sensor-actuator-networks, e.g., for material-integrated intelligent systems.

翻译：虚拟化是对细节的抽象化。算法与编程语言同样提供抽象机制。在异构环境与网络中（例如分布式与材料集成传感器网络），硬件与嵌入式系统的虚拟化正变得日益重要。通过直接在片上硬件中实现虚拟化层，可以统一并唯一地访问涉及广泛硬件与底层协议的通信与数据处理过程。当前硬件设计仍以组件驱动（类似电路板设计）为主，而非将算法作为抽象层直接转化为硬件设计。程序与协议本质上是算法，因此不应沿用传统高层次综合设计流程中将其视为设备的方法！复杂反应系统因其主导性的复杂控制路径，在SoC设计中的重要性日益凸显。并发性的主要贡献体现在控制路径层面。本文深入介绍了采用最高级别综合ConPro编译器框架与面向过程编程语言的SoC设计方法学，该语言基于并发执行与通信的序贯进程模型，提供丰富的进程间通信原语。电路在算法级别进行建模与编程，相较于组件驱动设计更为便捷与直观。文中展示并评估了两个扩展案例研究：智能通信协议路由器与提供编程虚拟化层的先进栈式处理器，两者共同构成用于高密度传感器执行器网络（例如材料集成智能系统）的智能节点架构。