SORU: A reconfigurable vector unit for adaptable embedded systems

Abstract

In this article we describe SORU, a reconfigurable instruction set processor architecture (RISP) specially designed for run-time self-adaptation in environments with tight resource and power restrictions. It allows to accelerate computationally intensive multimedia processing on portable/embedded devices while maintaining a low energy consumption. The experimental results show a mean speedup of 4 with half the energy consumption. The main datapath can be left in a hibernate state during more than 75% of the execution time in our experiments, what leads also to a significant reduction of energy consumption in the I-cache and the main datapath, including the register file. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009.