Dynamic voltage scaling framework for mobile multimedia systems

Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) mechanisms have been developed for years to decrease the energy consumption of processors. The development has primarily focused on general purpose processors for laptops and servers. However, frameworks designed for controlling the performance of several independent and specialised computing units are scarce to find. This paper introduces a DVFS framework developed for multi processor System-on-Chips (SoCs) that is able to scale multiple voltage and frequency domains separately. The framework has been tested with simulations based on real world measurement data from previous generation products. The simulations show that individual frequency scaling of computing units may provide major energy savings even if voltage cannot be scaled. The DVFS framework has been developed for use in industrial products.