Rapid Prototyping of Embedded Hardware/Software Systems

Prototyping of embedded hardware/software systems is important, because it shortens the path from specification to the final product. Prototypes play a major role in decision making, concept and design validation, feature and limit exploration, as well as design verification in every phase of the product development cycle, including product planning, requirement engineering, and product development. This overview discusses the motivation for building prototypes, provides the key areas for research and explains how prototypes can assist in product planning and throughout all steps of the engineering process. Special attention is given to prototyping in the industry to support the design and testing of multimodal and multifunctional embedded systems.