SONICmole: a debugging environment for the UltraSONIC reconfigurable computer

Reconfigurable Computers based on a combination of conventional microprocessors and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) presents new challenges to designers. Debugging on such hardware/software cohabiting systems can be a nightmare. This paper presents SONICmole, a debugging environment designed for the UltraSONIC reconfigurable computer, which is designed specifically for real-time video applications. The window-based integrated debugging environment includes a hardware debug module (the "mole") that performs the function of a logic analyzer, embedded within the FPGA design, and an easy-to-use software package that facilitates such a hardware/software system. The resource overhead of the hardware module is only 4% of a Virtex XVC 1000 FPGA. The approach reported here is not limited to the UltraSONIC architecture, and can easily be modified for other reconfigurable computers.