Validation of SoC firmware-hardware flows: Challenges and solution directions

In SoC, key infrastructure/backbone flows are distributed across many IPs and involve tight firmware and hardware interaction. Examples include resets, power management, security, and more. Traditional hardware validation techniques are no-longer adequate for such flows, due to the short time-to-market requirements, in particular, for mobile devices. In this paper, we articulate the challenges and discuss a few solution directions that are being pursued in this space at Intel.