The VLSI Design Automation Assistant: Prototype System

This paper describes an approach to VLSI design synthesis that uses knowledge-based expert systems to proceed from an algorithmic description of a VLSI system to a list of technology-independent registers, operators, data paths, and control signals. This paper describes how the prototype Design Automation Assistant uses large amounts of expert knowledge to design an architecture with little searching. It also presents the current design of a small microprocessor along with a discussion of improvements currently being added.