**3. Challenges of embedded software design**

Embedded system development tools have traditionally lagged behind tools for the development of general systems (ChristopherChristopher, 2000). Unlike general systems, the design space for embedded systems is extremely large, so it is difficult to contain all of the facilities to specify, design, and test embedded systems. The number of embedded systems increased rapidly year by year and then the designers of the embedded system face ever-increasing challenges in the design stage. Some of these challenges are listed below:


Potential of Grid Technology for Embedded Systems and Applications 329

MATLAB is a high-level technical computing language and interactive environment for algorithm development, data visualization, data analysis, and numeric computation. The MATLAB infrastructure design is based on the gird computing technology .MATLAB is used to solve problems in several application areas such as signal and image processing, communications, control design, test and measurement, financial modeling and analysis, and computational biology. Add-on toolboxes extend the MATLAB environment to solve

Simulink is a companion product to MATLAB that offers an environment for multidomain simulation and Model-Based Design for dynamic and embedded systems. It provides an interactive graphical environment and a customizable set of block libraries that allows users

In this chapter we used the Model Based Design method to eliminate some of the embedded system challenges. Model Based Design is a simulation based method so, if the embedded system becomes large and more complicated, its simulation time will be increased. To accelerate the simulation time of such embedded systems, some parallel and distributed

Currently, many researches are focused on determining a good way to eliminate the challenges of the embedded systems design. Embedded systems have particularly tight performance, time to market and cost constraint. To meet these constraints, researchers try to find solutions to efficiently design the systems with required performances. Recently, the MBD method is considered to be one of the chief techniques in this field. The Model Based Design method is considered one of the leading techniques as a solution of those challenges. In this method, the model can be used to verify the plant design and the control algorithm. MBD method puts a system model at the center of the development process, from requirement development through design implementation (Woodward and Mosterman,

The system specifications phase is started by the analysis and the documentation of the system requirements. In the traditional method, this step is accomplished using the paperbased method which results in poor communication in the design process, errors in the design as well as limited traceability between the design and the requirements. In the MBD method, the model can provide an excellent virtual environment for high level descriptions of the embedded system, as shown in Figure 2. This figure illustrates the main four elements of the MBD method. The description for elements of Model Based Design method is

As designs become larger and more complicated, it becomes necessary to first describe them at a high level of abstraction. For example, Simulink (The MathWork web site) can provide specific block-sets such as signal processing, communication, video and image processing block set to help the designer to build an abstraction model. This model provides a

particular classes of problems in different application areas.

systems (grid computing method) are necessary.

**5. Model based design** 

2007).

presented below.

**5.1 Executable specifications** 

to design, simulate, implement, and test a variety of time-varying systems.

should be executed is unavailable. Therefore, a simulator of the embedded hardware is very useful for the development of the embedded software but it becomes a difficult matter because of the length of time required to build a simulator (Woodward and Mosterman, 2007 & Madhukar and Lee, 2008).


However, nowadays, embedded systems have garnered more interests in the research community, as well as there being an increased need for those embedded systems. The increase of the embedded system challenges opens a wide range of research in the development tools. Most of researchers try to find a design tool that can solve some of the challenges of embedded system design. Model Based Design method is one of the techniques for developing embedded software and it puts a system model at the center of the developing processes. For example, the environment supplied by MathWorks, Inc. allows engineers to mathematically model the behaviors of the physical system and re-use the program components in the library. This approach meets with significant success in some applications. This chapter will investigate the development of the inverter power supply as an example of the embedded system. The embedded software of the inverter power supply is optimized and tested using the Model Based Design (MBD) method. Moreover, the superiority of this method to the traditional design method is verified.
