Hierarchical Computational Design of Board-Level Electronics

Richard Lin, Rohit Ramesh, Prabal Dutta, Bjoern Hartmann, Ankur Mehta

Abstract: While there has been much work on hierarchical and computational design for mechanical structures, much less has been done on the electronics side despite being an integral part of many modern devices. Our work explores how to make board-level electronics design easier and more accessible by raising the level of design from components to functional blocks. To enable this, we take a hardware description language (HDL) approach that enables experts to build libraries of subcircuits and package them in a way to be usable by more novice users. Recent language constructs supporting multiplicity – dealing with repeated instances of objects – further enhance the power of this system. This demo includes both physical example hardware that we have built using this system, as well as live and interactive demonstrations of the system including supporting tooling in the form of an integrated development environment (IDE).