SoftExplorer: Estimation, Characterization, and Optimization of the Power and Energy Consumption at the Algorithmic Level

We present SoftExplorer, a tool to estimate and analyze the power and energy consumption of an algorithm from the C program. The consumption of every loop is analyzed, and the influence of the data mapping is characterized. Several models of processor are available, from the simple RISC ARM7 to the very complex VLIW DSP TI-C67. Cache misses, pipeline stalls, and internal / external memory accesses are taken into account. We show how to analyze and optimize the power and energy consumption, and how to choose a processor and its operating frequency, for a MPEG-1 decoder. We also explain how to find the best data mapping for a DSP application.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: PATMOS
• Authors: Eric Senn, Johann Laurent, Nathalie Julien, Eric Martin
• Keywords: Complex Vliw Dsp, Data Mapping, Energy Consumption, PATMOS 2004