The computer has become central to this new wave of technology in the form of advanced electromechanical design systems. Such systems based on analog/mixed-signal control first started to appear during the mid-1980s and have now become a design staple for automobile, jet plane and virtually any mechanical system that is equipped with computer control.
David Smith, chief scientist of Synopsys' Saber design system, was one of the pioneers in the field, developing an early electromechanical design system based on VHDL while at Analogy Inc. Eventually, Synopsys purchased the system, and Smith migrated along with his creation.
The basic design language was called MAST and became the prototype for the industry standard VHDL-AMS and a mixed-signal version of Verilog, Smith said.
"Over 50 percent of the cost of a new car is now in the electronics," he said. "You have about 60 processors that need to be coordinated by interconnect-a level of sophistication that is comparable to SOCs."
Currently, auto engineers are going through a wrenching change in methodology, from design by breadboarding to design by electrical verification, he added.
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