The Design of a System Architecture for Mobile Multimedia Computers

Paul J.M. Havinga

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    Abstract

    This chapter discusses the system architecture of a portable computer, called Mobile Digital Companion, which provides support for handling multimedia applications energy efficiently. Because battery life is limited and battery weight is an important factor for the size and the weight of the Mobile Digital Companion, energy management plays a crucial role in the architecture. As the Companion must remain usable in a variety of environments, it has to be flexible and adaptable to various operating conditions. The Mobile Digital Companion has an unconventional architecture that saves energy by using system decomposition at different levels of the architecture and exploits locality of reference with dedicated, optimised modules. The approach is based on dedicated functionality and the extensive use of energy reduction techniques at all levels of system design. The system has an architecture with a general-purpose processor accompanied by a set of heterogeneous autonomous programmable modules, each providing an energy efficient implementation of dedicated tasks. A reconfigurable internal communication network switch exploits locality of reference and eliminates wasteful data copies.
    Original languageUndefined
    Title of host publicationMobile multimedia systems
    PublisherUniversity of Twente
    Pages3.1-3.46
    Number of pages46
    ISBN (Print)9789036514064
    Publication statusPublished - 2000

    Publication series

    Name
    PublisherUniversity of Twente

    Keywords

    • IR-56258

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