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Save implementation time by delegating customizations to the hardware vendor
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Guideline Number | 12 |
| Guideline Responsible (Name, Affiliation) | Magnus Jahre, NTNU |
| Guideline Reviewer (Name, Affiliation) | Michael Grinberg, Fraunhofer |
| Guideline Audience (Category) | Application developers |
| Guideline Expertise (Category) | HW designers |
| Guideline Keywords (Category) | Component selection, System optimisation |
Save implementation time by delegating customizations to the hardware vendor.
Designers can decide to implement missing hardware features on their own. However, custom hardware implementation is a surprisingly difficult and time consuming process since it requires careful component selection, future-proof interfacing, and extensive testing.
The root problem is overlooking the possibility to use the hardware vendor to make customizations. Vendors are often perceived as too expensive to approach for customizations. Experience says the opposite is true. Vendors do make custom changes, often at an affordable price point if they can reuse existing designs. At least, vendors can confirm if the required customization is a good idea at all and suggest alternatives.
Recommended implementation method of the guideline along with a solid motivation for the recommendation
If a hardware does not have required features, talk to your vendor before starting to implement the missing features on your own. If the vendor's terms for customization are reasonable, delegate implementation of the missing features to the vendor.
The TULIPP platform uses system-on-module products from Trenz Electronics. Thus, the detailed implementation of the interfacing of the Xilinx UltraScale+ MPSoC to for instance external memory has been delegated to Trenz Electronics.
The PCB-level interfacing of a complex component such as the UltraScale+ is complex and error-prone. Conservatively, we assume that developing this subsystem in-house would take on the order of 3 to 6 person months. At NTNU, a rough cost estimate would be between 20 to 40 KEUR depending on how long it takes and the salary of the person doing the design. In contrast, a Trenz module costs a few hundred euros (including component costs).
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TULIPP Guideline Wiki