Coarse-grained reconfigurable architectures (CGRAs) have the potential to offer performance approaching an ASIC with the flexibility, within an application domain, similar to a digital signal processor. In the past, coarse-grained reconfigurable architectures have been encumbered by challenging programming models that are either too far removed from the hardware to offer reasonable performance or that bury the programmer in the minutiae of hardware specification. Additionally, the ratio of performance to power has not been compelling enough to overcome the hurdles of the programming model to drive adoption.
The goal of our research is to improve the power efficiency of a CGRA at an architectural level, with respect to a traditional island-style FPGA. Additionally, we are continuing previous research into a unified mapping tool that simplifies the scheduling, placement, and routing of an application onto a CGRA.