GreenDroid utilizes dark silicon to take advantage of underutilized portions of a chip to increase energy efficiency. By adapting key portions of the Android smartphone platform to conservation cores (C-Cores), GreenDroid produces processors that will dramatically reduce power consumption and improve performance on Android smartphones. With C-Cores successfully demonstrated, targeting the software patching problem with hardware is crucial for the longevity of the processor. As software updates are released, these C-Cores may no longer match the previous versions of the code it was intended for. Developing patching capabilities into these C-Cores will allow them to adapt to new versions of software, thereby increasing their expected longevity and functionality.
Analyzing past software updates, we are able to derive a variety of potential differences in the execution code, or patch code, that the C-Cores must be able to handle in order to remain useful in the chip. The data provided the basis for me to develop the patching element that would sit alongside the variety of C-Cores. As the C-Core encounters patch code, it transitions its execution to the patching element to handle the patch code. Upon completion, the patching element updates the datapath within the C-Core and transitions control back to the C-Core.
The expected goal of the patching element is to minimize the need for C-Cores to utilize the CPU, reducing the effectiveness of utilizing dark silicon. By including a patching element, we can further increase the longevity of the C-Core, free the CPU for other tasks, and maintain the overall gain in energy efficiency the C-Core provides to the chip.
Faculty Advisers: Michael Taylor & Steven Swanson
Graduate/Postdoc Advisers: Nathan Goulding-Hotta & Jack Sampson
Errick Flores 