CSEE 6847 - Distributed Embedded Systems - Project

Hardware/software co-design of an FPGA-based MP3 decoder

What's this?

On this page, you'll find information regarding Bhargav's distributed embedded systems project that he completed as part of a two-man team in the Spring of 2008.

Project Description

This project involved implementing an open-source MP3 decoder (mpg123) on the Altera Cyclone II FPGA. The MP3 format has withstood the test of time, having been invented nearly 20 years ago. FPGAs are a relatively new technology, and enable reduced time-to-market and ease fast-prototyping. Attempting to integrate these two technologies promised to be an interesting endeavor. The goal was to understand the intricacies underlying hardware/software co-design. Here, "hardware" design refers to programming in a Hardware Description Language (the project combined both Verilog and VHDL), while "software" represents coding in a higher-level language (C).

Report

The project report is available here (warning, 1.0 megabyte PDF).

Acknowledgment

Bhargav would like to thank Prof. Carloni for suggesting the project, and David Lariviere for the technical assistance he provided during the course of the project.