Autonomous evolution type hardware design system

• US 5,615,124 A
• Filed: 11/07/1994
• Issued: 03/25/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International
• Original Assignee: ATR Human Information Processing Research Laboratories
• Inventors: Mizoguchi, Junichi, Shimohara, Katsunori, Hemmi, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US08/337,020
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• Field of Search: 364/488, 364/489, 364/490, 364/491, 364/468, 364/474.24
• US Class Current: 716/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/30 Circuit design

Abstract

When information representing an application problem is entered from an input unit, a hardware specification interpretation unit calculates an operation result representing how the consequent hardware operates with respect to the application problem according to the information representing the application problem and the hardware specification description provided from the hardware specification description unit. A fitness calculation unit calculates a fitness representing how much the calculated operation result fits the application problem. A description modification unit modifies the current hardware specification description on the basis of a fitness evaluation which is the calculation result.

Claims

1. An autonomous evolutional type hardware specification system for designing a hardware of an electronic circuit, said autonomous evolution type hardware design system comprising:

hardware specification description means for describing a specification of a hardware,

hardware specification interpretation means for interpreting a specification described by said hardware specification description means to produce an operation of that hardware,

fitness calculation means for calculating a fitness in using a consequent hardware according to an operation of the hardware generated by said hardware specification interpretation means and a required operation specification, and

description modification means referring to a fitness calculated by said fitness calculation means for modifying a description of the hardware in said hardware specification description means.

2. The autonomous evolution type hardware design system according to claim 1, wherein said hardware specification description means comprises means for expressing a specification of said hardware using a hardware description language.

3. The autonomous evolution type hardware design system according to claim 1, wherein said description modification means comprises means for replacing a portion of the hardware specification description by said hardware description language with a description that is grammatically equivalent to said portion.

4. The autonomous evolution type hardware design system according to claim 1, wherein said hardware specification description means describes a plurality of hardware specifications, and

wherein said description modification means modifies the description using genetic algorithms on the basis of a fitness of said plurality of hardware specifications.

5. The autonomous evolution type hardware design system according to claim 1, further comprising:

input means for applying information representing an application problem to said hardware specification interpretation means and said fitness calculation means,

wherein said hardware specification interpretation means comprises means for calculating an operation result representing how an actual hardware obtained by said hardware specification description operates with respect to the application problem according to the information representing the application problem applied from said input means, and the specification described by said hardware specification description,

wherein said fitness calculation means comprises means for calculating a fitness representing how much said calculated operation result fits said application problem, and providing the calculation result to said description modification means.

6. The autonomous evolution type hardware design system according to claim 5, wherein said description modification means comprises means for modifying the current hardware specification description according to the calculation result calculated by said fitness calculation means.