ALLPCB
Definition
SoC stands for System on Chip. It is commonly referred to as a system on chip. The concept highlights the relationship and distinctions between integrated circuits and chips. Relevant areas include integrated circuit design, system integration, chip design, manufacturing, packaging, and testing. In embedded applications, an embedded SoC is defined as a system or product formed by combining multiple integrated circuits with specific functions on a single module, encompassing the complete hardware system and the embedded software it hosts.
Characteristics and Advantages
Embedded SoCs have two notable characteristics: first, hardware design is complex; second, software plays a major role, requiring hardware-software co-design. An analogy can help illustrate these points. Integrating more supporting circuits on a single module reduces the area required by discrete integrated circuits and thus lowers cost, similar to how urban infrastructure can increase resource utilization efficiency. On-chip interconnects act like urban expressways: high-speed and low-power. Functions that used to communicate across a printed circuit board are now concentrated within the same module, reducing latency and power consumption. The software on an embedded SoC is comparable to a city's service sector: strong software capability increases overall competitiveness. The same hardware platform can be repurposed for different tasks through software, improving resource allocation and utilization. Overall, embedded SoCs offer clear advantages in performance, cost, power consumption, reliability, lifecycle, and applicability.
