The DAC User Track brings together IC designers from across the globe. It offers a unique opportunity to pick up the latest tips and tricks from expert industry IC designers. The User Track features presentations on a wide variety of EDA topics.
Designers from Intel, IBM, Samsung, TI, Toshiba, Qualcomm, AMD, Freescale, and other leading IC companies will present their experiences on effective design flows, methods, and tool usage. There is no other way to improve your 'design IQ' in just a short amount of time.
The User Track addresses practical and pressing issues facing IC designers, application engineers, and design-flow developers. Contributions provide insights and experiences with in-house and commercial EDA tool flows. User Track submissions may describe the application of EDA tools to the design of a novel electronic system, or the integration of EDA tools within a design flow or methodology to produce such systems.
The Design Automation Conference brings together thousands of like-minded professionals; making this event an opportunity you cannot miss. The User Track runs for three days as a full parallel track to the DAC technical program. Come learn from expert designers in person and find out the truth about design tools. Stroll through the DAC trade show, attend keynotes and cutting-edge technical sessions, or just talk to colleagues from other companies.
TOPIC AREAS: (click to expand)
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U1. Embedded Systems and Software
Architectural exploration, design and optimization
Software specification, models and frameworks
Security for embedded systems and software
Validation and verification
Design methodologies and flows
Case studies
U2. Silicon Design (Front-End)
System and high-level hardware synthesis
Power/area/performance trade-offs and low-power design
Bus and network communication
Logic simulation
Validation, test planning, and coverage
FPGAs and emulation
Formal verification
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U3. Silicon Design (Back-End)
Physical synthesis tools and techniques
Floor planning
Timing and circuit analysis; circuit optimization
Reliability
Interconnect simulation and analysis
Physical design and manufacturability
Manufacturing test and silicon debug
Analog, mixed-signal, and RF design
Custom, standard cell, and FPGA design flows
Tool control and integration
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TIMELINE:
NOVEMBER 2011:
November 1 User Track submission site opens
JANUARY 2012:
January 16: First-round extended abstract submission deadline. Submissions are d due no later than 5:00pm MT (-07:00 GMT).
MARCH 2012:
March 5: First-round accept/reject notifications will be sent.
March 19: Authors invited to participate in the second round of reviews must submit slide presentations no later than 5:00pm MT (-7:00 GMT).
APRIL 2012:
April 11:Second-round accept/reject notifications will be sent. Authors will be notified if their work is qualified for a full presentation or presentation as a poster in one of the designated poster sessions.
MAY 2012:
May 7: Submission deadline for draft of final posters and/or presentations. All material will be reviewed by Session Chairs. Material must be submitted in no later than 5:00pm MT (-07:00 GMT).
May 17: Audio/visual release form must be signed. The form allows slides and posters to be posted on the DAC website after the conference.
May 22: Deadline for Session Chairs to communicate poster and slide presentation feedback to authors.Presenters have until conference to update final slide presentations (if necessary).
May 22:Deadline for authors with full presentations to submit their speaker bios. The bio will be used to introduce the speaker during the session at conference.
A. The User Track uses a two-round submission process. During the first round, all submissions will be considered for inclusion in a User Track poster session.
Authors of exceptionally strong submissions from the first round will be invited to submit slide presentations for a second round of review. All submissions in the second round will be considered as potential talks in a User Track presentation session. Second-round submissions that are not chosen as presentations will be invited to participate in a User Track poster session.
A. The User Track focuses on the EDA tool user community and complements DAC’s strong research focus on algorithms and methodology. The User Track aims to illustrate both benefits and challenges of tool usage, and provides educational and networking benefits for both end-users and tool developers. The topics are at the interface between design and automation, an area that until now has been under-represented in EDA.
The User Track is intended specifically for practitioners. Whether you are an EDA tool user, a hardware or software designer, an application engineer, or a consultant, the User Track is an ideal place to meet and share your experiences.
A. No. However, User Track material will be made available on the DAC website after the conference as a part of the DAC Archives.
A. The User Track provides a vendor-agnostic and objective forum for designers and EDA users. To this end, User Track submissions cannot be marketing pitches. Joint customer/vendor submissions written from the perspective of the customer are encouraged and are a valuable part of the User Track.
A. No. We made exceptions to this policy in past years, but it resulted in many problems, including new conflicts of interest with reviewers on the User Track Committee.
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- U1. Embedded Software and Systems
- U2. Silicon Design (Front-End)
- U3. Silicon Design (Back-End)
A. No. While we sympathize with your situation (many of us have been there), we have a tight schedule and are unable to accommodate late submissions. Please obtain appropriate legal, copyright, and any other needed permission well ahead of the submission deadline.
A. All submissions will occur electronically through the Call for Contributions. The submission site will open on October 28.
A. User Track posters are presented during User Track poster-only sessions. User Track presentations are oral presentations similar to those in the DAC research track. User Track presentations are scheduled in sessions that run parallel to the rest of the DAC program and also include a poster presentation at the end of the presentations within a session.
A. Each author is allocated a 3’ wide by 4’ tall area for a poster. User Track poster-only sessions will run for 1 hour, and will include 20-30 posters. Poster authors are welcome to distribute additional material to interested attendees. Such material can include extended abstracts and whitepapers.
A. Each author will be allocated 15 minutes in a User Track session; 12 minutes for the presentation and 3 minutes for Q/A with the audience. Similar to the DAC Research Track, 30 minutes is reserved at the end of each session for a dedicated poster session. This provides an opportunity for extended discussion with interested members of the audience. User Track sessions will be 90-120 minutes in length.
A. The User Track seeks submissions that highlight the benefits and challenges of EDA tool usage. Tools can be from EDA vendors or developed in-house; while flows can be built around a single tool or multiple tools. We specifically seek contributions from EDA users, application engineers, and vendor/customer teams. Documented tool use may target electronic design at all levels of abstraction and across all application domains.
A. The User Track subcommittee consists of end users of EDA tools which collectively represent years of tool and methodology experience. The majority of the committee members are from industry and represent a wide spectrum of domain and flow expertise.
A good User Track extended abstract addresses innovative EDA tool use coupled with high-quality results. The considerations used by the technical committee in acceptance decisions include:
- Significance of results supported by clear measurable criteria, including, but not limited to: improved quality of silicon, decreased complexity, and reduced time-to-market.
- Level of innovation in tool use, e.g., utilizing one tool to obtain results that aid another tool, writing scripts to combine tools, user-end enhancements, intelligent data management. A submission should not mirror the help section in the tool's user manual, but instead address a creative way of using the tool.
- Ability to overcome design challenges such as scalability, integrating IP, and bridging front-end/back-end gaps.
- Validation of the proposed techniques using real designs, case studies, or established benchmarks.
- Discussion of the conceptual limitations of tools and suggestions for future tool improvement. Solid technical contributions should address both the strengths and the weaknesses of the approach.
- Quality of writing, use of English, and organization.
- Product marketing material is inappropriate for the User Track.
A. A Best Presentation award will be selected from the User Track. The award will be based on the quality of both the submission and the presentation given at DAC. Best Presentation candidates will be identified before the conference. The final selection will be made at the conference by a small award committee. The Best Presentation Award will be announced before the Thursday Keynote.
A. Yes. DAC conference registration is required to present in the User Track and for participation in the poster sessions. This registration also provides access to the exhibition floor, keynotes, and other areas of the DAC conference for which you choose. If selected to present either as a poster or full presentation in the User Track, you will receive discounted registration and instructions in March 2012.
A. Like all good presentations, we recommend that your slides include the following:
- Title, name of author(s), affiliation, and email addresses. Please note that, consistent with DAC policy, company logos may appear only on the first slide
- Explanation of the context and motivation for the contribution
- Details of the innovation. Examples should be included
- Explanation of results. Use charts or graphs or tables: we want to understand the bottom line
- Discussion of conceptual limitations and areas for future improvement
- Summary
Remember that your slides must be presented in a 12 minutes. Presenting meaningful content in a short time is challenging and requires careful thought and planning. Your may include some backup slides that describe additional material that you would include on an accompanying poster.
Your slides must be submitted for review as a PDF file. Please view the
Slide Prep PDF for more information.
Example presentations from previous years can be found in the
DAC Archives.
A. Please address any unanswered questions to Robert Jones, the 49th DAC Design Community Chair.