Embedded Systems and Software Track Submissions

| Timeline | Guidelines | Frequently Asked Questions | Categories | Additional Information

Embedded Systems and Software is an interdisciplinary field that involves integration of computation, communication, and control of multiple processes, within diverse applications, convergence of OT/IT, and application domains. Indeed, Embedded Systems have become a necessity in almost every aspect of our daily life. The types of embedded systems range from self-contained applications to those embedded in various devices, such as mobile phones, industrial automation and robotics, healthcare, home appliances, transportation systems, networking systems, wearable devices, and many others.

The design and deployment of embedded systems pose significant challenges in multiple aspects of system dependability, including real-time requirements, fault tolerance, privacy and security, sustainability, availability, reliability, scalability, and flexibility. The Embedded Systems and Software Track at DAC provides a forum for discussing the challenges of embedded design and an opportunity for leaders in the industry and academia to come together to exchange ideas and roadmaps for the future for this rapidly expanding area. 

Embedded Systems and Software (ESS) Track is one of the DAC Engineering Tracks. It brings IC designers, Embedded Systems core designers, Embedded Systems ecosystem providers, embedded software and system developers, automotive electronics engineers, safety experts, security experts and engineering managers from across the globe. Companies represented in the past include but are not limited to: 

AMD

Cadence

Marvell

Qualcomm

TI

ARM

Delphi

Mercedes Benz

Samsung

TSMC

Bosch

IBM

NVIDIA

Siemens EDA

And many other companies

BMW

Intel

NXP

Synopsys

 

The Embedded Systems and Software Track will include presentations, poster sessions and a rich set of invited talks/panels to facilitate information exchange and interactions. It offers a unique opportunity to network with and learn from other industry experts about best practices and current trends. View the Submission Categories tab below for a full list of submission categories for the 61st DAC ESS Track.


Submission Format

The following are required for your submission:

  • The title of the presentation
  • Abstract of 100-200 words
  • Submission Categories
  • Topic Area (a list will be provided)
  • Presenter(s) name, affiliation, city, state, country, and email address
  • For evaluation by the Program Committee, a six (6) slides* PowerPoint presentation. Please review the guidelines below for suggested presentation structure.

*Additional information may be added in the notes section for each slide.

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Submission Timeline

  • September 29, 2023: Submission site open.
  • January 16, 2024: Submission deadline
  • January 23, 2024: Submission deadline extended due to multiple requests
  • February 26, 2024: Notification - Accept as presentation, accept as poster, or reject notifications will be emailed to authors.
  • March 15, 2024: Confirmation Forms Due - Accepted presentations and posters must submit a confirmation form.
  • April 15, 2024: Bio & Draft Slides Due - Submission deadline for draft of final presentations and/or posters and speaker bios (for full talks only). All material will be reviewed by Session Chairs.
  • May 7, 2024: Slide Feedback - Deadline for Session Chairs to communicate poster and slide presentation feedback to authors.
  • May 21, 2024: Final Slides and Video Due - Deadline for authors to submit final poster and/or presentation slides and video.

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Submission Guidelines

The following guidelines should be followed when preparing your slides for submission:

  • Submissions are limited to 6 total slides*.
  • Submissions must be in PowerPoint format: 16:9 aspect ratio.
  • Consistent with DAC policy, company logos may appear only on the title slide.
  • Slide 1: Title, author names and affiliations
  • Authors may NOT be added after acceptance, so be sure to list all authors in the initial submission.
  • Slide 2: Motivation
  • Include an introduction that specifies the context and motivation of the submission. Examples: identify challenges associated with the design task at hand, clarify where in the design process the tools are used, and explain why the problem addressed is of interest to the audience.
  • Slide 3: Main Idea
  • Include details on the specific contributions of your work. Examples: innovative use of tools to achieve a specific goal, user enhancements to the tool and/or tool flow, dealing with scalability, details of integrating IP, study of design trade-offs, interfacing with manufacturing.
  • Slide 4: Additional Content Slide
  • Flexibility to add a slide that demonstrates value of the paper/idea
  • Slide 5: Evidence
  • Slide 6: Summary
  • Include a summary that highlights the main results of your work. Results are needed to evaluate the impact of your contribution. Metrics that could be used include productivity enhancement, improved quality of silicon, decreased complexity, and reduced time-to-market.
  • Important: Ensure that you have the necessary legal, trademark, copyright, and/or organizational approval needed to submit your presentation. Take appropriate steps to get this approval early, as the submissions deadline cannot be extended.

*Note: The presentation format described above is what is required for your submission to be reviewed by the Technical Program committee to decide Accept/Reject. The final presentation delivered at DAC will be made up of a Title slide, Author slide and 12 content slides. The expectation is that the final presentation will expand on the submission presentation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Embedded Systems and Software​ Track submission process?

To spare experts from industry the many hours of preparation associated with a regular manuscript submission, ESS Track submissions are in the form of a 6-slide PowerPoint presentation. Authors of the highest quality submissions will be invited to present their work in Designer Track sessions at the conference and a poster on the same subject during a Designer Track poster session. Other authors may also be invited to present a poster during a Designer Track poster session.

Why Engineering Track? How is it different from the Research Track?

The Embedded Systems and Software Track is aimed at engineers and industry experts in hardware/IP design and embedded systems and software developers. This complements DAC’s strong research focus on algorithms and methodology. The ESS Track aims to illustrate benefits and challenges of EDA tool usage, the process of creating successful hardware and software products and/or IP, and to provide educational and networking benefits for both end-users and tool developers. Naturally, the topics cut across hardware (GPU/CPU/SOC/ASIC/FPGA/Memory) and software design, IP and automation, given the rise of highly integration systems in today’s design projects. For 2023, we also extend the contents to Auto, IOT and Security areas and the detailed sub-categories can be found at DAC website.

What is the ESS Track submission timeline?

Check the Submission Timeline above.

Are ESS Track presentations and posters included in the DAC Proceedings?

No. However, Embedded Systems and Software Track posters and/or presentation slides will be made available online if the authors give permission. They will be made available on the DAC website after the conference as a part of the DAC Archive.

What kind of submissions from EDA companies make successful ESS Track submissions?

The ESS Track provides an EDA vendor-agnostic and objective forum for designers, IP developers and EDA tool users. To this end, Embedded Systems and Software Track submissions that are essentially marketing material from any company will be rejected. On the other hand, joint customer/vendor submissions written from the perspective of the designer/developer are encouraged and are a valuable part of the ESS Track.

Do I have to use a DAC template for my extended abstract?

No. But you are required to follow the submission and formatting guidelines listed above.

May I add an additional author(s) after submission?

No. All authors should be included at submission.

My company’s legal department hasn’t approved my submission yet. Can the deadline be extended?

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. If your company permits, you may submit your work for review by the DAC technical program committee without such approval. However, you must obtain appropriate legal, copyright, and any other required permissions well-ahead of the deadline for submission of the final presentation and/or poster, if your submission is accepted for presentation in either format. You will not be able to present any work at the ESS Track without suitable permission from your company.

Where do I submit?

All submissions will occur electronically through the DAC website. The original submission deadline was January 16, 2024 and has been extended to January 23, 2024 at 5:00 PM PT (USA).

What does an Embedded Systems and Software​ Track presentation entail?

Authors of accepted presentations will be allocated 15 minutes in an Embedded Systems and Software Track session: 13 minutes for the presentation, 1 minute for wrap-up, and 1 minute for Q/A. In addition, presenters are required to present a poster describing their work (see below for poster guidelines) at one of the hour-long Engineering Tracks poster sessions and be available for the entire hour to discuss their work with interested attendees. This provides an opportunity for extended discussion with interested members of the audience.

All accepted presentations are expected to submit a video of their presentation in advance of the event. This does not replace participation in the event. At least one author must attend and present at the live event.

What does an Embedded Systems and Software Track poster entail?

Each author is allocated a 42” tall x 36” wide area for a poster. ESS Track poster sessions will run for one hour, and may include 20-30 posters. Poster authors are welcome to distribute additional material to interested attendees at the poster session. Such material can include extended abstracts and whitepapers.

What’s the difference between an Embedded Systems and Software Track poster and an Embedded Systems and Software Track presentation?

Embedded Systems and Software Track presentations are oral presentations similar to those in the DAC research track. Designer Track presentations are scheduled in sessions that run parallel to the rest of the DAC program and also include a poster presentation at an Engineering Tracks poster session at the end of the day. If you are selected for a full presentation, you must produce both a slide presentation and a poster for post-session questions and discussion.

Embedded Systems and Software Track poster-only presentations must only produce a poster that will be presented during a poster-only session to be held at the end of the day on the exhibit floor for maximum exposure and discussion.

What topics are appropriate for the Embedded Systems and Software​ Track?

We seek a wide variety of contributions from system engineers, hardware designers, IP developers, systems and software developers, application engineers, automotive electronics developers, security experts, IoT experts, and EDA vendor/customer teams. Documented EDA tool use may target electronic design and system design at all levels of abstraction and across all application domains. EDA tool marketing material is strongly discouraged and will be rejected.

How are Embedded Systems and Software Track submissions evaluated?

The ESS Track program committee consists of industry experts that collectively represent years of design and software development experience. A good ESS Track presentation addresses innovative tool use coupled with high-quality results. Extra notes are encouraged to be included in the submission. The considerations used by the program committee in acceptance decisions include:

  • Significance of results supported by clear, measurable criteria, including, but not limited to: improved quality of silicon, improved reuse, decreased design process 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-facing 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 material including writing, illustrations, and organization.

Product marketing material is inappropriate for the ESS Track.

Does the Embedded Systems and Software​ Track have a “Best of” award?

Yes! Best Presentation and Poster awards will be selected from the Embedded Systems and Software Track. The awards will be based on (a) the quality of the submission, (b) the presentation given at DAC, and (c) the presentation at the poster session. The final selection will be made at the conference by an award committee. The Best Presentation Award will be announced in the DAC general session. Best Poster Award winners are announced at the close of the Poster Reception.

Do Embedded Systems and Software​ Track participants have to register for DAC?

Full DAC conference registrants are automatically allowed to attend the Engineering Track. In addition, both Engineering Track speakers and any participants who want to attend only the Engineering Track sessions, Keynotes, and the Exhibit Floor at DAC can do so at a discounted registration rate via the “Engineering Tracks Special”  registration package. Please see the DAC registration page for more details.

What should my slide presentation look like?

Remember that your slides must be presented in 13 minutes, plus 1 minute for wrap-up. Presenting meaningful content in a short time is challenging and requires careful thought and planning. Guidelines for preparing your final presentation are provided in the Embedded Systems and Software Track Speaker Resource Center. Example presentations from previous years can also be found in the DAC Archives.

My question isn’t answered here! Where can I get an answer?

Please address any unanswered questions to Ambar Sarkar, 61st DAC Engineering Tracks Program Chair.

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Submission Categories

Embedded Systems and Software Track submissions may describe the overall design and/or application of tools for creating the hardware, IP and/or software components of a novel electronic system. We specifically seek contributions from system engineers, hardware designers, application engineers, and vendor/customer teams. Documented tool use may target electronic design and system design at all levels of abstraction and across all application domains. Regular submissions will be accepted in the following categories:

  • ESS.01 System architecture exploration/design/optimization
  • ESS.02 Software specification/models/frameworks
  • ESS.03 Embedded real-time software building blocks
  • ESS.04 Simulation and modeling environments
  • ESS.05 Design/application of compilers/programming aids
  • ESS.06 Design/application of operating system (including RTOS)
  • ESS.07 Virtual machines, platforms and run time environments
  • ESS.08 Security and cryptography for embedded systems
  • ESS.09 Validation, test and verification
  • ESS.10 Design methodologies and flows
  • ESS.11 Communications, wireless, and networking
  • ESS.12 Embedded device machine learning and AI, edge
  • ESS.13 Case studies

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • Accepted Embedded Systems and Software Track presentations and posters are NOT included in the DAC proceedings. However, accepted ESS Track submissions (both posters and presentation slides) will be made available on the DAC website after the conference as a part of the DAC Archives (subject to approval from the authors).

  • Embedded Systems and Software Track submission will be accepted as a 15-minute presentation or presented as a poster in a 60-minute group session.

  • Best Presentation and Poster awards will be selected from the Embedded Systems and Software Track submissions. The awards will be based on (a) the quality of the submission, (b) the presentation given at DAC, and (c) the presentation at the poster session. 

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