August 1, 2011 -- Without being aware of it, an American encounters on average hundreds, if not thousands, of embedded systems every day. Just consider a modern car in which hundreds of microprocessors control a large multitude of engine functions: the entire lighting system, seat positioning, and so on all the way to the activation of the windshield wipers when it rains. Add to this cell phones, digital cameras, entertainment systems, memory sticks, microwaves, and coffee makers.

A key feature of these systems, which often is presented in the form of system-on-chip (SOC) devices, is that they contain an intimate mixture of hardware and embedded software. In many cases, the way in which these systems function is mission critical. As a result, the hardware and software must undergo extreme levels of co-verification to ensure that they perform to the highest standards possible.

By Lauro Rizzatti. (Rizzatti is General Manager of EVE-USA.)