LordCore: Energy-Efficient OpenCL-Programmable Software-Defined Radio Coprocessor

• Published in: IEEE transactions on very large scale integration (VLSI) systems 2019-05, Vol.27 (5), p.1029-1042
• Main Authors: Kultala, Heikki, Viitanen, Timo, Berg, Heikki, Jaaskelainen, Pekka, Multanen, Joonas, Kokkonen, Mikko, Raiskila, Kalle, Zetterman, Tommi, Takala, Jarmo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Application-specific instruction set processor (ASIP); Applications programs; Computer architecture; Coprocessors; Detectors; digital signal processor; Energy conservation; Energy efficiency; Energy management; Error detection; Hardware; Microprocessors; MIMO communication; multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) detector; Power consumption; Power demand; Power management; Radio frequency; Registers; Software; Software radio; vector processor
• ISSN: 1063-8210; 1557-9999
• DOI: 10.1109/TVLSI.2019.2897508

This paper proposes a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) processor, which is programmed with high-level OpenCL language. The low-power processor is customized for executing multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) detection algorithms at a high performance while consuming very little power making it suitable for software-defined radio (SDR) applications. The novel combination of SIMD operations on a transport programmed multicore datapath allows saving power on both the execution front end and the back end, leading to very good energy efficiency with a compiler programmable design. We demonstrate the feasibility of the architecture with the layered orthogonal lattice detector and minimum mean-square-error MIMO algorithms, which can be used as a software-defined radio implementation of the 3GPP local thermal equilibrium r11 standard. Compared to other state-of-the-art SDR architectures, the proposed design adds features that improve programmer productivity with an insignificant power and area impact.