The edaWorkshop is the premier German EDA event for the publication and discussion of application-oriented EDA research results. It is also the primary platform for presenting and exchanging solution approaches and results of EDA projects funded by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research). The edaWorkshop is organized jointly by the edacentrum and BMBF and the GI/GMM/ITG RSS Steering Group for “Computer-aided Circuit and System Design”.

Like every two years since 2009, the edaWorkshop13 will co-locate and share a common day – including keynotes, sessions and the social event – with the annual CATRENE Design Technology Conference (CATRENE DTC), successor of the MEDEA+ Design Automation Conference. The CATRENE DTC, is the meeting point of Europe’s scientists and experts in application- oriented design. Leading research and development in design automation has been supported by MEDEA+, now by CATRENE, and EUREKA member states during the past ten years. The joint event consists of a CATRENE DTC day (May 14), an edaWorkshop day (May 16), and a joint day common to both (May 15).

Both events are attracting European experts in industry and academia and consequently the organizers decided this year to co-locate the workshop and the conference. The mix of representatives from industry and academic creates ideal opportunities for a professional exchange of ideas on a scientific basis. The dialog can pave the way for industry to benefit from research results. It promotes communication between EDA experts and public authorities, and supports the dissemination of the results of publicly-funded projects.

The three days event is a balanced combination of information and communication. It not only offers a wide range of discussions on specialized subjects and EDA research projects, but also provides several networking opportunities. Furthermore all attendees are invited to contribute to future updates of the German "eDesign" strategy papers or the multi-annual strategic plan (MASP) of the European research initiative ENIAC. Input will be collected at any time and provided to the ones who work on it. The edaWorkshop is completed by a comprehensive poster exhibition, where demonstrations and prototypes will also be presented.

The edaWorkshop and CATRENE DTC – Catalyst of EDA Research

The design of integrated circuits and systems places enormous demands on R&D engineers and the design methods and tools that they use. It requires the efficient and manufacturing-aware development of safe, economical, robust and reliable systems of high complexity with very small structures (< 32 nm), and the design of analog and mixed-signal circuits.

In order to stimulate EDA research activities to deal with these challenges, the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) has established a special R&D program. It is dedicated to design platforms for complex applied systems and circuits and is embedded into the BMBF research program for information and communication technology (IKT 2020). In IKT 2020 EDA projects industry and academia join forces with the public authorities to support those areas that are vital for the competitiveness of the German industry. There are five application fields with a potentially high added value, and with considerable potential for job creation: automotive/mobility, mechanical engineering/automation, health/medicine, logistics/services and energy/environment.

In many cases the projects on these application fields include European-wide collaboration, they are contributing to the research program of CATRENE. The programs of IKT 2020 and CATRENE complement each other and offer a lot of valuable synergies.

The edaworkshop in combination with the CATRENE DTC is a central platform for exchanging information concerning the approaches and results of IKT 2020 projects and of CATRENE projects as well. People involved in the projects are invited to present their results by means of talks and posters. At the heart of these presentations will be the relevance of the applications to topics affecting society (as defined in IKT 2020 and CATRENE White Book, part B). As second essential part of the event, the project presentations will be supplemented by a selection of peer-reviewed scientific papers on R&D results.

The edaWorkshop jointly organized with the CATRENE Design Technology Conference (CATRENE DTC), provides a comprehensive overview of latest algorithms and tools, emerging technologies, key and partially common CATRENE and IKT 2020 projects, as well as advanced research in applicationoriented SoC design automation in Europe.