Hitachi Micro Systems Case Study

Embedded Software for Microcomputer Emulator

Company Profile

Based in Maidenhead, UK, Hitachi Micro Systems Europe Ltd (HMSE) is the European design engineering operation of Hitachi's global semiconductor business. HMSE provides advanced design engineering services for customers and creates embedded systems solutions that become part of Hitachi's global product and technology portfolio. System level solutions in HMSE are currently concentrated in the areas of Smartcard, Mobile Telephony, Digital Consumer and Automotive applications. HMSE also applies system capabilities to develop and manufacture software and hardware products to support micro-controller based system development.

Business Requirements

HMSE were in the process of developing a new range of Hitachi microcomputer emulators. The first emulator was to be designed for one of their H8S2000 series microcomputers. The company had a requirement to develop software that would enable the new emulator to work with the existing Hitachi Debug Interface running on a PC with Windows 9x/2000.

The emulator was intended to fill a gap in the market between existing very expensive emulators and the cheaper alternative of an EVB running an embedded monitor. The new emulator was designed in a modular way so that a base unit could provide common emulator functionality with the possibility of purchasing other modules to extend the capabilities. The base unit also has an EPLD that can be configured to provide additional functionality, without the need for additional modules, for example a breakpoint controller or a limited trace facility.

Our Solution

After HMSE had developed prototype hardware, Beacon was asked to develop the required software for the new emulator to work with the Hitachi Debug Interface. This software needed to run on a PC that could link to the emulator either via USB or Ethernet.

We began by defining a high-level protocol for the communications. The individual drivers were then implemented in separate DLLs with a common interface. Since the majority of hardware could not be tested without the software in place, we worked closely with the HMSE hardware engineers to gain a thorough understanding of the project. This enabled us to develop software efficiently and which met HMSE’s hardware and overall project requirements.

The Hitachi Debug Interface used a target-specific DLL enabling it to be customised to a particular usage, including additional GUI development.

The software was written in VC++/MFC and the firmware was developed using the Hitachi Embedded Workshop.