Workshop "Open Hardware: the new road?" - GDR SOC2 - IEEE CAS « Tour de France »

Workshop "Open Hardware: the new road?"
GDR SOC2 - IEEE CAS « Tour de France »
Chairman: Sylvain Bourdel
https://tima.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/research/rms/members/sylvain-bourdel

Context: In recent years, there has been a remarkable surge in interest and support for open hardware initiatives, driven in part by major industry players such as Google. These companies have come to recognize that accessibility to design tools and integrated technologies poses a significant barrier to the development of new applications, particularly for start-ups, due to the exorbitant costs associated with such access.

The concept of open hardware holds the promise of breaking down these barriers by democratizing access to development tools in microelectronics. By fostering an environment where designs are shared openly, collaboration is encouraged, resources are made more accessible, learning and teaching microelectronics become easy, open hardware has the potential to catalyse innovation and breathe new life into the field.

Notably, various programs have emerged to champion the cause of open hardware. Initiatives like Open Road, the IEEE PICO program, the Alliance program in Europe or the Google/Skywater efabless program, stand as beacons of collaborative effort, aiming to push the boundaries of what's possible in open hardware development.

As we embark on this exploration of open hardware, it is pertinent to raise a critical question: Are the tools and technologies advanced enough to be effectively utilized across the diverse spectrum of microelectronics applications? This question underscores the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as we navigate the landscape of open hardware innovation.

(Preliminary) Program at a glance
8:00 – Accueil Badge
8:30 – Opening Keynote by Pr. Boris Murmann (U. of Hawaii) : 
Re-Energizing Analog Design using the Open-Source Ecosystem. 
9:30 – Aurélien Nicolet (CIME-P) : The French platform supporting open hardware
10:00 –  Krzysztof Herman (IHP) : IHP Open Source PDK -  sharing experience after one year of development
11:00 – 75th anniversary of CAS Society Keynote by Ricardo Reis.

14:00 – Pr. Ricardo Reis (UFRGS): Why joining IEEE CAS Society ?
14:30 – Jean-Paul Chaput (LIP6 – Sorbonne University): Coriolis, The European Open Hardware Project
15:30 – Dr. Leonardo Gomes (TIMA - UGA): The first 60 GHz circuit designed with open hardware platform. 
16:00 – Deni Alves (UFSC): ACM, a design-oriented model for open tools.

Keynote speakers

Boris Murmann
Bio: Boris Murmann is a Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa. From 2004-2023 he served as a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. From 1994 to 1997, he was with Neutron Microelectronics, Hanau, Germany, where he developed low-power and smart-power ASICs. Since 2004, he has worked as a consultant with numerous Silicon Valley companies. Dr. Murmann’s research interests are in the area of mixed-signal integrated circuit design, including sensor interfaces, A/D and D/A conversion, high-speed communication links, embedded machine learning (tinyML) as well as open-source chip design. He is a fellow of the IEEE and currently chairs the IEEE SSCS Technical Committee on the Open-Source Ecosystem.

Opening Keynote: Re-Energizing Analog Design using the Open-Source Ecosystem 
Abstract: Since the launch of the Open Shuttle Run program by Google, SkyWater, and Efabless in 2020, we have witnessed a steady expansion of the open-source IC design ecosystem leading to nearly 7,000 users in the open-source-silicon Slack channel. Given this strong momentum, it is interesting to ask questions about where this movement will ultimately take us. To what extent will the open-source approach help us overcome the classical analog issues of limited re-use and design automation? How can it help us in teaching and attracting talents? In this talk, I will share my observations and experiences from teaching an open-source IC design course and organizing a variety of activities under the IEEE SSCS PICO (Platform for Integrated Circuits Outreach) program.

Ricardo Reis
Ricardo Reis (Life Senior Member, IEEE) received the bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1978, the Ph.D. degree in microelectronics from the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble (INPG), France, in 1983, and the Doctor Honoris Causa degree from the University of Montpellier, in 2016. He started with the EMicro, an annual microelectronics school in South Brazil. He is currently a Full Professor with the Informatics Institute, UFRGS. He has done more than 80 invited talks in conferences. He has more than 700 publications, including books, journals, and conference proceedings. His main research interests include physical design automation, design methodologies, fault-tolerant systems, and microelectronics education. He was a member of the CASS DLP Program from 2014 to 2015. He is an active member of CASS. He is a founding member of the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC) and also a founding member of the Brazilian Microelectronics Society (SBMicro). He is a member of IEEE CASS BoG and IEEE CEDA BoG. He is a member of the IEEE IoT Initiative Activity Board. In 2002, he received the Researcher of the Year Award in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. He received the 2015 IEEE CASS Meritorious Service Award. He received the IFIP Fellow Award and the 2022 ACM/ISPD Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the General Chair or the Program Chair of several conferences, such as IEEE ISVLSI, SBCCI, IFIP VLSI-SoC, ICECS, and PATMOS. He was the Chair of the IFIP/IEEE VLSI-SoC Steering Committee and the Vice-Chair of the IFIP WG10.5. He was the Chair of IFIP TC10. He is the Chair of the IEEE CASS SiG on IoT. He was the Vice-President of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). He was the President of the Brazilian Computer Society (two terms) and the Vice-President of the Brazilian Microelectronics Society. He was the Vice-President of CASS for two terms from 2008 to 2011. He is the Founder of the Rio Grande do Sul CAS Chapter, which got the World CASS Chapter of The Year Award in 2011, 2012, and 2018, and the R9 Chapter of the Year in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2020. He is the Founder of several conferences, such as SBCCI and LASCAS, and the CASS Flagship Conference in Region 9.