The Ubimus Plugging Framework: Deploying FPGA-Based Prototypes for Ubiquitous Music Hardware Design

Abstract

The emergent field of embedded computing presents a challenging scenario for ubiquitous music (ubimus) design. Available tools demand specific technical knowledge—as exemplified in the techniques involved in programming integrated circuits of configurable logic units, known as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Low-level hardware description languages used for handling FPGAs involve a steep learning curve. Hence, FPGA programming offers a unique challenge to probe the boundaries of ubimus frameworks as enablers of fast and versatile prototyping. State-of-the-art hardware-oriented approaches point to the use of high-level synthesis as a promising programming technique. Furthermore, current FPGA system-on-chip (SoC) hardware with an associated onboard general-purpose processor may foster the development of flexible platforms for musical signal processing. Taking into account the emergence of an FPGA-based ecology of tools, we introduce the ubimus plugging framework. The procedures employed in the construction of a modular- synthesis library based on field-programmable gate array hardware, ModFPGA, are documented, and examples of musical projects applying key design principles are discussed.