MEbots: Integrating a RISC-V Virtual Platform with a Robotic Simulator for Energy-aware Design

Personal use of this material is permitted. Abstract --Virtual Platforms (VPs) enable early software validation of autonomous systems' electronics, reducing costs and time-to-market. While many VPs support both functional and non-functional simulation (e.g., timing, power), they lack the capability of simulating the environment in which the system operates. In contrast, robotics simulators lack accurate timing and power features. This twofold shortcoming limits the effectiveness of the design flow, as the designer can not fully evaluate the features of the solution under development. This paper presents a novel, fully open-source framework bridging this gap by integrating a robotics simulator (Webots) with a VP for RISC-V-based systems (MESSY). The framework enables a holistic, mission-level, energy-aware co-simulation of electronics in their surrounding environment, streamlining the exploration of design configurations and advanced power management policies. Virtual Platforms (VPs) enable comprehensive system modeling and simulation before physical production [1] and are thus a crucial resource in the design of modern embedded systems, characterized by heterogeneity and tight integration with the physical environment.