Fast, Accurate Static Analysis for Fixed-Point Finite-Precision Effects in DSP Designs

Translating digital signal processing (DSP) software intoits finite-precision hardware implementation is often a time-consumingtask. We describe a new static analysis techniquethat can accurately analyze finite-precision effects arisingfrom fixed-point implementations of DSP algorithms.The technique is based on recent interval representation methodsfrom affine arithmetic, and the use of new probabilisticbounds. The resulting numerical error estimates are comparableto detailed statistical simulation, but achieve speedupsof four to five orders of magnitude by avoiding actual bit-truesimulation. We show error analysis results on both feedforward and feedback DSP kernels.