Mastering Simplicity Studio - Understanding hardware and software correlation

Energy Profiler is a tool that we see hardware and software teams use to visualize system level energy consumption. The Profiler makes it easier to realize that there is an interdependence between both disciplines when it comes to maximizing battery life of a device. Energy Profiler has 3 main views. One way that engineers use the Energy Profiler is by looking at the energy graph. This graph plots current on the Y axis over time on the X axis. The result is the energy consumption, which is being shown in real-time running on the actual prototype or in my example the starter kit. Designers can also use the function view at the bottom of the screen. I call this view a “heat index”where you can see the energy consumption per function and the contribution to the overall energy budget. Which brings us to the third view on the right hand side that shows your code. Having your code visible in the Energy Profiler is very useful when you find a spike in energy consumption and want to know which lines of code were responsible. Clicking on a point in the energy graph will highlight the line of code that corresponds to that specific energy spike. With the energy profiler, there’s no reason that HW and SW teams can’t work together to optimize energy consumption!