ESWEEK

Welcome to the 2012 Conference on Compilers, Architectures and Synthesis for Embedded Systems -- CASES'12! We are very pleased to continue the CASES tradition of bringing a unique focus on the intersection of compilers and architectures to Embedded Systems Week (ESWEEK). CASES has served this purpose since 2006 when it first formed part of the three core conferences that comprise ESWEEK.

This year, the program emphasizes a number of trends in compilation technology, architectures and memory systems. Some highlights include the keynote presentation from Professor Satnam Singh who explores the programming challenges we face as the well-established concept of the instruction set architecture (ISA) erodes with the emergence of heterogeneous architectures. Two invited papers further this dialogue by exploring new roles compilers and auto-tuners serve in the context of increasingly parallel and heterogeneous architectures.

Several of the other sessions address old and new challenges in the context of memory systems. Among the latter is an especially important emphasis on security in memory. As the number of embedded systems per person shows no signs of slowing its dramatic increase over the past ten years, many predict that, in the next ten years, security will become as critical of an issue as energy consumption and power have come to be. It is for this reason we decided to open the conference with an invited paper on this topic.

The CASES program committee accepted 18 out of 60 papers. All submissions received at least four reviews and half received five reviews. Every paper was discussed online, and the committee reached a number of decisions using online dialogue. This process allowed the committee to focus on a small number of papers at the face-to-face meeting where the program was finalized. This meeting was collocated with the Design Automation Conference (DAC) and held on June 3 in San Francisco, CA.

The program this year consists of eight sessions and will follow a format established last year where each two-hour session has three papers and a final half-hour poster session. The poster session worked well in the past and we believe it affords a closer interaction between the authors and the attendees. We encourage you to take advantage of this format to have all of your questions answered!

CASES is excited to be in Tampere, Finland -- home to Nokia, one of the largest producers of mobile phone technology. Finland also serves as an important link between Europe and Russia. It is exciting to have an opportunity to learn more about Finnish culture and technology. Several keynote speakers, a packed industrial session, and an excellent technical program will provide significant insight into the state of the art in embedded systems and the emerging challenges ahead. Finally, we would like to thank the many volunteers -- especially the CASES program committee and the ESWEEK local arrangements chairs, whose kind and dedicated effort make the conference possible.