This article was published in the “Integrated Circuits and Embedded Systems” 2024, Issue 12.

Building and Implementing an ARM Cortex-A53 Virtual Platform Based on QEMU

Chen Fang, Song Leijun, Zhang Fengling, Gao Saijun, Shan Xinxin

(Shanghai Aerospace Computer Technology Research Institute)

In the aerospace field, the development of embedded systems faces challenges such as tight hardware resources and insufficient testing. To overcome these limitations, this article successfully constructed an ARM Cortex-A53 virtual platform based on QEMU, providing an excellent solution for aerospace embedded development.

The core of this technology lies in virtualization, which allows multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on the same hardware, greatly improving resource utilization. By writing an AArch64 instruction test set, the reliability of QEMU’s dynamic translation was verified, and Flash was successfully mounted, constructing a virtual network and establishing a data transmission link. Additionally, by reconstructing device drivers and redirecting kernel drivers, the availability of peripherals was ensured, ultimately achieving the construction of a custom virtual machine.

One of the highlights is the design of the integrated development environment, which supports the visual construction of the virtual platform, remote debugging of source code, and target code coverage statistics, significantly enhancing the convenience and reliability of the virtual platform. This environment not only simplifies the construction process of the virtual platform but also makes the debugging process controllable and the running results efficiently analyzable.

Most notably, the simulation results of a certain flight control software on both the real platform and the virtual platform were consistent, validating the real usability of the virtual platform. This means that even under hardware resource constraints, the sufficiency of software development and testing can be ensured, providing strong assurance for the reliability and safety of aerospace products.

The promotion of this technology will bring more efficient and flexible development testing methods to the aerospace field, promoting the advancement of aerospace embedded systems to a higher level. With further maturation and application of the technology, we look forward to its powerful potential being demonstrated in broader fields.

Citation format for this article:

Chen Fang, Song Leijun, Zhang Fengling, et al..Building and Implementing an ARM Cortex-A53 Virtual Platform Based on QEMU[J]. Integrated Circuits and Embedded Systems, 2024, 24(12): 17-24.

Friends interested can read or download the full version of this article:

Building and Implementing an ARM Cortex-A53 Virtual Platform Based on QEMU

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The “Integrated Circuits and Embedded Systems” journal is supervised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and hosted by Beihang University. It is a comprehensive academic journal published both domestically and internationally, focusing on key issues in the field of integrated circuits, dedicated to providing a platform for communication and sharing for experts and scholars in the industry, supporting the independent training of high-level talents, promoting the deep integration of industry, academia, and research, and jointly advancing the steady development of China’s integrated circuit industry.

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