Patent ID: 8904200

Claim:
A method for optimizing operation which is applicable to an integrated circuit chip comprising several processing blocks capable of executing respective tasks within a given application, each processing block comprising at least one processor, the method comprising, for each processing block: execution of a task by the processor under the control of at least one variable parameter, such as the operating frequency or period of the processor or its supply voltage; determination in real time of at least one characteristic data value associated with the processing block during its operation, such as for example the temperature of the block or the power dissipated in the block or a latency time of the block, this characteristic data value being dependent on the value of the variable parameter; transfer of the characteristic data value to the other blocks and the reception of the corresponding characteristic data from the other blocks; calculation in the block of various values for an optimization function dependent on the characteristic data value of the block, on the characteristic data from the other blocks, and on the variable parameter, the function being calculated for the current value of the variable parameter of the block and for other possible values of this parameter; selection, from among the various values of the variable parameter, of that which gives the best value for the optimization function; and application of this selected value of the variable parameter to the processor for the remainder of the execution of the task.