Testing¶

Testing frameworks and methodologies for elasticai.creator.

HW-in-the-Loop Testing¶

The HW-in-the-Loop testing framework in elasticai.creator enables testing of hardware implementations by synthesizing VHDL designs and running them on actual hardware devices.

Key Components¶

• The HWTester class manages hardware testing, including device connections, bitstream uploads, and hardware function execution.
• The HWTester.prepare_hw_function(src_dir, id=None) method prepares and uploads a hardware function for testing.

Workflow¶

1. Generate VHDL and constraint files
2. Synthesize VHDL into bitstream
3. Connect to hardware device
4. Upload bitstream to FPGA
5. Execute hardware function
6. Retrieve results

Example¶

import elasticai.experiment_framework.remote_control as eaixp_rc
import pytest
from elasticai.experiment_framework.synthesis import CachedVivadoSynthesis
from elasticai.creator.testing import HWTester

@pytest.mark.hardware
def test_hardware_function(tmp_path):
    # Setup
    synthesis = CachedVivadoSynthesis()
    device = eaixp_rc.probe_for_devices()[0]
    tester = HWTester(
        synth_fn=synthesis.synthesize,
        device=eaixp_rc.remote_control.connect_remote_control(device),
    )

    hw_id = generate_vhdl_files_and_return_id(...)

    # Prepare and run hardware function
    with tester.prepare_hw_function(build_dir, id=hw_id) as run_inference:
        predictions = run_inference(b"\x01\x01\x00\x01", 3)

    # Verify results
    assert predictions == expected_output_words

Implementation Details¶

Device Management¶

Uses remote control interface via context manager, without direct dependency on elasticai.experiment_framework.

Hardware Function Identification¶

• With ID: Checks if function is already loaded (avoids re-upload)
• Without ID (None): Always uploads bitstream

API Reference¶

• Testing Module
• Core API Reference

Related Projects¶

• Elastic-AI Experiment Framework - Hardware device control and synthesis tools

Requirements¶

• Hardware device connected to system
• Synthesis tools configured (e.g., Vivado)
• Device communication context manager

Use @pytest.mark.hardware marker for hardware tests.

Best Practices¶

• Use context manager pattern for hardware functions
• Provide hardware function IDs to avoid unnecessary re-uploads

Simulation¶

• Testing Module API