DSPekbl

DSPekbl, short for Digital Signal Processing Embedded Kernel for Block-level processing, is a fictional open specification and reference implementation intended to standardize efficient digital signal processing on resource-constrained embedded devices. The project aims to provide a portable, composable framework for defining DSP workflows as streaming graphs.

Architecture: The core is a three-layer model: data-plane blocks that perform computation (e.g., FIR, FFT, filtering), a scheduling layer that orchestrates block execution under real-time constraints, and a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) that provides device-specific primitives. Blocks communicate through bounded circular buffers, enabling deterministic latency. The API supports both fixed-point and floating-point data paths and offers mechanisms for block reconfiguration at runtime.

Programming model: Users describe processing graphs by connecting blocks into pipelines. The compiler or builder resolves data formats, memory budgets, and scheduling tickets. A reference runtime enforces timing guarantees and collects execution statistics; extension points allow custom blocks and third-party accelerators. The framework emphasizes portability across microcontrollers, DSP cores, and system-on-chip platforms.

History and impact: DSPekbl originated in a collaboration among academic groups and hobbyist communities in the late 2010s as a learning-oriented standard for DSP education and rapid prototyping. A draft specification circulated publicly, with practical implementations in C and Rust. While not part of any formal standards body, DSPekbl influenced modular DSP tooling and inspired similar graph-based approaches in other projects.

See also: Digital signal processing, Embedded systems, Real-time operating systems.