FPGA as a Function: A Low-Code Framework for Edge Computing

In edge computing environments, challenges in utilizing FPGAs as computational resources in edge nodes include the separation of expertise among FPGA designers, network engineers, and IoT engineers, as well as issues of logic reusability and flexible configuration. A GUI-based framework using Node-RED is proposed, leveraging the reconfigurability of FPGAs and dynamic network configuration to enable collaboration among engineers from different fields.The proposed framework utilizes the Processing System (PS) and Programmable Logic (PL) of SoC FPGAs, allowing visual operation of FPGA nodes on Node-RED. When FPGA nodes are connected consecutively, direct data transfer between FPGAs is possible without passing through Node-RED, minimizing communication latency and overhead. Furthermore, by dynamically configuring network settings instead of hard-coding them into the logic, the same logic design can be reused in different network environments, reducing development costs and enabling rapid service deployment.In evaluation experiments, communication latency between Node-RED and FPGAs was measured in both two-point and three-point communication scenarios. The results confirmed that the additional latency introduced by the proposed framework is minimal and does not compromise the processing speed advantage of hardware accelerators. Additionally, resource evaluation showed that sufficient resources can be secured, indicating the possibility of implementing additional applications.With this framework, FPGA designers can focus on logic design without considering network or communication partners, while IoT engineers can use FPGAs as applications without knowledge of FPGA or coding. This improves the practicality and reusability of FPGAs in edge computing environments and demonstrates the potential for more engineers to participate in FPGA-based application development.