The John Henry Syndrome (panel session)(abstract only): humans vs. machines as FPGA designers.

Human designers have done amazing things with FPGAs. These designs challenge our assumptions about the speeds and densities acheivable by programmable hardware. But with multi-million gate designs and increasingly complex FPGA architectures is there really any place for the hand-crafted design anymore? Is there a way that CAD tools can incorporate the techniques and knowledge of designers to create high-density, high-performance implementations automatically? Or will the tools and architectures always lag the applications, thereby guaranteeing abundant job opportunities for FPGA design experts?