Constraint-driven floorplan repair

Abstract

In this work, we propose a new and efficient approach to the floorplan repair problem, where violated design constraints are satisfied by applying small changes to an existing rough floorplan. Such a floorplan can be produced by a human designer, a scalable placement algorithm, or result from engineering adjustments to an existing floorplan. In such cases, overlapping modules must be separated, and others may need to be repositioned to satisfy additional requirements. Our algorithmic framework uses an expressive graph-based encoding of constraints which can reflect fixed-outline, region, proximity and alignment constraints. By tracking the implications of existing constraints, we resolve violations by imposing gradual modifications to the floorplan, in an attempt to preserve the characteristics of its initial design. Empirically, our approach is effective at removing overlaps and repairing violations that may occur when design constraints are acquired and imposed dynamically.