mruby on Resource-Constrained Low-Power Coprocessors of Embedded Devices

As IoT devices advance, their microcontroller systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) demand higher speeds, more memory, and advanced peripherals, leading to increased power consumption. Integrating low-power (LP) coprocessors in SoCs can reduce power usage while maintaining responsiveness. However, switching application execution to and from the coprocessors generally involves complex and platform-specific procedures. We propose a JIT compilation method for managed programming languages to streamline LP coprocessor use. Our prototype for the programming language mruby includes a JIT compiler and a seamless processor-switching mechanism, enabling rapid development of IoT applications leveraging LP coprocessors. This work-in-progress paper describes the design and implementation of the extended mruby interpreter and presents preliminary evaluations of its power consumption and latency on ESP32-S3 and ESP32-C6.