Embedded systems -- the whole picture
October 28, 2009
(PhysOrg.com) -- Embedded computer systems must be fast and efficient. A European consortium has created a new modelling framework that lets designers strike the best balance between static, reconfigurable and analogue hardware and the software that runs on it.
A typical desktop PC contains an all-purpose processor and many different software programs that allow it to do a huge range of tasks. It gets things done, not always as efficiently as possible, but well enough for most purposes.
Embedded systems are different. These specialised computers can be found everywhere from aircraft to cars to washing machines. They are built to do one job extremely well, and usually that means that a lot of processing work which might be done in software on a normal computer is done by a purpose-made - and efficient - hardware chip.
The trick is to get the right balance between software and hardware. “Software is flexible, but it requires fast and expensive processors and can be too slow for very computation-intensive tasks,” says Frank Oppenheimer, of the OFFIS research centre in Oldenburg. “Hardware in embedded systems is efficient but usually static - that is, a piece of hardware can be used in exactly one specific way.”
In recent years industrial designers have become interested in dynamically reconfigurable hardware. It comes in programmable modules which can rewire themselves to do different tasks, so combining the processing muscle of hardware with the flexibility of software.
Four domains, one view
It sounds an ideal solution, but designers report that while they look good on paper these reconfigurable hardware modules are not easy to use in practice. “They are a nightmare when you try to use them in real designs,” Oppenheimer notes. “Most of the time, you have to fight with the technology rather than concentrate on the application you want to implement."
On top of that, reconfigurable hardware must work smoothly with the static hardware, analogue hardware and software that make up a typical embedded system. “Each of these four ‘domains’ comes with its own design tools but these tools are not integrated,” Oppenheimer explains. "You can simulate the hardware part, you can simulate the analogue part and you can simulate the software part of your final system, but if you want to have an integrated view, that is very difficult."
The EU-funded ANDRES project set out to find ways to help designers of embedded systems strike the best balance between the four domains - essential if the design is to be efficient and cost-effective - as well as make reconfigurable hardware easier to use.
The answer is a design process that allows the designer to work up an idea from an initial concept to a physical system. It includes a modelling language and FOSSY, a design tool to help with reconfigurable hardware.
Modelling framework
“At the core of this ANDRES framework is a modelling language plus component libraries that enable the designer to describe these integrated systems containing hardware, software and analogue components,” says Oppenheimer, the project coordinator. “That means you can focus on the application, not the technologies.”
Within the framework the designer can simulate the proposed system to see how it works and try out modifications before specifying how it will be implemented. The language is an extension of SystemC™, an IEEE standard modelling language already used in industry.
The extensions mean that the ANDRES framework can be used with existing simulators for SystemC™. The complete package will be made available with an open-source licence, to encourage the design community to adopt and further improve it.
First applications are likely to be in the telecoms industry where high-performance embedded systems are used as routers and switches in backbone data networks. “They are very, very computation-intensive,” says Oppenheimer. “They have huge data throughput requirements - up to hundreds of gigabits per second per line.”
Reconfigurable hardware will let the routers and switches adapt to multiple standards at moderate costs in hardware.
Spin-off design company
The motor industry is also interested. “In a car with a driver assistance system, using cameras and radar, there is a lot of data coming in and a lot of processing is required. Today’s processors are simply too weak for that. This is where the ANDRES approach comes into play, where you have a real heterogeneous application.”
Another outcome will be a spin-off company, as yet unnamed, to market design services using the project’s FOSSY synthesis tool for reconfigurable hardware. Currently seeking start-up support, the company is expected to be launched in 2010.
Oppenheimer points out that while routine electronic design can now be done anywhere in the world, the really challenging tasks still require design skills and engineering know-how found largely in Europe, the USA or Japan. In the long run, ANDRES should help European designers stay on top of the market.
More information: ANDRES project
Provided by ICT Results
-
Soft hardware for a flexible chip
Apr 21, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Automotive safety systems get more dependable
May 16, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Poseidon Design Systems Introduces ESL Tools That Analyze, Optimize and Accelerate Processor-Based Designs
Aug 23, 2004 |
not rated yet |
0
-
STMicroelectronics Pioneers Major Breakthrough in SoC Design
Jun 13, 2005 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Next-generation sound systems to minimise background noise
Jul 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
How to calculate total compressibility in liquid porous solid system
2 hours ago
-
Need help reading 3-D
22 hours ago
-
A way to send and receive wireless data
Feb 11, 2012
-
Calling function with no input argument
Feb 10, 2012
-
Force free body diagram problem on gym equipment
Feb 10, 2012
-
Empirical data regarding shower heads and water
Feb 10, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - General Engineering
More news stories
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
Iran blocks email, restricts net access: reports
Iran has further restricted access to the Internet and blocked popular email services for the past few days, in a move a top lawmaker said could "cost the regime dearly," media reports said on Sunday.
3 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
3
Love a click away in Indonesia's Twitter Republic
He was a geeky kid from Yogyakarta, she a glamorous city girl in Jakarta. In a country with one of the world's most vibrant social networking scenes they fell in love on Twitter.
11 hours ago |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...
Navy to begin tests on electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher
The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility ...
Feb 06, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (17) |
94
|
Overeating may double risk of memory loss
New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be ...
Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...
New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside
There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...
Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact
Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.
Injured boomers beware: Know when to see doctor
(AP) -- It happened to nurse Jane Byron years after an in-line skating fall, business owner Haralee Weintraub while doing "men's" push-ups, and avid cyclist Gene Wilberg while lifting a heavy box.
A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell
Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...