Using genetic evolutionary software application testing to verify a DSP SoC

Copyright © 2008 IEEEA digital signal processor (DSP) system-on-chip (SoC) can be designed using a variety of architectures and techniques. This often presents different verification challenges compared to conventional SoC or processor designs. Verification of such designs should take into account the goals and applications of the DSP, and how they are eventually used. This paper proposes an application based verification methodology and demonstrates this technique on a real-life DSP SoC design. Our technique employs a library of specially devised application functions as test building blocks, followed by a genetic evolutionary test generator to compose these application functions into effective test programs.Adriel Cheng, Cheng-Chew Lim, Yihe Sun, Hu He, Zhixiong Zhou, Ting Le

Data Acquisition and Control System of Hydroelectric Power Plant Using Internet Techniques

Vodní energie se nyní stala nejlepším zdrojem elektrické energie na zemi. Vyrábí se pomocí energie poskytované pohybem nebo pádem vody. Historie dokazuje, že náklady na tuto elektrickou energii zůstávají konstantní v průběhu celého roku. Vzhledem k mnoha výhodám, většina zemí nyní využívá vodní energie jako hlavní zdroj pro výrobu elektrické energie.Nejdůležitější výhodou je, že vodní energie je zelená energie, což znamená, že žádné vzdušné nebo vodní znečišťující látky nejsou vyráběny, také žádné skleníkové plyny jako oxid uhličitý nejsou vyráběny, což činí tento zdroj energie šetrný k životnímu prostředí. A tak brání nebezpečí globálního oteplování. Použití internetové techniky k ovladání několika vodních elektráren má velmi významné výhody, jako snížení provozních nákladů a flexibilitu uspokojení změny poptávky po energii na straně spotřeby. Také velmi efektivně čelí velkým narušením elektrické sítě, jako je například přidání nebo odebrání velké zátěže, a poruch. Na druhou stranu, systém získávání dat poskytuje velmi užitečné informace pro typické i vědecké analýzy, jako jsou ekonomické náklady, predikce poruchy systémů, predikce poptávky, plány údržby, systémů pro podporu rozhodování a mnoho dalších výhod. Tato práce popisuje všeobecný model, který může být použit k simulaci pro sběr dat a kontrolní systémy pro vodní elektrárny v prostředí Matlab / Simulink a TrueTime Simulink knihovnu. Uvažovaná elektrárna sestává z vodní turbíny připojené k synchronnímu generátoru s budicí soustavou, generátor je připojen k veřejné elektrické síti. Simulací vodní turbíny a synchronního generátoru lze provést pomocí různých simulačních nástrojů. V této práci je upřednostňován SIMULINK / MATLAB před jinými nástroji k modelování dynamik vodní turbíny a synchronního stroje. Program s prostředím MATLAB SIMULINK využívá k řešení schematický model vodní elektrárny sestavený ze základních funkčních bloků. Tento přístup je pedagogicky lepší než komplikované kódy jiných softwarových programů. Knihovna programu Simulink obsahuje funkční bloky, které mohou být spojovány, upravovány a modelovány. K vytvoření a simulování internetových a Real Time systémů je možné použít bud‘ knihovnu simulinku Real-Time nebo TRUETIME, v práci byla použita knihovna TRUETIME.Hydropower has now become the best source of electricity on earth. It is produced due to the energy provided by moving or falling water. History proves that the cost of this electricity remains constant over the year. Because of the many advantages, most of the countries now have hydropower as the source of major electricity producer. The most important advantage of hydropower is that it is green energy, which mean that no air or water pollutants are produced, also no greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are produced which makes this source of energy environment-friendly. It prevents us from the danger of global warming. Using internet techniques to control several hydroelectric plants has very important advantages, as reducing operating costs and the flexibility of meeting changes of energy demand occurred in consumption side. Also it is very effective to confront large disturbances of electrical grid, such as adding or removing large loads, and faults. In the other hand, data acquisition systems provides very useful information for both typical and scientific analysis, such as economical costs reducing, fault prediction systems, demand prediction, maintenance schedules, decision support systems and many other benefits. This thesis describes a generalized model which can be used to simulate a data acquisition and control system of hydroelectric power plant using MATLAB/SIMULINK and TrueTime simulink library. The plant considered consists of hydro turbine connected to synchronous generator with excitation system, and the generator is connected to public grid. Simulation of hydro turbine and synchronous generator can be done using various simulation tools, In this work, SIMULINK/MATLAB is favored over other tools in modeling the dynamics of a hydro turbine and synchronous machine. The SIMULINK program in MATLAB is used to obtain a schematic model of the hydro plant by means of basic function blocks. This approach is pedagogically better than using a compilation of program code as in other software programs .The library of SIMULINK software programs includes function blocks which can be linked and edited to model. Either Simulink Real-Time library or TrueTime library can be used to build and simulate internet and real time systems, in this thesis the TrueTime library was used.

Overview of Parallel Platforms for Common High Performance Computing

The paper deals with various parallel platforms used for high performance computing in the signal processing domain. More precisely, the methods exploiting the multicores central processing units such as message passing interface and OpenMP are taken into account. The properties of the programming methods are experimentally proved in the application of a fast Fourier transform and a discrete cosine transform and they are compared with the possibilities of MATLAB's built-in functions and Texas Instruments digital signal processors with very long instruction word architectures. New FFT and DCT implementations were proposed and tested. The implementation phase was compared with CPU based computing methods and with possibilities of the Texas Instruments digital signal processing library on C6747 floating-point DSPs. The optimal combination of computing methods in the signal processing domain and new, fast routines' implementation is proposed as well

Generating collaborative systems for digital libraries: A model-driven approach

This is an open access article shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Copyright @ 2010 The Authors.The design and development of a digital library involves different stakeholders, such as: information architects, librarians, and domain experts, who need to agree on a common language to describe, discuss, and negotiate the services the library has to offer. To this end, high-level, language-neutral models have to be devised. Metamodeling techniques favor the definition of domainspecific visual languages through which stakeholders can share their views and directly manipulate representations of the domain entities. This paper describes CRADLE (Cooperative-Relational Approach to Digital Library Environments), a metamodel-based framework and visual language for the definition of notions and services related to the development of digital libraries. A collection of tools allows the automatic generation of several services, defined with the CRADLE visual language, and of the graphical user interfaces providing access to them for the final user. The effectiveness of the approach is illustrated by presenting digital libraries generated with CRADLE, while the CRADLE environment has been evaluated by using the cognitive dimensions framework

Towards hardware acceleration of neuroevolution for multimedia processing applications on mobile devices

This paper addresses the problem of accelerating large artificial neural networks (ANN), whose topology and weights can evolve via the use of a genetic algorithm. The proposed digital hardware architecture is capable of processing any evolved network topology, whilst at the same time providing a good trade off between throughput, area and power consumption. The latter is vital for a longer battery life on mobile devices. The architecture uses multiple parallel arithmetic units in each processing element (PE). Memory partitioning and data caching are used to minimise the effects of PE pipeline stalling. A first order minimax polynomial approximation scheme, tuned via a genetic algorithm, is used for the activation function generator. Efficient arithmetic circuitry, which leverages modified Booth recoding, column compressors and carry save adders, is adopted throughout the design

A Web-Based Distributed Virtual Educational Laboratory

Evolution and cost of measurement equipment, continuous training, and distance learning make it difficult to provide a complete set of updated workbenches to every student. For a preliminary familiarization and experimentation with instrumentation and measurement procedures, the use of virtual equipment is often considered more than sufficient from the didactic point of view, while the hands-on approach with real instrumentation and measurement systems still remains necessary to complete and refine the student's practical expertise. Creation and distribution of workbenches in networked computer laboratories therefore becomes attractive and convenient. This paper describes specification and design of a geographically distributed system based on commercially standard components

Implementing a mobile diagnostic unit to increase access to imaging and laboratory services in western Kenya.

Access to basic imaging and laboratory services remains a major challenge in rural, resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016, the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare programme in western Kenya implemented a mobile diagnostic unit (MDU) outfitted with a generator-powered X-ray machine and basic laboratory tests to address the lack of these services at rural, low-resource, public health facilities. The objective of this paper is to describe the design, implementation, preliminary impact and operational challenges of the MDU in western Kenya. Since implementing the MDU at seven rural health facilities serving a catchment of over half a million people, over 4500 chest radiographs have been performed, with one or more abnormalities detected in approximately 30% of radiographs. We observed favorable feedback and uptake of MDU services by healthcare workers and patients. However, various operational challenges in the design and construction of the MDU and the transmission and reporting of radiographs in remote areas were encountered. Our experience supports the feasibility of deploying an MDU to increase access to basic radiology and laboratory services in rural, resource-limited settings