The Generalised Instrument

Thesis (M.E.Sc.) -- University of Adelaide, 199

Precision engineering center. 1988 Annual report, Volume VI

To reverse the downward trend in the balance of trade, American companies must concentrate on increasing research into new products, boosting productivity, and improving manufacturing processes. The Precision Engineering Center at North Carolina State University is a multidisciplinary research and graduate education program dedicated to providing the new technology necessary to respond to this challenge. One extremely demanding manufacturing area is the fabrication and assembly of optical systems. These systems are at the heart of such consumer products as cameras, lenses, copy machines, laser bar-code scanners, VCRs, and compact audio discs - products that the Japanese and other East Asian countries are building dominance. A second critical area is the fabrication of VLSI and ULSI circuits. The tolerances required to produce the next generation of components for such systems have created the need for new approaches - approaches that could either make or break America`s competitive position. This report contains individual reports on research projects grouped into three broad areas: measurement and actuation; real-time control; precision fabrication. Separate abstracts for these articles have been indexed into the energy database

Design of software radio

Software Define Radio (SDR) has become a prevalent technology in wireless systems. In SDR some or all of the signal specific handling is implemented in software functions, while other functions like decimation, interpolation, digital up-conversion and digital down conversion are done on reprogrammable Digital Signal Processor or Field Programmable Gate Arrays.Twelve laboratory exercises have been designed to lead the student through the process of using the Universal Software Radio peripheral (USRP) hardware and GNU Radio open source software

Design of software radio

Software Define Radio (SDR) has become a prevalent technology in wireless systems. In SDR some or all of the signal specific handling is implemented in software functions, while other functions like decimation, interpolation, digital up-conversion and digital down conversion are done on reprogrammable Digital Signal Processor or Field Programmable Gate Arrays.Twelve laboratory exercises have been designed to lead the student through the process of using the Universal Software Radio peripheral (USRP) hardware and GNU Radio open source software

Digital signal conditioning on multiprocessor systems

An important application area of modem computer systems is that of digital signal processing. This discipline is concerned with the analysis or modification of digitally represented signals, through the use of simple mathematical operations. A primary need of such systems is that of high data throughput. Although optimised programmable processors are available, system designers are now looking towards parallel processing to gain further performance increases. Such parallel systems may be easily constructed using the transputer family of processors. However, although these devices are comparatively easy to program, they possess a general von Neumann core and so are relatively inefficient at implementing digital signal processing algorithms. The power of the transputer lies in its ability to communicate effectively, not in its computational capability. The converse is true of specialised digital signal processors. These devices have been designed specifically to implement the type of small data intensive operations required by digital signal processing algorithms, but have not been designed to operate efficiently in a multiprocessor environment. This thesis examines the performance of both types of processors with reference to a common signal processing application, multichannel filtering. The transputer is examined in both uniprocessor and multiprocessor configurations, and its performance analysed. A theoretical model of program behaviour is developed, in order to assess the performance benefits of particular code structures and the effects of such parameters as data block size. The transputer implementation is contrasted with that of the Motorola DSP56001 digital signal processor. This device is found to be much more efficient at implementing such algorithms on a single device, but provides limited multiprocessor support. Using the conclusions of this assessment, a hybrid multiprocessor has been designed. This consists of a transputer controlling a number of signal processors, communicating through shared memory, separating tiie tasks of computation and communication. Forcing the transputer to communicate through shared memory causes problems, and these have been addressed. A theoretical performance model of the system has been produced. A small system has been constructed, and is currently running performance test software

34th Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems-Final Program

Organized by the Naval Postgraduate School Monterey California. Cosponsored by the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society. Symposium Organizing Committee: General Chairman-Sherif Michael, Technical Program-Roberto Cristi, Publications-Michael Soderstrand, Special Sessions- Charles W. Therrien, Publicity: Jeffrey Burl, Finance: Ralph Hippenstiel, and Local Arrangements: Barbara Cristi

NASA Tech Briefs, April 1990

Topics: New Product Ideas; NASA TU Services; Electronic Components and Circuits; Electronic Systems; Physical Sciences; Materials; Computer Programs; Mechanics; Machinery; Fabrication Technology; Mathematics and Information Sciences