Efficient multi-standard cognitive radios on FPGAs

Cognitive radios that support multiple standards and modify operation depending on environmental conditions are becoming more important as the demand for higher bandwidth and efficient spectrum use increases. Traditional implementations in custom ASICs cannot support such flexibility, with standards changing at a faster pace, while software baseband implementations fail to achieve the performance required. Hence, FPGAs offer an ideal platform bringing together flexibility, performance, and efficiency. This work explores the possible techniques for designing multi-standard radios on FPGAs, and explores how partial reconfiguration can be leveraged in a way that is amenable for domain experts with minimal FPGA knowledge

CESEC Chair – Training Embedded System Architects for the Critical Systems Domain

Increasing complexity and interactions across scientific and tech- nological domains in the engineering of critical systems calls for new pedagogical approach. In this paper, we introduce the CESEC teaching chair. This chair aims at supporting new integrative ap- proach for the initial training of engineer and master curriculum to three engineering school in Toulouse: ISAE, INSA Toulouse and INP ENSEEIHT. It is supported by the EADS Corporate Foundation. In this paper, we highlight the rationale for this chair: need for sys- tem architect with strong foundations on technical domains appli- cable to the aerospace industry. We then introduce the ideal profile for this architect and the various pedagogical approaches imple- mented to reach this objective

A Guide to Documenting Software Design for Maximum Software Portability for Software Defined Radios

The use of software defined communications systems is growing incredibly fast. The field of software engineering as a discipline has not adequately addressed the subject of software portability which makes large and costly software development efforts less ready to port to future platforms. By understanding the causes of portability problems, they can either be avoided altogether in development or very well documented so that they are easier to overcome in future efforts. Literature, case studies, and surveys are used to collect opinions and information about large software programs where portability is a desirable characteristic in order to best establish the facts and way forward for future research efforts

FPGAs in Industrial Control Applications

The aim of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technologies and their contribution to industrial control applications. Authors start by addressing various research fields which can exploit the advantages of FPGAs. The features of these devices are then presented, followed by their corresponding design tools. To illustrate the benefits of using FPGAs in the case of complex control applications, a sensorless motor controller has been treated. This controller is based on the Extended Kalman Filter. Its development has been made according to a dedicated design methodology, which is also discussed. The use of FPGAs to implement artificial intelligence-based industrial controllers is then briefly reviewed. The final section presents two short case studies of Neural Network control systems designs targeting FPGAs

A Process-oriented Approach for Migrating Software to Heterogeneous Platforms

Context: Heterogeneous computing, i.e., computing performed on processors of different types - such as combination of CPUs and GPUs, or CPUs and FPGAs - has shown to be a feasible path towards higher performance and less energy consumption. However, this approach imposes a number of challenges on the software side that must be addressed in order to achieve the aforementioned advantages.Objective: The objective of this thesis is to improve the process of software deployment on heterogeneous platforms. Through a detailed analysis of the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice, we aim to provide a reasoning framework for engineers to migrate software to be executed on such platforms.Method: To achieve our goal, we conducted: (i) a literature review in the form of a systematic mapping study on software deployment on heterogeneous platforms; (ii) a multiple case study in industry that highlights the main challenges and concerns in the state-of-the-practice in the area; and (iii) a study in which we propose and evaluate a decision framework to guide engineers in migrating software for execution on heterogeneous platforms, with a case study in the automotive domain.Results: In the mapping study, we provided a thorough classification of the identified concerns and approaches to deploying software on heterogeneous platforms. Among other findings, we discovered a lack of holistic approaches that include development processes, as well as few validation studies in industrial contexts. In the second study, we discovered and analyzed common practices and challenges that companies face when using heterogeneous platforms. One of such challenges is related to the lack of approaches that cover the software development lifecycle. In the third study, we proposed a decision framework that guides engineers in the process of reasoning for migrating software for execution on heterogeneous platforms. It consists of five stages (assessing, re-architecting, developing, deploying, evaluating), each containing a set of aspects to be addressed through the answers to predefined questions.Conclusions: This thesis addresses a gap that was identified in both theory and practice concerning the lack of holistic approaches to migrate software for execution on heterogeneous platforms. Our proposed approach addresses the problem through systematic guidance for engineers.Future work: In the future, we intend to further refine the proposed framework through case studies in domains other than automotive. We will explore its integration with existing software engineering processes in industrial contexts, performing in-depth analysis of the required adaptations and providing detailed solutions within the stages of the framework

"Going back to our roots": second generation biocomputing

Researchers in the field of biocomputing have, for many years, successfully "harvested and exploited" the natural world for inspiration in developing systems that are robust, adaptable and capable of generating novel and even "creative" solutions to human-defined problems. However, in this position paper we argue that the time has now come for a reassessment of how we exploit biology to generate new computational systems. Previous solutions (the "first generation" of biocomputing techniques), whilst reasonably effective, are crude analogues of actual biological systems. We believe that a new, inherently inter-disciplinary approach is needed for the development of the emerging "second generation" of bio-inspired methods. This new modus operandi will require much closer interaction between the engineering and life sciences communities, as well as a bidirectional flow of concepts, applications and expertise. We support our argument by examining, in this new light, three existing areas of biocomputing (genetic programming, artificial immune systems and evolvable hardware), as well as an emerging area (natural genetic engineering) which may provide useful pointers as to the way forward.Comment: Submitted to the International Journal of Unconventional Computin

The Strategy of the Commons: Modelling the Annual Cost of Successful ICT Services for European Research

The provision of ICT services for research is increasingly using Cloud services to complement the traditional federation of computing centres. Due to the complex funding structure and differences in the basic business model, comparing the cost-effectiveness of these options requires a new approach to cost assessment. This paper presents a cost assessment method addressing the limitations of the standard methods and some of the initial results of the study. This acts as an illustration of the kind of cost assessment issues high-utilisation rate ICT services should consider when choosing between different infrastructure options. The research is co-funded by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme through the e-FISCAL project (contract number RI-283449)

The TASTE Toolset: turning human designed heterogeneous systems into computer built homogeneous software.

The TASTE tool-set results from spin-off studies of the ASSERT project, which started in 2004 with the objective to propose innovative and pragmatic solutions to develop real-time software. One of the primary targets was satellite flight software, but it appeared quickly that their characteristics were shared among various embedded systems. The solutions that we developed now comprise a process and several tools ; the development process is based on the idea that real-time, embedded systems are heterogeneous by nature and that a unique UML-like language was not helping neither their construction, nor their validation. Rather than inventing yet another "ultimate" language, TASTE makes the link between existing and mature technologies such as Simulink, SDL, ASN.1, C, Ada, and generates complete, homogeneous software-based systems that one can straightforwardly download and execute on a physical target. Our current prototype is moving toward a marketed product, and sequel studies are already in place to support, among others, FPGA systems