Reconfigurable Mobile Multimedia Systems

This paper discusses reconfigurability issues in lowpower hand-held multimedia systems, with particular emphasis on energy conservation. We claim that a radical new approach has to be taken in order to fulfill the requirements - in terms of processing power and energy consumption - of future mobile applications. A reconfigurable systems-architecture in combination with a QoS driven operating system is introduced that can deal with the inherent dynamics of a mobile system. We present the preliminary results of studies we have done on reconfiguration in hand-held mobile computers: by having reconfigurable media streams, by using reconfigurable processing modules and by migrating functions

The Design of a System Architecture for Mobile Multimedia Computers

This chapter discusses the system architecture of a portable computer, called Mobile Digital Companion, which provides support for handling multimedia applications energy efficiently. Because battery life is limited and battery weight is an important factor for the size and the weight of the Mobile Digital Companion, energy management plays a crucial role in the architecture. As the Companion must remain usable in a variety of environments, it has to be flexible and adaptable to various operating conditions. The Mobile Digital Companion has an unconventional architecture that saves energy by using system decomposition at different levels of the architecture and exploits locality of reference with dedicated, optimised modules. The approach is based on dedicated functionality and the extensive use of energy reduction techniques at all levels of system design. The system has an architecture with a general-purpose processor accompanied by a set of heterogeneous autonomous programmable modules, each providing an energy efficient implementation of dedicated tasks. A reconfigurable internal communication network switch exploits locality of reference and eliminates wasteful data copies

Interrogating the technical, economic and cultural challenges of delivering the PassivHaus standard in the UK.

A peer-reviewed eBook, which is based on a collaborative research project coordinated by Dr. Henrik Schoenefeldt at the Centre for Architecture and Sustainable Environment at the University of Kent between May 2013 and June 2014. This project investigated how architectural practice and the building industry are adapting in order to successfully deliver Passivhaus standard buildings in the UK. Through detailed case studies the project explored the learning process underlying the delivery of fourteen buildings, certified between 2009 and 2013. Largely founded on the study of the original project correspondence and semi-structured interviews with clients, architects, town planners, contractors and manufacturers, these case studies have illuminated the more immediate technical as well as the broader cultural challenges. The peer-reviewers of this book stressed that the findings included in the book are valuable to students, practitioners and academic researchers in the field of low-energy design. It was launched during the PassivHaus Project Conference, held at the Bulb Innovation Centre on the 27th June 2014

Electronic information card

Tato diplomová práce se zabývá návrhem elektronického informačního štítku, jehož základem je maticový LED displej. V teoretické části jsou probrány použitá rozhraní a periferie mikrokontroléru a PC a diskutuje se nad možnostmi kódování českých znaků. Dále se probírá krok za krokem návrh zařízení. Nejdříve jsou vytyčeny hlavní požadavky a funkcionalita zařízení, následuje výběr vhodných komponent a je navrženo elektrické schéma. Jádrem zařízení je mikrokontrolér Microchip PIC, pro který je dále navržen program. Nakonec je popsána a naprogramována aplikace pro MS Windows, která se se zařízením komunikuje.In this project, an electronic information card based on an LED matrix display is designed. The theoretical part shows an overview of microcontroller peripherals and interfaces and character set discussion is held. It is shown how to design such a device taking one step at a time. First, the device main features are outlined and its functionality is described. Then, component selection is done taking into consideration the requirements and an electronic schema is designed. The heart of the device is a Microchip MCU for which a piece of software is designed. Consequently, a Windows application is build to operate the device.

Secure Virtualization and Multicore Platforms State-of-the-Art report

SVaM