Concurrent Design of Embedded Control Software

Embedded software design for mechatronic systems is becoming an increasingly time-consuming and error-prone task. In order to cope with the heterogeneity and complexity, a systematic model-driven design approach is needed, where several parts of the system can be designed concurrently. There is however a trade-off between concurrency efficiency and integration efficiency. In this paper, we present a case study on the development of the embedded control software for a real-world mechatronic system in order to evaluate how we can integrate concurrent and largely independent designed embedded system software parts in an efficient way. The case study was executed using our embedded control system design methodology which employs a concurrent systematic model-based design approach that ensures a concurrent design process, while it still allows a fast integration phase by using automatic code synthesis. The result was a predictable concurrently designed embedded software realization with a short integration time

A Process Algebra for Supervisory Coordination

A supervisory controller controls and coordinates the behavior of different components of a complex machine by observing their discrete behaviour. Supervisory control theory studies automated synthesis of controller models, known as supervisors, based on formal models of the machine components and a formalization of the requirements. Subsequently, code generation can be used to implement this supervisor in software, on a PLC, or embedded microprocessor. In this article, we take a closer look at the control loop that couples the supervisory controller and the machine. We model both event-based and state-based observations using process algebra and bisimulation-based semantics. The main application area of supervisory control that we consider is coordination, referred to as supervisory coordination, and we give an academic and an industrial example, discussing the process-theoretic concepts employed.Comment: In Proceedings PACO 2011, arXiv:1108.145

Membrane-based design and management methodology for parallel dynamically reconfigurable embedded systems

International audiencePartial and dynamic reconfiguration provides a relevant new dimension to design efficient parallel embedded systems. However, due to the encasing complexity of such systems, ensuring the consistency and parallelism management at runtime is still a key challenge. So architecture models and design methodology are required to allow for efficient component reuse and hardware reconfiguration management.This paper presents a distributed persistence management model and its implementation for reconfigurable multiprocessor systems on dynamically reconfigurable circuits. The proposed approach is inspired from the well-known component based models used in software applications development. Our model is based on membranes wrapping the systems components. The objective is to improve design productivity and ensure consistency by managing context switching and storage using modular distributed hardware controllers. These membranes are distributed and optimized with the aim to design self-adaptive systems by allowing dynamic changes in parallelism degree and contexts migration. Simulation and synthesis results are given to show performances and effectiveness of our methodology

Fast and Accurate Simulation Technique for Large Irregular Arrays

A fast full-wave simulation technique is presented for the analysis of large irregular planar arrays of identical 3-D metallic antennas. The solution method relies on the Macro Basis Functions (MBF) approach and an interpolatory technique to compute the interactions between MBFs. The Harmonic-polynomial (HARP) model is established for the near-field interactions in a modified system of coordinates. For extremely large arrays made of complex antennas, two approaches assuming a limited radius of influence for mutual coupling are considered: one is based on a sparse-matrix LU decomposition and the other one on a tessellation of the array in the form of overlapping sub-arrays. The computation of all embedded element patterns is sped up with the help of the non-uniform FFT algorithm. Extensive validations are shown for arrays of log-periodic antennas envisaged for the low-frequency SKA (Square Kilometer Array) radio-telescope. The analysis of SKA stations with such a large number of elements has not been treated yet in the literature. Validations include comparison with results obtained with commercial software and with experiments. The proposed method is particularly well suited to array synthesis, in which several orders of magnitude can be saved in terms of computation time.Comment: The paper was submitted to IEEE Transaction on Antennas and Propagation on 01 - Feb.- 2017. The paper is 12 pages with 18 figure