Software-only triple diverse redundancy on GPUs for autonomous driving platforms

Autonomous driving (AD) imposes the need for safe computations in high-performance computing (HPC) components such as GPUs, thus with capabilities to detect and recover from errors since a safe state may not exist anymore. This can be achieved with Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) for computation components. Furthermore, error detection capabilities need to provide some form of diversity to avoid the case where a single fault leads all redundant executions lead to the same error, which would go undetected. In our past work, we assessed GPUs against dual modular redundancy (DMR) with diversity, showing their potential and limitations to provide diverse redundancy building on reset and restart for recovery. However, such recovery scheme may be too slow for some applications. This paper proposes a software-only solution to deliver diverse TMR on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) GPUs. Our work details how staggered execution can be achieved and assesses the performance of TMR on COTS GPUs. Moreover, we identify those elements where diversity cannot be guaranteed and provide some discussion comparing the case of DMR and TMR for those elements.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871467 (SELENE). Leonidas Kosmidis has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under a Juan de la Cierva Formacion postdoctoral fellowship with number FJCI-2017-34095.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Algorithms and Methods for Designing and Scheduling Smart Manufacturing Systems

This book, as a Special Issue, is a collection of some of the latest advancements in designing and scheduling smart manufacturing systems. The smart manufacturing concept is undoubtedly considered a paradigm shift in manufacturing technology. This conception is part of the Industry 4.0 strategy, or equivalent national policies, and brings new challenges and opportunities for the companies that are facing tough global competition. Industry 4.0 should not only be perceived as one of many possible strategies for manufacturing companies, but also as an important practice within organizations. The main focus of Industry 4.0 implementation is to combine production, information technology, and the internet. The presented Special Issue consists of ten research papers presenting the latest works in the field. The papers include various topics, which can be divided into three categories—(i) designing and scheduling manufacturing systems (seven articles), (ii) machining process optimization (two articles), (iii) digital insurance platforms (one article). Most of the mentioned research problems are solved in these articles by using genetic algorithms, the harmony search algorithm, the hybrid bat algorithm, the combined whale optimization algorithm, and other optimization and decision-making methods. The above-mentioned groups of articles are briefly described in this order in this book

Real-Time Scheduling for GPUs with Applications in Advanced Automotive Systems

Self-driving cars, once constrained to closed test tracks, are beginning to drive alongside human drivers on public roads. Loss of life or property may result if the computing systems of automated vehicles fail to respond to events at the right moment. We call such systems that must satisfy precise timing constraints “real-time systems.” Since the 1960s, researchers have developed algorithms and analytical techniques used in the development of real-time systems; however, this body of knowledge primarily applies to traditional CPU-based platforms. Unfortunately, traditional platforms cannot meet the computational requirements of self-driving cars without exceeding the power and cost constraints of commercially viable vehicles. We argue that modern graphics processing units, or GPUs, represent a feasible alternative, but new algorithms and analytical techniques must be developed in order to integrate these uniquely constrained processors into a real-time system. The goal of the research presented in this dissertation is to discover and remedy the issues that prevent the use of GPUs in real-time systems. To overcome these issues, we design and implement a real-time multi-GPU scheduler, called GPUSync. GPUSync tightly controls access to a GPU’s computational and DMA processors, enabling simultaneous use despite potential limitations in GPU hardware. GPUSync enables tasks to migrate among GPUs, allowing new classes of real-time multi-GPU computing platforms. GPUSync employs heuristics to guide scheduling decisions to improve system efficiency without risking violations in real-time constraints. GPUSync may be paired with a wide variety of common real-time CPU schedulers. GPUSync supports closed-source GPU runtimes and drivers without loss in functionality. We evaluate GPUSync with both analytical and runtime experiments. In our analytical experiments, we model and evaluate over fifty configurations of GPUSync. We determine which configurations support the greatest computational capacity while maintaining real-time constraints. In our runtime experiments, we execute computer vision programs similar to those found in automated vehicles, with and without GPUSync. Our results demonstrate that GPUSync greatly reduces jitter in video processing. Research into real-time systems with GPUs is a new area of study. Although there is prior work on such systems, no other GPU scheduling framework is as comprehensive and flexible as GPUSync.Doctor of Philosoph

The readying of applications for heterogeneous computing

High performance computing is approaching a potentially significant change in architectural design. With pressures on the cost and sheer amount of power, additional architectural features are emerging which require a re-think to the programming models deployed over the last two decades. Today's emerging high performance computing (HPC) systems are maximising performance per unit of power consumed resulting in the constituent parts of the system to be made up of a range of different specialised building blocks, each with their own purpose. This heterogeneity is not just limited to the hardware components but also in the mechanisms that exploit the hardware components. These multiple levels of parallelism, instruction sets and memory hierarchies, result in truly heterogeneous computing in all aspects of the global system. These emerging architectural solutions will require the software to exploit tremendous amounts of on-node parallelism and indeed programming models to address this are emerging. In theory, the application developer can design new software using these models to exploit emerging low power architectures. However, in practice, real industrial scale applications last the lifetimes of many architectural generations and therefore require a migration path to these next generation supercomputing platforms. Identifying that migration path is non-trivial: With applications spanning many decades, consisting of many millions of lines of code and multiple scientific algorithms, any changes to the programming model will be extensive and invasive and may turn out to be the incorrect model for the application in question. This makes exploration of these emerging architectures and programming models using the applications themselves problematic. Additionally, the source code of many industrial applications is not available either due to commercial or security sensitivity constraints. This thesis highlights this problem by assessing current and emerging hard- ware with an industrial strength code, and demonstrating those issues described. In turn it looks at the methodology of using proxy applications in place of real industry applications, to assess their suitability on the next generation of low power HPC offerings. It shows there are significant benefits to be realised in using proxy applications, in that fundamental issues inhibiting exploration of a particular architecture are easier to identify and hence address. Evaluations of the maturity and performance portability are explored for a number of alternative programming methodologies, on a number of architectures and highlighting the broader adoption of these proxy applications, both within the authors own organisation, and across the industry as a whole

A multiple logical ring approach to real-time wireless-enabled PROFIBUS networks

Tese de Doutoramento. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Walmart 2014 Global Responsibility Report

The scope and boundaries of the 2014 Walmart Global Responsibility Report encompass our corporate efforts related to workplace, compliance and sourcing, social and environmental responsibility, while also providing snapshots into each of our individual markets around the globe. The report reviews our progress and performance during FY2014, reflects areas where we've achieved tremendous positive results and specifies areas of opportunity we continue to focus on. The social and environmental indicators were obtained by internal survey and checks without the participation of external auditing. The reporting timeline covers the period of Feb. 1, 2013 -- Jan. 31, 2014, and builds on our last report, issued April 2013. Unless otherwise noted, all currency is in U.S. dollars

Technology 2000, volume 1

The purpose of the conference was to increase awareness of existing NASA developed technologies that are available for immediate use in the development of new products and processes, and to lay the groundwork for the effective utilization of emerging technologies. There were sessions on the following: Computer technology and software engineering; Human factors engineering and life sciences; Information and data management; Material sciences; Manufacturing and fabrication technology; Power, energy, and control systems; Robotics; Sensors and measurement technology; Artificial intelligence; Environmental technology; Optics and communications; and Superconductivity

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2013 Annual Report

This volume of reports is the 2013 Annual Report of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS). The individual reports were contributed by VLBI groups in the international geodetic and astrometric community who constitute the permanent components of IVS. The IVS 2013 Annual Report documents the work of the IVS components for the calendar year 2013, our fifteenth year of existence. The reports describe changes, activities, and progress of the IVS. Many thanks to all IVS components who contributed to this Annual Report. With the exception of the first section and the last section, the contents of this Annual Report also appear on the IVS Web site at http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/ar2013

41st Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium

The proceedings of the 41st Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium are reported. JPL hosted the conference, which was held in Pasadena Hilton, Pasadena, California on May 16-18, 2012. Lockheed Martin Space Systems cosponsored the symposium. Technology areas covered include gimbals and positioning mechanisms, components such as hinges and motors, CubeSats, tribology, and Mars Science Laboratory mechanisms