1,650 research outputs found
Eco: A Hardware-Software Co-Design for In Situ Power Measurement on Low-end IoT Systems
Energy-constrained sensor nodes can adaptively optimize their energy
consumption if a continuous measurement exists. This is of particular
importance in scenarios of high dynamics such as energy harvesting or adaptive
task scheduling. However, self-measuring of power consumption at reasonable
cost and complexity is unavailable as a generic system service. In this paper,
we present Eco, a hardware-software co-design enabling generic energy
management on IoT nodes. Eco is tailored to devices with limited resources and
thus targets most of the upcoming IoT scenarios. The proposed measurement
module combines commodity components with a common system interfaces to achieve
easy, flexible integration with various hardware platforms and the RIOT IoT
operating system. We thoroughly evaluate and compare accuracy and overhead. Our
findings indicate that our commodity design competes well with highly optimized
solutions, while being significantly more versatile. We employ Eco for energy
management on RIOT and validate its readiness for deployment in a five-week
field trial integrated with energy harvesting
CarRing IV- Real-time Computer Network
Ob in der Automobil-, Avionik- oder Automatisierungstechnik, die Fortschritte in der
Echtzeitkommunikation richten sich auf weitere Verbesserungen bereits existierender
Lösungen. Im Kfz-Bereich führen die steigenden Zahlen computerbasierter Systeme,
Anwendungen und Anschlüsse sowie die Verwendung mehrerer proprietärer Kommunikationsstandards zu einem immer komplexeren Kabelbaum. Ursächlich hierfür sind
inkompatible Standards, wodurch nicht nur die Kosten, sondern auch das Gewicht
und damit der Kraftstoffverbrauch negativ beeinflusst werden.
Im ersten Teil der Dissertation wird das Echtzeitprotokoll von CarRing IV (CRIV) vorgestellt. Es bietet isochrone und harte Echtzeitgarantien, ohne dass eine netzwerkweite Synchronisation erforderlich ist. Mit bis zu 16 Knoten pro Ring kann
ein CR-IV-Netz aus bis zu 256 Ringen bestehen, die durch Router miteinander verbunden sind. CR-IV verwendet ein reduziertes OSI-Modell (Schichten 1-3, 7), das
für seine Anwendungsbereiche sowohl typisch als auch vorteilhaft ist. Außerdem
unterstützt es sowohl ereignis- als auch zeitgesteuerte Kommunikationsparadigmen.
Der Transparent-Modus ermöglicht es CR-IV, als Backbone für bestehende Netze
zu verwenden, wodurch Inkompatibilitätsprobleme beseitigt werden und der Wechsel zu einer einheitlicheren Netzlösung erleichtert wird. Mit dieser Funktionalität
können Nutzergeräte über ein CR-IV-Netz miteinander verbunden werden, ohne dass
der Nutzer eingreifen oder etwas ändern muss. Durch Multicast unterstützt CRIV auch die Emulation von Feldbussen. Der zweite Teil der Dissertation stellt den
anderen wichtigen Aspekt von CR-IV vor. Alle Schichten des OSI-Modells sind in
einem FPGA mit Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) ohne Hard- oder Softprozessoren implementiert. Das Register-Transfer-Level (RTL)-Hardwaredesign von
CR-IV wird mit einem neuen Ansatz erstellt, der am besten als tokenbasierter Datenfluss beschrieben werden kann. Der Ansatz ist sowohl vertikal als auch horizontal
skalierbar. Er verwendet lose gekoppelte Processing Elements (PEs), die stateless arbeiten, sowie Arbiter/Speicherzuordnungspaare. Durch die granulare Kontrolle und
die Aufteilung aller Aspekte einer Lösung eignet sich der Ansatz für die Implementierung anderer Software-Level-Lösungen in Hardware.
Viele Testszenarios werden durchgeführt, um die in CR-IV erzielten Ergebnisse zu
verdeutlichen und zu überprüfen. Diese Szenarien reichen von direkten Leistungsmessungen bis hin zu verhaltensspezifischen Tests. Zusätzlich wird eine Labor-Demo
erstellt, die grundsätzlich auf ein Proof of Concept zielt. Die Demo stellt einen
praktischen Test anstelle szenariospezifischer Tests dar. Alle Testszenarien und die
Labor-Demo werden mit den Prototyp-Boards des Projekts durchgef¨uhrt, d.h. es sind
keine Simulationstests. Die Ergebnisse stellen die realistischen Leistungen von CR-IV
mit bis zu 13,61 Gbit/s dar.Whether be it automotive, avionics or automation, advances in their respective real-time communication technology focus on further improving preexisting solutions. For
in-vehicle communication, the ever-increasing number of computer-based systems,
applications and connections as well as the use of multiple proprietary communication
standards results in an increasingly complex wiring harness. This is in-part due to
those standards being incompatible with one another. In addition to cost, this also
impacts weight, which in turn affects fuel consumption.
The work presented in this thesis is in-part theoretical and in-part applied. The
former is represented by a new protocol, while the latter corresponds to the protocol’s
hardware implementation. In the first part of the thesis, the real-time communication protocol of CarRing IV (CR-IV) is presented. It provides isochronous and hard
real-time guarantees without requiring network-wide clock synchronization. With up
to 16 nodes per ring, a CR-IV network can consist of as many as 256 rings interconnected by routers. CR-IV uses a reduced OSI model (layers 1-3, 7), which is both
typical of and preferable for its application areas. Moreover, it supports both event- and time-triggered communication paradigms. The transparent mode feature allows
CR-IV to act as a backbone for existing networks, thereby addressing incompatibility
concerns and easing the transition into a more unified network solution. Using this
feature, user devices can communicate with one another via a CR-IV network without
requiring user interference, or any user device or application changes. Combined with
the protocol’s reliable multicast, the feature extends CR-IV’s capabilities to include
field bus emulation. The second part of the thesis presents the other important aspect
of CR-IV. All of its OSI model layers are implemented in a FPGA using Hardware
Description Languages (HDLs) without relying-on or including any hard or soft processors. CR-IV’s Register-Transfer Level (RTL) hardware design is created using a new
approach that can best be described as token-based data-flow. The approach is both
vertically and horizontally scalable. It uses stateless and loosely coupled Processing
Elements (PEs) as well as arbiter/memory allocation pairs. By having granular control and compartmentalizing every aspect of a solution, the approach lends itself to
being used for implementing other software-level solutions in hardware.
Many test scenarios are conducted to both highlight and examine the results
achieved in CR-IV. Those scenarios range from direct performance measurements to
behavior-specific tests. Moreover, a lab-demo is created that essentially amounts to
a proof of concept. The demo represents a practical test as opposed to a scenariospecific one. Whether be it test scenarios or the lab-demo, all are carried-out using the
project’s prototype boards, i.e. no simulation tests. The results obtained represent
CR-IV’s real-world realistic outcomes with up to 13.61 Gbps
The ALICE TPC, a large 3-dimensional tracking device with fast readout for ultra-high multiplicity events
The design, construction, and commissioning of the ALICE Time-Projection
Chamber (TPC) is described. It is the main device for pattern recognition,
tracking, and identification of charged particles in the ALICE experiment at
the CERN LHC. The TPC is cylindrical in shape with a volume close to 90 m^3 and
is operated in a 0.5 T solenoidal magnetic field parallel to its axis.
In this paper we describe in detail the design considerations for this
detector for operation in the extreme multiplicity environment of central
Pb--Pb collisions at LHC energy. The implementation of the resulting
requirements into hardware (field cage, read-out chambers, electronics),
infrastructure (gas and cooling system, laser-calibration system), and software
led to many technical innovations which are described along with a presentation
of all the major components of the detector, as currently realized. We also
report on the performance achieved after completion of the first round of
stand-alone calibration runs and demonstrate results close to those specified
in the TPC Technical Design Report.Comment: 55 pages, 82 figure
Highly reliable, low-latency communication in low-power wireless networks
Low-power wireless networks consist of spatially distributed, resource-constrained devices – also referred to as nodes – that are typically equipped with integrated or external sensors and actuators. Nodes communicate with each other using wireless transceivers, and thus, relay data – e. g., collected sensor values or commands for actuators – cooperatively through the network. This way, low-power wireless networks can support a plethora of different applications, including, e. g., monitoring the air quality in urban areas or controlling the heating, ventilation and cooling of large buildings. The use of wireless communication in such monitoring and actuating applications allows for a higher flexibility and ease of deployment – and thus, overall lower costs – compared to wired solutions. However, wireless communication is notoriously error-prone. Message losses happen often and unpredictably, making it challenging to support applications requiring both high reliability and low latency. Highly reliable, low-latency communication – along with high energy-efficiency – are, however, key requirements to support several important application scenarios and most notably the open-/closed-loop control functions found in e. g., industry and factory automation applications.
Communication protocols that rely on synchronous transmissions have been shown to be able to overcome this limitation. These protocols depart from traditional single-link transmissions and do not attempt to avoid concurrent transmissions from different nodes to prevent collisions. On the contrary, they make nodes send the same message at the same time over several paths. Phenomena like constructive interference and capture then ensure that messages are received correctly with high probability.
While many approaches relying on synchronous transmissions have been presented in the literature, two important aspects received only little consideration: (i) reliable operation in harsh environments and (ii) support for event-based data traffic. This thesis addresses these two open challenges and proposes novel communication protocols to overcome them
Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE)Conceptual Design ReportThe LBNE Water Cherenkov DetectorApril 13 2012
Conceptual Design Report (CDR) developed for the Water Cherekov Detector (WCD) option for the far detector of the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE
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