Edgar : a platform for hardware/software codesign

Codesign is a unified methodology to develop complex systems with hardware and software components. EDgAR, a platform for hardware/software codesign is described, which is intended to prototype complex digital systems. It employs programmable logic devices (MACHs and FPGAs) and a transputer-based parallel architecture. This platform and its associated methodology reduce the systems production cost, decreasing the time for the design and the test of the prototypes. The EDgAR supporting tools are introduced, which were conceived to specify systems at an high-level of abstraction, with a standard language and to allow a high degree of automation on the synthesis process. This platform was used to emulate an integrated circuit for image processing purposes

On the synthesis and processing of high quality audio signals by parallel computers

This work concerns the application of new computer architectures to the creation and manipulation of high-quality audio bandwidth signals. The configuration of both the hardware and software in such systems falls under consideration in the three major sections which present increasing levels of algorithmic concurrency. In the first section, the programs which are described are distributed in identical copies across an array of processing elements; these programs run autonomously, generating data independently, but with control parameters peculiar to each copy: this type of concurrency is referred to as isonomic}The central section presents a structure which distributes tasks across an arbitrary network of processors; the flow of control in such a program is quasi- indeterminate, and controlled on a demand basis by the rate of completion of the slave tasks and their irregular interaction with the master. Whilst that interaction is, in principle, deterministic, it is also data-dependent; the dynamic nature of task allocation demands that no a priori knowledge of the rate of task completion be required. This type of concurrency is called dianomic? Finally, an architecture is described which will support a very high level of algorithmic concurrency. The programs which make efficient use of such a machine are designed not by considering flow of control, but by considering flow of data. Each atomic algorithmic unit is made as simple as possible, which results in the extensive distribution of a program over very many processing elements. Programs designed by considering only the optimum data exchange routes are said to exhibit systolic^ concurrency. Often neglected in the study of system design are those provisions necessary for practical implementations. It was intended to provide users with useful application programs in fulfilment of this study; the target group is electroacoustic composers, who use digital signal processing techniques in the context of musical composition. Some of the algorithms in use in this field are highly complex, often requiring a quantity of processing for each sample which exceeds that currently available even from very powerful computers. Consequently, applications tend to operate not in 'real-time' (where the output of a system responds to its input apparently instantaneously), but by the manipulation of sounds recorded digitally on a mass storage device. The first two sections adopt existing, public-domain software, and seek to increase its speed of execution significantly by parallel techniques, with the minimum compromise of functionality and ease of use. Those chosen are the general- purpose direct synthesis program CSOUND, from M.I.T., and a stand-alone phase vocoder system from the C.D.P..(^4) In each case, the desired aim is achieved: to increase speed of execution by two orders of magnitude over the systems currently in use by composers. This requires substantial restructuring of the programs, and careful consideration of the best computer architectures on which they are to run concurrently. The third section examines the rationale behind the use of computers in music, and begins with the implementation of a sophisticated electronic musical instrument capable of a degree of expression at least equal to its acoustic counterparts. It seems that the flexible control of such an instrument demands a greater computing resource than the sound synthesis part. A machine has been constructed with the intention of enabling the 'gestural capture' of performance information in real-time; the structure of this computer, which has one hundred and sixty high-performance microprocessors running in parallel, is expounded; and the systolic programming techniques required to take advantage of such an array are illustrated in the Occam programming language

Real-time sound synthesis on a multi-processor platform

Real-time sound synthesis means that the calculation and output of each sound sample for a channel of audio information must be completed within a sample period. At a broadcasting standard, a sampling rate of 32,000 Hz, the maximum period available is 31.25 μsec. Such requirements demand a large amount of data processing power. An effective solution for this problem is a multi-processor platform; a parallel and distributed processing system. The suitability of the MIDI [Music Instrument Digital Interface] standard, published in 1983, as a controller for real-time applications is examined. Many musicians have expressed doubts on the decade old standard's ability for real-time performance. These have been investigated by measuring timing in various musical gestures, and by comparing these with the subjective characteristics of human perception. An implementation and its optimisation of real-time additive synthesis programs on a multi-transputer network are described. A prototype 81-polyphonic-note- organ configuration was implemented. By devising and deploying monitoring processes, the network's performance was measured and enhanced, leading to an efficient usage; the 88-note configuration. Since 88 simultaneous notes are rarely necessary in most performances, a scheduling program for dynamic note allocation was then introduced to achieve further efficiency gains. Considering calculation redundancies still further, a multi-sampling rate approach was applied as a further step to achieve an optimal performance. The theories underlining sound granulation, as a means of constructing complex sounds from grains, and the real-time implementation of this technique are outlined. The idea of sound granulation is quite similar to the quantum-wave theory, "acoustic quanta". Despite the conceptual simplicity, the signal processing requirements set tough demands, providing a challenge for this audio synthesis engine. Three issues arising from the results of the implementations above are discussed; the efficiency of the applications implemented, provisions for new processors and an optimal network architecture for sound synthesis

Synthesis of 2 dimensional image filters by cellular automata

The filtering action of some type of cellular automata has been known about since the mid I960’s. These cellular filters, based on a combination of reducing and augmenting kernels operating on a series of thresholded images, are derived empirically and have fixed characteristics. This thesis presents a method for synthesising 2 dimensional grey level image filters using cellular automata. This method takes as its starting point the characteristic equation of a filter expressed in the Laplace domain, and derives from this equation the kernel of the cellular filter which has the same characteristics as the filter defined by the Laplacian equation. The advantage of using' cellular automata for image filtering is that they are highly parallel in nature, and as such, are a natural algorithm for image filtering on a parallel computational engine

Parallel algorithms for the solution of elliptic and parabolic problems on transputer networks

This thesis is a study of the implementation of parallel algorithms for solving elliptic and parabolic partial differential equations on a network of transputers. The thesis commences with a general introduction to parallel processing. Here a discussion of the various ways of introducing parallelism in computer systems and the classification of parallel architectures is presented. In chapter 2, the transputer architecture and the associated language OCCAM are described. The transputer development system (TDS) is also described as well as a short account of other transputer programming languages. Also, a brief description of the methodologies for programming transputer networks is given. The chapter is concluded by a detailed description of the hardware used for the research. [Continues.

Mechatronics of systems with undetermined configurations

This work is submitted for the award of a PhD by published works. It deals with some of the efforts of the author over the last ten years in the field of Mechatronics. Mechatronics is a new area invented by the Japanese in the late 1970's, it consists of a synthesis of computers and electronics to improve mechanical systems. To control any mechanical event three fundamental features must be brought together: the sensors used to observe the process, the control software, including the control algorithm used and thirdly the actuator that provides the stimulus to achieve the end result. Simulation, which plays such an important part in the Mechatronics process, is used in both in continuous and discrete forms. The author has spent some considerable time developing skills in all these areas. The author was certainly the first at Middlesex to appreciate the new developments in Mechatronics and their significance for manufacturing. The author was one of the first mechanical engineers to recognise the significance of the new transputer chip. This was applied to the LQG optimal control of a cinefilm copying process. A 300% improvement in operating speed was achieved, together with tension control. To make more efficient use of robots they have to be made both faster and cheaper. The author found extremely low natural frequencies of vibration, ranging from 3 to 25 Hz. This limits the speed of response of existing robots. The vibration data was some of the earliest available in this field, certainly in the UK. Several schemes have been devised to control the flexible robot and maintain the required precision. Actuator technology is one area where mechatronic systems have been the subject of intense development. At Middlesex we have improved on the Aexator pneumatic muscle actuator, enabling it to be used with a precision of about 2 mm. New control challenges have been undertaken now in the field of machine tool chatter and the prevention of slip. A variety of novel and traditional control algorithms have been investigated in order to find out the best approach to solve this problem

NASA Thesaurus supplement: A four part cumulative supplement to the 1988 edition of the NASA Thesaurus (supplement 3)

The four-part cumulative supplement to the 1988 edition of the NASA Thesaurus includes the Hierarchical Listing (Part 1), Access Vocabulary (Part 2), Definitions (Part 3), and Changes (Part 4). The semiannual supplement gives complete hierarchies and accepted upper/lowercase forms for new terms

Analysis of Some Textured Images by Transputer

Texture, as a visual perception, can be easily seen by eye and often described without much difficulty. However, textural recognition and measurement by machine is a very different issue and has only recently been developed. In this thesis, a whole set of new algorithms have been developed to analyse textured images with particular reference to the requirements of soil microstructural applications. The new technology of parallel processing is used to implement and improve the complicated computations