Reconfigurable Computing: innovative technology for scientific community

43 p.Reconfigurable Computing marks a revolutionary and hot topic that bridges the gap between the separate worlds of hardware and software design. The key feature of reconfigurable computing is its groundbreaking ability to perform computations in hardware to increase performance while retaining the flexibility of a software solution. Reconfigurable computers serve as affordable, fast, and accurate tools for developing designs ranging from single chip architectures to multi-chip and embedded systems. Given the architecture and design flexibility, reconfigurable computing has catalyzed the progress in hardware-software code sign technology and a vast number of application areas such as scientific computing, biological computing, artificial intelligence, signal processing, security computing and control oriented design. We give an overview of the hardware architectures of reconfigurable computing machines, and the software that targets these machines, such as compilation tools. Also, we consider the issues involved in run-time reconfigurable systems, which re-use the configurable hardware during program executio

Embedded system: enhancement of performance with new challenges and solutions

Due to the rapid development of electronic technology and requirements of electronic markets, electronic products tend to become smaller, faster, and more popular. Embedded systems have become increasingly widespread in many areas including industrial areas and our daily life. Their extensive use and integration in everyday products marks a significant evolution in information science and technology. A main trend is the proliferation of embedded systems that should work in seamless interaction while respecting real-world constraints. Technology advances and a growing field of applications have been a constant driving factor for embedded systems over the past years. However, the increasing complexity of embedded systems and the emerging trend to interconnections between them lead to new challenges. Intelligent solutions are necessary to solve these challenges and to provide reliable and secure systems to the customer under a strict time and financial budget. In this paper details the overview of the technology trends, reasons of significant change in application implementation philosophy, outlines new challenges, issues and finally presents a methodology to deal with solution

AutoCharge: Autonomous Charging for Perpetual Quadrotor Missions

Battery endurance represents a key challenge for long-term autonomy and long-range operations, especially in the case of aerial robots. In this paper, we propose AutoCharge, an autonomous charging solution for quadrotors that combines a portable ground station with a flexible, lightweight charging tether and is capable of universal, highly efficient, and robust charging. We design and manufacture a pair of circular magnetic connectors to ensure a precise orientation-agnostic electrical connection between the ground station and the charging tether. Moreover, we supply the ground station with an electromagnet that largely increases the tolerance to localization and control errors during the docking maneuver, while still guaranteeing smooth un-docking once the charging process is completed. We demonstrate AutoCharge on a perpetual 10 hours quadrotor flight experiment and show that the docking and un-docking performance is solidly repeatable, enabling perpetual quadrotor flight missions

Exploring the Potential of Miniature Electrodynamic Tethers and Developments in the Miniature Tether Electrodynamics Experiment

The success of nanospacecraft has spurred an interest in using even smaller satellites for longer-duration, constellation scale missions, requiring the use of a propulsion source on board to counteract the effects of drag and for coordination and maneuverability. Previous papers have shown that the use of short electrodynamic tethers (EDTs) has the potential to provide propellentless propulsion for drag make-up and the ability to change orbits of these small satellites. The Miniature Tether Electrodynamics Experiment (MiTEE) mission is a student-led technology demonstration mission by the University of Michigan to demonstrate the use of these short EDTs in a 1U CubeSat frame. This paper presents updates for the major MiTEE subsystems. The mission has progressed significantly with the use of a high-altitude balloon flight successfully demonstrating the communications subsystem and satellite integration. The paper concludes with an overview of the future plans for the MiTEE mission

Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology in the Diagnosis of Gouty Tophi - Report of Two Cases

Gout is a chronic hyperuricaemic crystal induced arthropathy. Tophi are soft tissue nodules, usually periarticular, that develop after long standing gouty arthritis. Demonstration of monosodium urate crystals in synovial fluid or biopsy helps in confirming the diagnosis of gout. However, Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) of nodules is becoming a popular and valuable tool in the diagnosis of gout. We report two patients admitted in our hospital and diagnosed to have gouty tophi. Both of them were elderly males who presented with multiple soft tissue nodules and FNAC along with polarizing microscopy was helpful in arriving at final diagnosis

Students' participation in collaborative research should be recognised

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