Timed automata for modelling caches and pipelines

In this paper, we focus on modelling the timing aspects of binary programs running on architectures featuring caches and pipelines. The objective is to obtain a timed automaton model to compute tight bounds for the worst-case execution time (WCET) of the programs using model-checking tehcniques.Author gratefully acknowledges the funding from projects TEC2011-28666-C04-02, TEC2014-58036-C4-3-R and grant BES-2012-055572, awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity

Automatic techniques of detection, tracking and recognition in images and videos for real-time applications

Ingeniería de Telecomunicació

Simulation and verification of non-functional properties for embedded systems

RESUMEN: Al contrario que otros sistemas de cómputo genéricos, los sistemas embebidos de tiempo real (ERTSs) interaccionan con su entorno y están sujetos a restricciones específicas, por lo que su diseño implica desafíos que son únicos en esta disciplina. En estos sistemas, la validez del diseño depende no sólo del hecho de que se calcule un resultado, sino también del hecho de que dicho resultado sea computado antes de un tiempo límite, con un bajo consumo energético, con un uso mínimo de memoria o de tal modo que el comportamiento térmico del chip no degrade su funcionalidad ni su fiabilidad. Estas propiedades no funcionales son tan importantes (o incluso más importantes) que el resultado del cómputo per se. Entre las propiedades no funcionales se incluye el consumo energético, las transacciones con memoria, la contención en el bus o en la red en chip, el balanceo de carga, el tiempo de ejecución, el comportamiento térmico... La optimización de estas propiedades induce una mayor duración de la batería, una interacción con el usuario más fluida, mejor calidad en las transmisiones o una mayor fiabilidad del sistema. Esta tesis presenta varias técnicas para analizar las propiedades no funcionales de sistemas embebidos de tiempo real.ABSTRACT: Unlike other generic computing systems, embedded real-time systems (ERTSs) interact with their environment and are subject to specific constraints; so their design usually faces particular challenges that are unique to this discipline. In these systems, the correctness of the design depends not only on the fact that it can compute something, but also on non-functional properties, such as the execution time, which are are as important as (or even more important than) the result of the computation per se. By ``non-functional'' properties, we refer to energy consumption, memory transactions, bus and NoC contention, memory optimization, load balancing, execution time, thermal behavior, etc. These non-functional properties are meant to induce longer battery life, smoother user interaction, better quality in the transmissions or more reliability. This dissertation presents various techniques and tools for tackling the design challenges that are unique to ERTSs.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España a través de los proyectos ART-010000-2012-5, TSI-020400-2010-82, ART- 010000-2009-9 y TEC2011-28666-C04-02. Durante la ejecución del presente trabajo, su autor, Pablo González, ha disfrutado de una beca F.P.I. (Formación del Personal Investigador) del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España con referencia BES-2012-055572. Asimismo, Pablo González ha disfrutado de varias ayudas a la movilidad predoctoral concedidas por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España, el Gobierno Australiano (Endeavour Fellowship), el centro de investigación NICTA, la empresa RedLizards, la Universidad de Bremen y la Universidad MacQuarie. Por todo ello, el autor expresa su más sincero agradecimiento hacia dichas instituciones y entidades

Virtual platform for power and security analysis of wireless sensor network

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) include low-power and low-cost devices (nodes) with demanding power requirements (long autonomous lifetime). The nodes have to use the available battery carefully and avoid expensive computations or radio transmissions. Therefore, effective simulation mechanisms that allow the developer to obtain estimations at the early stages of the WSN design, prior to deployment, are necessary. Power consumption is not the only important concern in this design but security is becoming a real problem too, since some WSNs process sensitive data. Thus, it is necessary to ensure that the processed data are tamper-proof. This paper proposes a framework for network simulation and embedded SW performance analysis that focuses not only on time and power estimation but also on two new metrics: the "entropy security-oriented metric" provides information about the security encryption used in WSN transmissions and the "heterogeneity metric" provides information to help avoid "replication attacks". All this information will aid in the whole WSN deployment design, providing useful metrics about power and security.This work was funded by the spanish MICINN through the EUI2010-04255 and TEC2011-28666-C04-02 projects

Análisis automático de la posición y del número de plásmidos en una célula bacteriana

Plasmids are small chromosomes with the ability to pass from one cell to another. Recent advances in the study of its behavior shows that one of the main ways to assure its long-term survival is to adapt themselves to the cellular division mechanism of the host cell, assuring that at least one copy of the plasmid remains on each of the replicas generated in the cell-division process. Usually these studies have been made by hand by analyzing the images of a microscope and measuring the distance between each plasmid and the centre of the cell in which it is immersed. However, this manual process is slow and tedious, and reduces the applicability of the method to large image data sets. This communication shows an automated tool for cell segmentation based on a pre-emphasis filtering and parametric curve fitting that is able to accurately segment cells in microscopic images, count the plasmids inside it and extract its positions inside the cell