An end-user platform for FPGA-based design and rapid prototyping of feedforward artificial neural networks with on-chip backpropagation learning

The hardware implementation of an artificial neural network (ANN) using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) is a research field that has attracted much interest and attention. With the developments made, the programmer is now forced to face various challenges, such as the need to master various complex hardware-software development platforms, hardware description languages, and advanced ANN knowledge. Moreover, such an implementation is very time consuming. To address these challenges, this paper presents a novel neural design methodology using a holistic modeling approach. Based on the end-user programming concept, the presented solution empowers end users by means of abstracting the low-level hardware functionalities, streamlining the FPGA design process and supporting rapid ANN prototyping. A case study of an ANN as a pattern recognition module of an artificial olfaction system trained to identify four coffee brands is presented. The recognition rate versus training data features and data representation was analyzed extensively

Activity and Health Status Monitoring System

Physical activity monitoring represents an important tool in supporting/encouraging vulnerable persons in their struggle to recover from surgery or long term illness promoting a healthy lifestyle. The paper proposes a smart, low power activity monitoring platform capable to acquire data from 4 inertial sensor modules placed on human body, temporarily store it on a mobile phone for real time data display or on a server for long term data analysis

An ANFIS-PI based boost converter control scheme

The PI algorithm has proven to be a popular and widely used control method, due to its relative simplicity and robustness. Despite this, the linear nature of the algorithm means it doesn't provide optimal control to non-linear systems. This paper presents a novel method of improving the performance of the PI controller using an ANFIS network to provide gain scheduling. This control scheme is applied to a Boost Converter circuit and simulated within the PSIM modelling environment. The simulation results indicate that using the ANFIS controller provides a fast system response with minimal errors even under dynamic operating conditions. The ANFIS controller is also shown to simplify the design flow in comparison to the popular Fuzzy-PI gain scheduling method

A Novel ANFIS Algorithm Architecture for FPGA Implementation

This paper presents a new architecture for the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) algorithm targeting FPGA implementation. This new architecture offers higher efficiency and scalability in comparison to the existing methods. The proposed architecture is modeled and simulated using VHDL and is targeted at a Xilinx FPGA. Existing implementation architectures are also modeled and comparisons are drawn between them in terms of both performance and logic utilization. The results show that the new architecture offers a reduction in calculation cycles of around 50% in comparison to the architecture from which it’s derived. This increase in calculation speed comes with only a modest increase in logic utilization, specifically a 2.5% increase in look-up table (LUT) usage and a 1.5% increase in flip-flop usage. The new architecture also eliminates scalability issues which can arise in the existing architectures when extra input members are required

SoC as IoT sensor network hub

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Smart-object based reasoning system for indoor acoustic profiling of elderly inhabitants

Many countries are facing significant challenges in relation to providing adequate care for their elderly citizens. The roots of these issues are manifold, but include changing demographics, changing behaviours, and a shortage of resources. As has been witnessed in the health sector and many others in society, technology has much to offer in terms of supporting people’s needs. This paper explores the potential for ambient intelligence to address this challenge by creating a system that is able to passively monitor the home environment, detecting abnormal situations which may indicate that the inhabitant needs help. There are many ways that this might be achieved, but in this paper, we will describe our investigation into an approach involving unobtrusively ’listening’ to sound patterns within the home, which classifies these as either normal daily activities, or abnormal situations. The experimental system we built was composed of an innovative combination of acoustic sensing, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet-of-Things (IoT), which we argue in the paper that it provides a cost-effective approach to alerting care providers when an elderly person in their charge needs help. The majority of the innovation in our work concerns the AI in which we employ Machine Learning to classify the sound profiles, analyse the data for abnormal events, and to make decisions for raising alerts with carers. A Neural Network classifier was used to train and identify the sound profiles associated with normal daily routines within a given person’s home, signalling departures from the daily routines that were then used as templates to measure deviations from normality, which were used to make weighted decisions regarding calling for assistance. A practical experimental system was then designed and deployed to evaluate the methods advocated by this research. The methodology involved gathering pre-design and post-design data from both a professionally run residential home and a domestic home. The pre-design data gathered the views on the system design from 11 members of the residential home, using survey questionnaires and focus groups. These data were used to inform the design of the experimental system, which was then deployed in a domestic home setting to gather post-design experimental data. The experimental results revealed that the system was able to detect 84% of abnormal events, and advocated several refinements which would improve the performance of the system. Thus, the research concludes that the system represents an important advancement to the state-of-the-art and, when taken together with the refinements, represents a line of research which has the potential to deliver significant improvements to care provision for the elderly

FPGAs in Industrial Control Applications

The aim of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technologies and their contribution to industrial control applications. Authors start by addressing various research fields which can exploit the advantages of FPGAs. The features of these devices are then presented, followed by their corresponding design tools. To illustrate the benefits of using FPGAs in the case of complex control applications, a sensorless motor controller has been treated. This controller is based on the Extended Kalman Filter. Its development has been made according to a dedicated design methodology, which is also discussed. The use of FPGAs to implement artificial intelligence-based industrial controllers is then briefly reviewed. The final section presents two short case studies of Neural Network control systems designs targeting FPGAs

Ubiquitous Approach to Body Hydration Testing

Monitoring the human hydration level (BHL) is a key factor in preventing urinary system disorders. The paper proposes a smart holistic system that comprises two components: (1) a urine colour measurement system that can be installed in restrooms, and (2) a mobile app that can be used to interact with the measurement unit, track the user's BHL, view statistical data and advice. The main prototype was built based on low-cost embedded Internet devices coupled with RGB sensors and light sources. Based on the RGB theory, the system was tested in a laboratory, using liquid mixed with food colour of different shades. Results were presented on the mobile app. The system was successfully implemented, as a ubiquitous ?on-the-go? self-test solution for raising awareness in a ?greener? and ?user-friendly? way