System Software

In order to cope with the complexity of applications of embedded systems, reuse of components is a key technique. As pointed out by Sangiovanni-Vincentelli (The context for platform-based design. IEEE Design and Test of Computers, 2002), software and hardware components must be reused in the platform-based design methosdology (see p. 296). These components comprise knowledge from earlier design efforts and constitute intellectual property (IP). Standard software components that can be reused include system software components such as embedded operating systems (OSs) and middleware. The last term denotes software that provides an intermediate layer between the OS and application software. This chapter starts with a description of general requirements for embedded operating systems. This includes real-time capabilities as well as adaptation techniques to provide just the required functionality. Mutually exclusive access to resources can result in priority inversion, which is a serious problem for real-time systems. Priority inversion can be circumvented with resource access protocols. We will present three such protocols: the priority inheritance, priority ceiling, and stack resource protocols. A separate section covers the ERIKA real-time system kernel. Furthermore, we will explain how Linux can be adapted to systems with tight resource constraints. Finally, we will provide pointers for additional reusable software components, like hardware abstraction layers (HALs), communication software, and real-time data bases. Our description of embedded operating systems and of middleware in this chapter is consistent with the overall design flow.

Cyber-physical platform development and implementation for industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 is referred as the fourth industrial revolution that represents the information intensive transformation of industrial automation and manufacturing processes. Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are building blocks in Industry 4.0 and part of the Industry 4.0 vision. This paper presents a cyber-physical platform development and implementation strategy for Industry 4.0 applications. It has been considered a cyber-physical platform model (CPP) built upon hardware reconfigurable technology based on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) processor framework. The development strategy exploits the full benefits enabled by reconfigurable hardware, such as scalability of complex systems, platform-based design approach, adaptive processing, real-time constrains management, or high performance prototyping capabilities. The implemented experimental setup also combines major advantages of both the hardware and software platform-based design trends in Industry 4.0. In this endeavor, the used software toolkit comprises the entire system complexity as a high performance integration layer. The presented design method and implementation strategy can serve as rough orientation for future CPS research and development activities.

Efficient Development of Microfluidic Solutions for Bioanalytical “Point-of-Use” Testing towards High-Technology-Readiness Levels—A Platform-Based Design-for-Manufacture Approach

Integrated microfluidic technologies have demonstrated significant benefits for a range ofapplications [...]