ACOE343 - Real-Time

Embedded Processor Systems

Dr. Konstantinos Tatas
Assistant Professor
Office 116, Library building
http://staff.fit.ac.cy/com.tk
 Course outline (1/5)
• Programme of Studies:BSc in Computer
Engineering, BSc in Computer Science
• Name of the module:ACOE343 - Real-
Time Embedded Processor Systems
• Target group: Computer Engineering –
Computer Science students
• Level of the unit:BSc –6th Semester
• Entrance requirements: ACOE201
• Number of ECTS credits: 6
2
 Course outline (1/5)
• Competences to be developed:
– Produce efficient real-time designs using the latest
technology of PIC32 and 8051-based
microcontrollers and the state-of-art Texas
Instruments TMS320C64x DSP processors.
– Demonstrate real-time algorithmic design techniques
for embedded applications using assembly and
C/C++ programming, implementation, hardware
debugging and measurement techniques using the
available uP and DSP boards.
– Write realistic embedded system requirements and
specifications

3
 Course outline (1/5)
Course Description:
• Embedded C/C++ and Assembly Languages: Embedded C and
assembly for programming the 8051-based microcontrollers.
Coverage of C/C++ for programming DSPs. Real-Time Design
Techniques.
• 8051-Based Microcontrollers: The MSC121x Development
System, Real-Time Input and Output Applications, Architecture and
ISA of the MSC121x microcontroller, Real-Time Embedded Ethernet
Applications and Real-Time Data Acquisition Applications.
• DSPs: The DSP Development System, Real-Time Input and Output
Applications with the DSK, Architecture and ISA of the C64x
Processor, Fixed-Point Considerations.
• DSP Techniques: FIR and IIR filter Applications. FFT, digital
modulation techniques and Applications.
• Laboratory Work: Individual or small group experiments based on
using a variety of EDA tools for programming, debugging and
testing the microcontroller and DSP boards.

4
 Course outline (1/5)
• Textbooks:
– Hermann Kopetz, "Real-Time Systems: Design Principles for
Distributed Embedded Applications", Springer, 2011.
– Peter Hintenaus, "Engineering Embedded Systems: Physics,
Programs, Circuits", Springer, 2015
– http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-10680-9
– Marilyn Wolf, “Computers as components: Principles of embedded
computing design”, 3rd edition, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2012
• References:
– M. Margolis, Arduino Cookbook, O’Reilly
– T. Noergaard, Embedded Systems Architecture: A Comprehensive
Guide for Engineers and Programmers, Newnes, 2005.
– B. DeMuth, Designing Embedded Internet Devices, Newnes, 2002.
– L. Edwards, Embedded System Design on a Shoestring, Newnes,
2003.
• Course webpage:
– http://staff.fit.ac.cy/com.tk/ACOE343.html

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 Course outline (1/5)
• Assessment:
– Final: 40%
– Mid-term Exams: 10%
– Laboratory Work: 30%
– Assignment/Group project: 15%
– Quizzes: 5%

6
 Mid-term exams (40%)
• Microcontrollers:
– Multiple choice questions
– Small programs
• Assembly/C/either
• DSPs:
– Multiple choice questions
– Small programs
• Mostly C

7
 Laboratory work (20%)
• Small group experiments with the ChipKit
MAX32 and uC32 PIC-based Arduino
• Deliverables:
– Lab report (with source code)!!!
• Assessment:
– Active participation:40%
– Methodology/Source code:30%
– Board Testing: 20%
– Presentation:10%

8
 ChipKit MAX32
• Microcontroller: PIC32MX795F512L
• Flash Memory: 512K
• RAM Memory: 128K
• Operating Voltage: 3.3V
• Operating Frequency: 80Mhz
• Typical operating current: 90mA
• Input Voltage (recommended): 7V to 15V
• Input Voltage (maximum): 20V
• I/O Pins: 83 total
• Analog Inputs: 16
• Analog input voltage range: 0V to 3.3V
• DC Current per pin: +/-18mA
• Advanced peripherals:
• 10/100 Ethernet MAC
• USB 2.0 Full Speed OTG controller
• 2 CAN controllers.
• External Interrupts: Pin 3 (INT0), Pin 2 (INT1), Pin 7 (INT2), Pin 21 (INT3), Pin 20
(INT4)

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 Basic I/O Shield
• Features
– 128x32 pixel OLED graphic display
– I2C temperature sensor
– 256Kbit I2C EEPROM
– I2C daisy chain connector
– 4 push buttons
– 4 slide switches
– 8 discrete LEDs
– 4 open drain FET drivers
– Analog potentiometer
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 Analog Shield
• ADS8343: 16 bit, 4 channel Analog to Digital
converter
• DAC8564: 16 bit, 4 channel Digital to Analog
converter
• Variable 7.5V bipolar power supply
• Fixed 5V bipolar power supply
• Breadboard
• Can be used with:
– TI Analog myPartsKit
– Digilent Electronics Explorer Board
– chipKIT Uno32*
– Arduino Uno

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 Network Shield
• Features:
– Usable with the Max32
– SMSC LAN8720 10/100 Ethernet
PHY
– RJ45 connector with integral
magnetics
– USB device and host connectors
– Two MCP2551 CAN transceivers
– Two 12-pin header connectors
for CAN
– Two I2C daisy chain connectors
– 256Kbit I2C EEPROM
– 32.768 KHz oscillator

12
 Assignment/Group Project (15%)
• 8051 emulator or Chipkit MAX32
application implementation
• Done in small groups
• Different application for each group

13
 Typical Semester Outline
• Week 1:
– Introduction to Embedded Systems • Week8
– Lab1: • Embedded System requirements and
• Week 2: Specifications
– The Arduino environment • Power consumption estimation
– Lab2 • Lab7
– Quiz1 • Week 9:
• Week3: • DSP processors
– The Arduino environment
• Lab8
– Lab3
• Group project discussion
• Week4:
– The 8051 microcontroller
• Quiz3
– Lab4 • Week10:
• Week5: • The TI TMS processors
– The 8051 microcontroller • Lab9
– Lab5
• Week11:
• Week6:
• DSP applications with TI TMS
– Microcontroller case studies/applications
–
• Lab10
Lab6
– Quiz2 • Quiz4
• Week 7: • Week12:
• Test1 • Test2
• Week13:
• Group project presentations
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Introduction to Embedded
Systems
 Outline
• What is an embedded system
• Characteristics and Classification of
Embedded Systems
• Systems-on-a-Chip
• Distributed Systems
• Internet-of-Things
• Embedded Systems Design Challenges
• Real-Time Embedded Systems
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Microprocessors for Embedded
systems
• Computing systems are everywhere
• Most of us think of “desktop” computers
– PC’s
– Laptops
– Mainframes
– Servers
• But there’s another type of computing system
– Far more common...

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 Embedded systems overview
• Embedded computing systems
– Computing systems embedded within Computers are in here...
electronic devices
and here...
– Hard to define. Nearly any computing
system other than a desktop computer and even here...
– Billions of units produced yearly, versus
millions of desktop units
– Perhaps 50 per household and per
automobile
– A lot more programming is done for
embedded systems than desktop Lots more of these,
though they cost a lot
computers or servers less each.

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 A “short list” of embedded systems

Anti-lock brakes Modems

Auto-focus cameras MPEG decoders
Automatic teller Network cards
machines Network
Automatic toll systems switches/routers
Automatic transmission On-board navigation
Avionic systems Pagers
Battery chargers Photocopiers
Camcorders Point-of-sale systems
Cell phones Portable video games
Cell-phone base Printers
stations Satellite phones
Cordless phones Scanners
Cruise control Smart
Curbside check-in ovens/dishwashers
systems Speech recognizers
Digital cameras Stereo systems
Disk drives Teleconferencing
Electronic card readers systems
Electronic instruments Televisions
Electronic toys/games Temperature
Factory control controllers
Fax machines
Fingerprint identifiers
Theft tracking systems
TV set-top boxes
And the list goes on and on
Home security systems VCR’s, DVD players
Life-support systems Video game consoles
Medical testing systems Video phones 19
Washers and dryers
 Definitions
• Broad definition:
– Any computer system that is not a general-
purpose computer
• That would include robots, and all portable devices
• Narrow definition:
– A computer system (software and hardware) that
interacts with its physical environment, mainly
without human intervention
• That would exclude printers, modems, portable
devices such as dvd and mp3 players, etc.

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 Some common characteristics of
embedded systems
• Single-functioned
– Executes a single program, repeatedly
• Tightly-constrained
– Low cost, low power, small, fast, etc.
• Reactive and real-time
– Continually reacts to changes in the system’s
environment
– Must compute certain results in real-time without
delay
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 Considerations in embedded system
design
• An embedded system receives input from its
environment through sensors, processes this input
and acts upon its environment through actuators
• Besides the usual software and hardware design
issues the embedded system designer must
consider the properties of the sensors and
actuators and the environment itself
• The ultimate test of an embedded systems are the
laws of physics

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 Classification of Embedded
Systems
• Centralized vs distributed
• Real-time vs non real-time
– Hard deadline
• Failsafe
• Fail-operational
– Soft deadline
– Firm deadline
• Battery powered vs mains powered
• System-on-Chip vs discrete element
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 What is real-time? Is there any other
kind?
• A real-time computer system is a
computer system where the correctness of
the system behavior depends not only on
the logical results of the computations, but
also on the physical time when these
results are produced.
• By system behavior we mean the
sequence of outputs in time of a system.

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 Real-time means reactive
 A real-time computer system must react to stimuli from
its environment
 The instant when a result must be produced is called a
deadline.
 If a result has utility even after the deadline has passed,
the deadline is classified as soft, otherwise it is firm.
 If severe consequences could result if a firm deadline is
missed, the deadline is called hard.
 Example: Consider a traffic signal at a road before a
railway crossing. If the traffic signal does not change to
red before the train arrives, an accident could result.

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 Fail-Safe hard-deadline RT
systems
• If a safe state can be identified and quickly reached
upon the occurrence of a failure, then we call the
system fail-safe.
• Failsafeness is a characteristic of the controlled
object, not the computer system.
– In case a failure is detected in a railway signaling system,
it is possible to set all signals to red and thus stop all the
trains in order to bring the system to a safe state.
• In failsafe applications the computer system must
have a high error-detection coverage.
• Often a watchdog, is required to monitor the
operation of the computer system and put it in safe
state.

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 Fail-Operational hard-deadline RT
systems
• In fail-operational applications, threre is no
safe state
– a flight control system aboard an airplane.
• The computer system must remain
operational and provide a minimal level of
service even in the case of a failure to
avoid a catastrophe

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• Are the following embedded systems? If
yes, classify them. Which characteristics of
an embedded system do they have or do
not have?
– Printer
– DVD player
– Mobile phone
– Tablet
– Netbook/laptop
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 Typical Embedded System
Components
• Sensors: Allow the system to “read” the
environment
• Processing Elements: Control of the
embedded system
• Actuators: Allow the system to act on its
environment
• Network Connection: Local or internet,
allowing exchange of information
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 An embedded system example –
Digital camera
Digital camera chip
CCD

CCD preprocessor Pixel coprocessor D2A

A2D

lens

JPEG codec Microcontroller Multiplier/Accum

DMA controller Display ctrl

Memory controller ISA bus interface UART LCD ctrl

• Single-functioned -- always a digital camera

• Tightly-constrained -- Low cost, low power, small, fast
• Reactive and real-time -- only to a small extent
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Embedded Software Development Requires as
Much/More Design Effort Than Hardware

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A System-on-a-Chip: Example

Courtesy: Philips

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 Design at a crossroad
System-on-a-Chip

Multi- 500 k Gates FPGA • Embedded applications

Analog
Spectral + 1 Gbit DRAM
RAM
where cost, performance,
Imager Preprocessing and energy are the real
64 SIMD Processor issues!
C
Array + SRAM system • DSP and control intensive
+2 Gbit • Mixed-mode
Image Conditioning DRAM
Recog- • Combines programmable
100 GOPS
nition and application-specific
modules
• Software plays crucial role
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The Future of Embedded Systems
• In the past an embedded system was more or
less isolated
• In the past decade Wireless Sensor Networks
have changed that
• Today embedded systems + internet
connection = Internet of Things !
• Near future: Embedded systems + internet +
mobile devices + cloud computing + artificial
intelligence + ? = smart environment
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 IoT forecasts
• Global Internet of Things (IoT) market
reached USD 598.2 Billion in 2015
• is expected to reach USD 724.2 Billion by
2023
• the market is projected to register a CAGR of
13.2%
• The number of connected IoT (Internet of
Things) devices, sensors and actuators will
reach over 46 billion in 2021
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 IoT
• Embedded system with internet
connection
• Not quite as simple as it sounds
• Increased need for security
• Safety issues
• Direct machine to machine (M2M)
communication

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Case studies of distributed
embedded systems
Dr. Konstantinos Tatas
 Outline
• Case study 1: RFID
• Case study 2: Wireless sensor networks
• Case study 3: Internet of things

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 RFID Tags
• Developed to automate the process of object
identification
• electronic tags (called RFID tags) can be read from a
small distance by an RFID reader
• An RFID reader does not require a direct line-of-
sight to the RFID tag.
• The RFID tag stores the unique Electronic Product
Code (EPC) of the attached object.

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 RFID Tag dimensions
• Since an RFID tag has to be
attached to every object, the cost
of an RFID tag is a major issue.
• RFID tags come in various
shapes and sizes and continue to
decrease in size
• RFID tags are implantable and
implants have been approved in
humans as well as animals.

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 RFID Reader
• The RFID reader can act as a gateway to the
Internet and transmit the object identity, together
with the read-time and the object location (i.e.,
the location of the reader) to a remote computer
system that manages a large database.
• It is thus possible to track objects in real-time
• Applications: toll gates, hospitals and large
organizations, public transportation systems,
tracking of animals, libraries

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 Electronic product code
• A typical EPC has a length of 96 bits and contains the following
fields:
– Header (8 bits): defines the type and the length of all subsequent fields.
– EPC Manager (28 bits): specifies the entity (most often the
manufacturer) that assigns the object class and serial number in the
remaining two fields.
– Object Class (24 bits): specifies a class of objects (similar to the optical
bar code).
– Object Identification Number (36 bits): contains the serial number within
theobject class.
• The EPC is unique product identification, but does not reveal
anything about the properties of the product.
• Two things that have the same properties, but are designed by two
different manufacturers, will have completely different EPCs.

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 Passive RFID tags
• Passive RFID Tags. No power supply. They get the
power needed for their operation from energy harvested
out of the electric field that is beamed on them by the
RFID reader. The energy required to operate a passive
tag of the latest generation is below 30 mW and the cost
of such a tag is below 5 ¢.
• Due to the low level of the available power and the cost
pressure on the production of RFID tags, the
communication protocols of passive RFID tags do not
conform to the standard Internet protocols. Specially
designed communication protocols between the RFID
tag and the RFID reader that consider the constraints of
passive RFID tags have been standardized by the ISO
(e.g., ISO 18000-6C also known as the EPC global Gen
2) and are supported by a number of manufacturers.
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 Active RFID tags
• Active RFID Tags
– have their own on-board power supply
– The lifetime of an active tag is limited by the lifetime of the battery
– typically in the order of a year.
• Active tags can transmit and receive over a longer distance
– typically in the order of hundreds of meters,
– can have sensors to monitor their environment
– sometimes support standard Internet communication protocols.
• An active RFID tag resembles a small embedded system
– More expensive

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45
 WSN
• A set of sensor
nodes that each
contains
– a sensor
– a microcontroller
– a wireless
communication
controller

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 WSN node
• A sensor node can acquire a variety of
physical, chemical, or biological signals to
measure properties of its environment.

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 WSN node constraints
• Sensor nodes are resource constrained.
– They are powered either by a small battery or
by energy harvested from its environment,
– have limited computational power, a small
memory, and constrained communication
capabilities.

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WSN deployment and operation
• a number (from few tens to millions) of sensor
nodes are deployed, either systematically or
randomly, in a sensor field to form an ad hoc
self-organizing network
• The WSN collects data about the targeted
phenomenon and transmits the data via an ad-
hoc multi-hop communication channel to one or
more base stations that can be connected to the
Internet.

49
 WSN function
• Phase 1: detect neighbors and establish communication
• Phase 2: learn about
– the arrangement in which the nodes are connected to each other,
– the topology of nodes
– build up ad-hoc multi-hop communication channels to a base station
• In case of the failure of an active node, it must reconfigure the
network
• Applications:
– remote environment monitoring,
– surveillance,
– medical applications,
– ambient intelligence,
– military
• The utility of a wireless sensor network is in the collective emergent
intelligence of all active sensor nodes, not the contribution of any
particular node.
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 Primary concern for WSN: energy
• A WSN is operational as long as a minimum number of
nodes is active and the connectivity of the active nodes
to one of the base stations is maintained.
• In battery-powered sensor networks, the lifetime of the
network depends on the energy capacity of the batteries
and the power-consumption of a node.
• When a sensor node has depleted its energy supply, it
will cease to function and cannot forward messages to
its neighbors any more.
• The design of the nodes, the communication protocols,
and the design of the system and application software
for sensor networks are primarily determined by this
quest for energy efficiency and low cost.
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 WSN + RFID = the future?
• RFID infrastructure for the interconnection of
autonomous low-cost RFID-based sensor nodes
has been proposed
• nodes operate without a battery and harvest the
energy either from the environment or the
electromagnetic radiation emitted by the RFID
reader.
• Potential for long-lasting, low-cost ubiquitous
sensor nodes that may revolutionize many
embedded applications.

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 IoT component: Smart object
• A smart object is a cyber-physical system
or an embedded system, consisting of a
thing (the physical entity) and a
component (the computer) that processes
the sensor data and supports a wireless
communication link to the Internet.
– Example: smart refrigerator keeps track of the
availability and expiry date of food items and
places orders
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 IoT issues
• The novelty of the IoT is not in the functional capability of
a smart object
• Novelty exists in the expected size of billions or even
trillions of smart objects that bring about novel technical
and societal issues that are related to size.
• issues are:
– authentic identification of a smart object,
– autonomic management and self-organization of networks of
smart objects,
– diagnostics and maintenance,
– intrusion of privacy
• Safety issues
– Autonomous mobile robots and self-driving cars

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 Key technologies for IoT
• low-power wireless communication: no
need of a physical connection.
• GPS: makes a smart object location- and
time-aware

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 Smart object categories
• Goal: an autonomic smart object that
– has access to a domain specific knowledge base
– is empowered with reasoning capabilities to orient
itself in the selected application domain.
• Based on the capability level of a smart object it
can be
– activity aware
– policy aware
– process aware

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 Ultimate vision: smart planet
• everyday things around us with an identity in
cyberspace capable of acquiring information and
intelligence
• the world economy and support systems will
operate more smoothly and efficiently

57
 Social and legal issues in IoT
• But the life of the average citizen will also
be affected by changing the relation of
power between those that have access to
the acquired information and can control
the information and those that do not.
• IoT devices can be hacked with significant
dangers to safety and property

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 IoT drivers
• The IoT should extend the interoperability
of the internet to the universe of
heterogeneous smart objects.
• Iot must establish a uniform access
pattern to things in the physical world.

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 Logistics
• The first commercial application
of a forerunner of the IoT, the
RFID is in the area of logistics
• There are many quantitative
advantages in using RFID
technology in supply-chain
management:
– the movement of goods can be
tracked in real-time,
– shelf space can be managed more
effectively
– inventory control is improved
– the amount of human involvement
in the supply chain management is
reduced considerably.

60
 Energy savings
• Already today, embedded systems contribute to energy savings in
many different sectors of our economy and our life.
– increased fuel efficiency of automotive engines,
– improved energy-efficiency of household appliances,
– reduced loss in energy conversion
• The future: of IoT devices opens many new opportunities for energy
savings:
– Smart buildings: individual climate and lighting control in residential
buildings
– Smart grids: reduced energy loss in transmission by the installation of
smart grids,
– Smart meters: better coordination of energy supply and energy demand
• Other energy savings:
– Physical meetings replaced by virtual meetings
– delivery of information goods such as the daily paper, music, and videos
by the Internet

61
 Security and safety
• Automated IoT based access control
systems to buildings and homes
• IoT-based surveillance of public places
• Smart passports and IoT based
identifications (e.g., a smart key to access
a hotel room or a smart ski lift ticket)
• Car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure
communication will alert the driver of
dangerous traffic scenarios
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 Industrial
• computerized observation and monitoring of industrial
equipment
– reduces maintenance cost
– improves the safety in the plant
• A smart object can monitor its own operation and call for
preventive or spontaneous maintenance in case a part
wears out or a physical fault is diagnosed
• Automated fault-diagnosis and simple maintenance are
absolutely essential prerequisites for the wide
deployment of the IoT technology in the domain of
ambient intelligence.

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 Medical
• The wide deployment of IoT technology in the medical
domain is anticipated.
– Health monitoring (heart rate, blood pressure, etc.)
– precise control of drug delivery by a smart implant
• Body area networks that are part of the clothing can
monitor the behavior of impaired persons and send out
alarm messages if an emergency is developing.
• Smart labels on drugs can help a patient to take the right
medication at the right time and enforce drug
compliance.
• Example: A heart pacemaker can transmit important
data via a Bluetooth link to a mobile phone that is carried
in the shirt pocket. The mobile phone can analyze the
data and call a doctor in case an emergency develops.
64
 Technical issues: internet
integration
• Guaranteeing the safety and information
security of IoT-based systems is
considered to be a difficult task.
• Many smart objects will be protected from
general Internet access by a tight firewall
to avoid that an adversary can acquire
control of a smart object.

65
 Naming and identification
• A well-thought-out naming architecture in order to be
able to identify a smart object and to establish an access
path to the object is essential.
• Isolated Objects. The following three different object
names have to be distinguished when we refer to the
simple case of an isolated object:
– Unique object identifier (UID) refers to the physical identity of a
specific object.
– The Electronic Product Code (EPC) of the RFID community is
such a UID.
– Object type name refers to a class of objects that ideally have
the same properties.
– Object role name. In a given use context, an object plays a
specific role that is denoted by the object role name.

66
 Composite object naming
• Composite Objects. Whenever a number
of objects are integrated to form a
composite object, a new whole, i.e., new
object is created that has an emerging
identity that goes beyond the identities of
the constituent objects.
• The composite object resembles a new
concept (see Sect. 2.2.1) that requires a
new name.

67
 IoT vs cloud computing
• Smart objects that have access to the Internet can take
advantage of services that are offered by the cloud
• The division of work between a smart object and the
cloud will be determined, to a considerable degree, by
privacy and energy considerations
• If the energy required to execute a task locally is larger
than the energy required to send the task parameters to
a server in the cloud, then the task is a candidate for
remote processing.
• However, there are other aspects that influence the
decision about work distribution: autonomy of the smart
object, response time, reliability, and security.

68
 Processing Elements used in
•
–
–
Cheap
Embedded Systems
Microcontroller:

Optimized for control applications

– Low processing power
– Low power consumption
• General-Purpose Processor:
– More expensive
– Medium processing power
– Suitable but not optimized for any application
– High power consumption
• Digital Signal Processor:
– Optimized for DSP applications (high-end audio, video and image processing)
• FPGA:
– Good processing power
– Longer development time
– Medium cost
– Low power consumption
• ASIC:
– High processing power
– Very low power consumption
– Expensive at low volume
– Optimized for specific application (hardware accelerators)
– Long development time

69
 Design challenge – optimizing
design metrics
• Obvious design goal:
– Construct an implementation with desired
functionality
• Key design challenge:
– Simultaneously optimize numerous design
metrics
• Design metric
– A measurable feature of a system’s
implementation
– Optimizing design metrics is a key challenge
70
 Design challenge – optimizing
design metrics
• Common metrics
– Unit cost: the monetary cost of manufacturing each copy of the
system, excluding NRE cost
– NRE cost (Non-Recurring Engineering cost): The
one-time monetary cost of designing the system
– Size: the physical space required by the system
– Performance: the execution time or throughput of the system
– Power: the amount of power consumed by the system
– Flexibility: the ability to change the functionality of the system
without incurring heavy NRE cost

71
 Design challenge – optimizing
design metrics
• Common metrics (continued)
– Time-to-prototype: the time needed to build a
working version of the system
– Time-to-market: the time required to develop a
system to the point that it can be released and sold to
customers
– Maintainability: the ability to modify the system
after its initial release
– Correctness, safety, many more
72
 Design metric competition -- improving
one may worsen others
Power • Expertise with both software
and hardware is needed to
optimize design metrics
Performance Size
– Not just a hardware or
software expert, as is
common
NRE cost
– A designer must be
comfortable with various
technologies in order to
CCD
Digital camera chip choose the best for a
A2D
CCD preprocessor Pixel coprocessor D2A
given application and
lens
constraints
JPEG codec Microcontroller Multiplier/Accum

DMA controller Display ctrl

Memory controller ISA bus interface UART LCD ctrl 73

 Time-to-market: a demanding design
metric
• Time required to develop a
product to the point it can
be sold to customers
• Market window
Revenues ($)

– Period during which the

product would have
highest sales
• Average time-to-market
constraint is about 8
Time (months) months
• Delays can be costly
74
 Losses due to delayed market entry

• Simplified revenue model

Peak revenue
– Product life = 2W, peak at W
Revenues ($)

Peak revenue – Time of market entry defines

from delayed
On-time entry a triangle, representing
Market Market market penetration
rise fall – Triangle area equals
Delayed
revenue
• Loss
D W 2W – The difference between the
On-time Delayed Time on-time and delayed triangle
entry entry
areas

75
 Losses due to delayed market entry
(cont.)
• Area = 1/2 * base * height
– On-time = 1/2 * 2W * W
Peak revenue
– Delayed = 1/2 * (W-D+W)*(W-
Revenues ($)

Peak revenue D)
from delayed
On-time entry • Percentage revenue loss = (D(3W-
Market Market D)/2W2)*100%
rise fall • Try some examples
Delayed

– Lifetime 2W=52 wks, delay D=4 wks

D W 2W
– (4*(3*26 –4)/2*26^2) = 22%
On-time Delayed Time
entry entry
– Lifetime 2W=52 wks, delay D=10 wks
– (10*(3*26 –10)/2*26^2) = 50%
– Delays are costly!
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 Real-time (reactive) systems
• Systems that are bound by a real-time constraint
(“deadline”) in their operation
• If the deadline is not met it is usually considered
a system failure, even if the output is eventually
correct
• Deadlines are usually relative to an event
• Hard deadlines: Anti-lock brakes,
• Soft deadlines: Digital video
• Not the same as high-performance systems,
because often running faster than real-time
requirement is not necessary or desired
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 Real-time constraints
• te + to < tc
• te: execution time
• to: overhead time
• tc: constraint time

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 Example
• Assuming a real-time system that processes
samples at a f= 10 MHz sampling rate, and a to=
20 ns, select the most appropriate
implementation among the following:
– A processor running at 500 MHz, requiring 100 cycles
at a cost of 50$
– An FPGA running at 200 MHz, requiring 10 cycles at
a cost of 60$
– A DSP running at 500 MHz, requiring 20 cycles at a
cost of 100$
– An ASIC running at 2 GHz, requiring 20 cycles at a
cost of 500$

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