Mobile and Networked

Embedded Systems
CPE112: Embedded Systems
Mobile Embedded System
• All devices which are portable (without any time and place
limitation)
• limitation of these devices is the other resources and
limitation of memory
• Examples: cell phones, mobiles, digital cameras, mp3 players
and personal digital assistants
Cellular Generations
❑ Analog Cellular Technology (1G)
▪ Early 1980’s
▪ NMT, AMPS (FDMA)
▪ Susceptible to noise and interference. No protection.
❑ Digital Mobile Communication (2G, 2.5G)
▪ Early 1990’s
▪ GSM (TDMA), IS-95 (CDMA), IS-136 (D-AMPS, TDMA), PDC (TDMA)
▪ Data services: SMS
▪ Digital encryption of conversations. Enhanced privacy.
Cellular Generations
❑ Wide Band Mobile Communication (3G, 3.5G)
▪ Early 2000’s
▪ EDGE (TDMA), CDMA 2000, UMTS (CDMA)
▪ Data transfer rates >= 2 Mbit/s
▪ Data & Voice convergence, Internet access.
❑ Broadband Mobile Communication (4G)
▪ LTE Advanced, IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX)
▪ Data transfer rates >= 100 Mbits/s
▪ Mobile IPTV, Wireless VoIP.
Evolution of Radio Systems, Mobility,
Data Rates
Digital Convergence
❑ Convergence enables people to create, share and consume digital
content, using interoperable devices
❑ Cellular phones evolve from traditional cost-optimized handhelds to
multifunctional terminals
❑ Cellular phones: key platform for mobile convergence applications
(web browsing, video streaming, etc.)
Today’s Cellular Phone
❑ Extremely complex embedded system
❑ Functional blocks are custom-made for mobility
❑ Chips are either proprietary designs or based on available
chips.
❑ Miniaturization and functionality
Block diagram of triple-band cellular phone
Development of Cellular phones
❑ Miniaturization
❑ Functionality

Image from: https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/mobile-phones-44296427-e2bc-4599-

9c51-b0bb7b31d092
Development of Cellular phones

Image from:https://slideplayer.com/slide/5274949/
Baseband and RF domains
challenges
RF Challenges: Multiradio
❑ Wide variety of radio systems
❑ Combination of systems at
reasonable cost and size
❑ Interference
❑ Miniaturization challenges
▪ Antennas
▪ Filters
Memory Challenge
❑ Total memory requirement is increasing rapidly
❑ Mass Memories – interactive games, high quality video
▪ Large memories are required to support data downloading and
local storage
▪ Supported by external memory cards: MMC or SD
❑ Small Memories – processing and small applications
▪ Memory chips and their interconnections consume large areas
on PCBs and are accessed frequently
▪ New types of NVRAM may challenge memory chips to provide
smaller and more cost effective memory solutions
NVRAM – Alternatives to Flash Memory
❑ Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM)
▪ DRAM cell with ferroelectric dielectric in the storage
capacitor
▪ Advantages: low power, faster reads and writes (single
word vs. entire block erase), greater number of write-erase
cycles (1016 vs. 106)
▪ Disadvantages: lower storage density, higher cost
❑ Phase Change Memory
▪ Glass cells that become crystalline or amorphous by cooling
▪ Advantages: faster reads and writes, greater number of
write-erase cycles (108 vs. 106), longer hold times
▪ Disadvantages: temp sensitivity, • no pre-programming
Application Platform
❑ Mobile internet – web browsing, video calls and
high bit rate streaming
❑ Java ME – provides flexible user interfaces, built
in network protocols, multimedia support
▪ Fact: 2.1 Billion mobile phones use Java platforms
❑ 3rd Party Mobile Applications – if developed in
Java, are portable enough to run on almost all
cell phones
Java – Hardware or Software?
❑ Hardware – an additional small processor
dedicated for running Java
▪ Improves performance, minimizes memory requirements
▪ Software becomes dependent on inflexible hardware
implementation
❑ Software – Java is run on baseband
processor
▪ Virtual machine – Java commands • are interpreted as
equivalent • microprocessor commands -- slow!
▪ Just In Time – compiler that would • translate Java classes
into processor • instructions --- fast!
Power Challenge
❑ Recent evolution of communication and application functions have
substantially increased power consumption
❑ Constant annual growth of 10% in battery capacity has enabled
battery volume shrinkage while having mAh level constant
❑ However, when 3G or WLAN communication is run simultaneously
with multimedia applications, power consumption must be reduced
Power consumption and Battery Capacity
Solutions to Power Gap
❑ 10% increase in battery capacity will continue forever
❑ Reduce power hungry components:
▪ Antennas – Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RF
▪ Digital displays
❑ Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS)
❑ Reconfigurable RF components to reduce the number of ICs.
Networked Embedded System
Networked Embedded System
❑ Environment monitoring
❑ Weather, contaminants, earthquake, fire, habitats
❑ Surveillance, security, disaster relief
❑ Traffic safety
❑ Smart spaces
❑ Home and office automation
❑ Ubiquitous and proactive computing
Platform Examples
❑ COTS Dust - RF Mote
❑ Crossbow – Mote
❑ CCR Mote COTS Dust - RF Mote
❑ Sensoria sGate
Crossbow MicaZ
Mote, © Crossbow
Technology Inc

CCR Motes
Networked Embedded System
❑ NES are employed in Devices that form the backbone of communication
networks
❑ Routers, Network Bridges (Switches), Telephone Switches etc
❑ Perform the task of data processing, Network Connectivity and Service
delivery
❑ NES were mostly implemented on Single Purpose Processors (SPPs)
❑ SPPs - No Flexibility
❑ Pose problems when the requirements change Alternatives : General
purpose processors or ASIPs (Network Processors)
Network Processors
❑ ICs specifically built for networking application
❑ Software Programmable Devices
❑ Optimized features for networking applications : pattern Matching,
Queue management, Data bit field manipulation etc.
NES based on ASIPs
❑ Stareast:
▪ Consists of a Baseboard and two
daughter boards
▪ Baseboard contains Intel IXP425
(533MHz) Processor NES based on
ASIPs
Intel IXP425 Processor
❑ Scalable performance, Reduced power consumption, Low cost
❑ Deliver a range of data, voice, security and I/O features
❑ Distributed processing Architecture
❑ Combination of Intel XScale (an ARM Processor) and 3 Network
Processing Engines (NPEs)
Intel IXP425 Processor
❑ XScale - Control plane
❑ NPEs - computationally
intensive data
❑ Parallel Operation of Xscale
and NPEs Intel IXP425
Processor
NES based on ASIPs
❑ Netgear WAG302:
❑ Most commonly used wireless
Access Point
❑ Based on Intel IXP422B processor
(266 MHz)
NES based on ASIPs
❑ Soekris net4826-50
❑ Based on AMD Geode Processor (266 MHz)
NES based on GPPs
❑ Used to create fully customized routers and access points
❑ Low cost, advanced communication features
❑ AMD Geode processor comes under the X86 processor family
Quantitative Performance Comparison
❑ Objectives:
a. Performance comparison Between NES based on GPP and NES based on
ASIP
b. Performance comparison between Two NESs based on ASIP with one
running on a commercial Operating system and another running Open
source operating system
Experimental Setup
❑ Three Stareast boards:
a. One running Montavista 4.0 OS
b. The other two running Snapgear versions
3.1 and 3.3
❑ Netgear WAG302 Running openWRT
❑ Soekris net 4826 running Voyage Linux
(Debian) distribution for X86
processors
Experimental Setup
❑ To Study the behavior of the NESs, D-ITG traffic generator is used
❑ Can generate IPv4/IPv6 traffic replicating the appropriate stochastic
processes for both IDT( Inter Departure time) and PS (packet size)
❑ Collect Statistics of Quality of Service (QOS) parameters:
Throughput, Jitter, Packet loss and Delay (Latency)
Experimental Analysis
❑ NES boards are connected back to back with the Workstation
❑ Testing is performed using both TCP and UDP in the transport layer
❑ Two types of tests are performed:
a. Discover the number of packets per second the devices are able to generate
for fixed packet size
b. Measure bit rates, jitter, packet loss for different packet rates and sizes
Sensor Network as a System
❑ Deployment Where do we put the sensors?
▪ Engineered
▪ Ad Hoc
❑ Operation How will the system function?
▪ Initialization, discovery
▪ Self assembly and communication
❑ Management
❑ Sensing and Computing
❑ Must deal with uncertainties and errors
autonomously
❑ Security and Privacy
Differences from Wireless Networking
❑ Wireless data networks (e.g. ❑ Networked Embedded Sensor
802.11b) Systems
▪ Goal is to transmit data from one end ▪ Tasks vary
point to ▪ Point to point data transmission often
the next not the
goal
▪ Data processed in the network
▪ Each node may potentially have great
processing
power
▪ Self organizing
▪ Some similarities to ad-hoc networking
▪ Autonomous and at times inaccessible
nodes.
Networked Sensor System
❑ Primary Goal is Sensing
Errors
❑ Measurement errors
❑ Calibration
❑ Noise
❑ Parameter errors
❑ Locations
❑ Orientations
❑ Modeling Errors
❑ Solution Errors
Sensor Deployment and Coverage
❑ How well do the sensors observe the world?
Motes &
Wireless Sensor Networks
Mote
❑ A very low cost low power computer

Analog I/O Ports

Sensor
❑
Radio Transceiver
Monitors one or more sensors D/A

❑ A Radio Link to the outside world A/D

❑ Are the building blocks of Wireless Microcontroller

Digital I/O ports

Sensor
Sensor Networks (WSN) External Memory
Wireless Sensor Network
“A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a wireless network consisting of
spatially distributed autonomous devices using sensors to
cooperatively monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as
temperature, sound, vibration, pressure, motion or pollutants, at
different locations.”
- Wikipedia
Wireless Sensor Networks
❑ Formed by hundreds or thousands of motes that communicate with each other
and pass data along from one to another
❑ Research done in this area focus mostly on energy aware computing and
distributed computing Links to Other networks or
Similar Super Nodes

Super Node

Motes
Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Applications
❑ Environmental/Habitat monitoring
❑ Acoustic detection
❑ Seismic Detection
❑ Military surveillance
❑ Inventory tracking
❑ Medical monitoring
❑ Smart spaces
❑ Process Monitoring
Habitat Monitoring on Great Duck Island
❑ http://www.greatduckisland.net/
❑ Intel Research Laboratory at Berkeley initiated a collaboration
with the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor and the University
of California at Berkeley to deploy wireless sensor networks on
Great Duck Island, Maine (in 2002)
❑ Monitor the microclimates in and around nesting burrows used
by the Leach's Storm Petrel
❑ Goal : habitat monitoring kit for researchers worldwide
FireBug

❑ Wildfire Instrumentation System Using Networked Sensors

❑ Allows predictive analysis of evolving fire behavior
❑ Firebugs: GPS-enabled, wireless thermal sensor motes based
on TinyOS that self-organize into networks for collecting real
time data in wild fire environments
❑ Software architecture: Several interacting layers (Sensors,
Processing of sensor data, Command center)
❑ A project by University of California, Berkeley CA.
Preventive Maintenance on an Oil Tanker in the
North Sea: The BP Experiment
❑ Collaboration of Intel & BP
❑ Use of sensor networks to support preventive
maintenance on board an oil tanker in the North
Sea.
❑ A sensor network deployment onboard the ship
❑ System gathered data reliably and recovered from
errors when they occurred.
❑ The project was recognized by InfoWorld as one of
the top 100 IT projects in 2004,
“Cricket” Mote
❑ Basically a location-aware mote.
❑ Includes an Ultrasound transmitter and receiver.
❑ Uses the combination of RF and Ultrasound technologies to
establish differential time of arrival and hence linear range
estimates
❑ Based on Cricket Indoor Location System developed by a MIT
researcher Nissanka Bodhi Priyantha
TinyOS
❑ What is TinyOS
▪ open-source operating system
▪ wireless embedded sensor networks
▪ component-based architecture
❑ Developed at UCB in collaboration with Intel Research
❑ Current Stable Version is 1.1.15
❑ TinyOS 2.0 (T2) released on 6/11
❑ Main Ideas –
▪ Low complexity
▪ Conserve power – sleep as frequently as possible
❑ Written in nesC – next generation C compiler
 Different Targets
mica mica2 mica2dot micaz

telos telosb rene2 pc

Mica2
❑ Extremely popular mote
❑ 8-bit AVR Controller
❑ FSK radio
❑ Data-logger flash
Mica2 Clone
Data Mule
❑ DataMule – a mobile entity present in the
environment that will pick up data from the mote
when in range, buffer it, and drop off the data at
base station
▪ ex: People, Vehicles, Livestock
 Data Mule
Leaf Node

Base Station

Data Mule
Data Mule
Data Mule

Base Station
Data Mule - Applications
❑ Collecting a data in a sparse sensor network
❑ Tracking movement of mobile elements
▪ Vehicles
▪ Livestock
▪ Wild Animals
Data Mule
Base Station
Data Mule - Research undertaken
❑ Development of a TDMA/CSMA hybrid MAC
▪ TinyOS currently has a CSMA MAC
▪ Hope to improve throughput by employing TDMA
▪ Time is divided into transmission periods and contention periods
▪ Nodes will contend with each other to join “the transmission group” during the contention
period.
▪ Nodes in the transmission group will be allocated a time-slot in the transmission period.
❑ Development of data storage engine optimized for fast retrieval
Sensor Network Challenges
❑ Power constraints absolutely crucial
❑ Limit communication as processing is cheap
❑ Self organization
❑ Autonomous operation
❑ Design and deployment
❑ Enabling technologies
❑ Software radios
❑ Smart antennas
❑ Miniaturization
❑ MEMs
Current Research Projects
• Sensor calibration in distributed settings
• Error analysis
• Impacts of parameter errors on applications
• Example Location errors and coverage
• Localized algorithms
• Efficient design space exploration
• Embedded systems
• Architectures
• Algorithms
Thank you for listening.
Reference
❑ Liza Rodriguez, et. al. Cellular Phones as Embedded
Systemshttps://www.slideserve.com/ziarre/cellular-phones-as-embedded-systems-
powerpoint-ppt-presentation

• Seapahn Megerian
• megerian_at_ece.wisc.edu
• http//www.ece.wisc.edu/megerian/pub/nes.ppt
• Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
• University of Wisconsin Madison
Reference
❑ Annis Alexander. Networked Embedded Systems Srikanth
Subramanian.Https://Slideplayer.Com/Slide/6396088/
❑ Nuwan Gajaweera.University of Moratuwa.