Embedded Control in the Autonomous Systems

Autonomous and embedded systems are the infrastructural fabric of modern technological society and are present as an almost imperceptible environment to each of us. Very soon after the advent of the electronic computer in the middle of the last century, the possibilities of digital control were realized as a substitute for human control over various processes. Accordingly, their use also began – first of all in an industrial environment and in military technologies – a still relatively limited application due to the then high price of the devices themselves, and also due to the need for complex adaptation of the technological environment and the personnel involved. The gradual mass penetration develops the technologies of the embedded systems in the direction of compactness and lower price. In turn, advanced technologies stimulate their even greater penetration in industrial production, in communications and transport, and in everyday life. Today, autonomous intelligence, or at least automatism in making trivial everyday decisions, can be found all around us. More than 95% of digital processors are installed not in general-purpose systems – personal computers and devices and servers, but in specialized control devices that we call embedded systems. Their functionality varies widely – from very primitive control over low-complexity repeatable procedures to imitation of human intelligence and physical presence. The realization of walking and talking human-like automata (humanoid robots) is rather a homage to the former fiction or Kafka-style futurism, but besides these expensive toys everywhere we can also see the evidence of the irreplaceable practicality of autonomous embedded systems: instead of people in developed economies, millions of industrial robots (rather manipulators) work, and each of us is surrounded by several such “companions” that fill our consciousness with sounds, images and communications.

Contents

Preface 9

Embedded systems in vehicles 13

Autonomous systems and robots 17

I. Systems, Frameworks, and Tools 19

1. Embedded systems application and metrics 21

1.1. Principle of embedding computer control 24

1.2. Sample applications 26

1.3. Technological features of EAS 29

1.4. Timing and power requirements 31

1.5. Technological alternatives to embedded systems 32

1.6. Technological parameters of embedded systems 36

1.7. Additional design requirements for embedded systems 39

1.8. Phases of embedded systems design 39

2. Embedded computer architectures 43

2.1. Organization of embedded systems 44

2.2. Processors 47

2.2.1. Embedded systems with parallel processing 51

2.3. Memories – organization and parameters 53

2.4. Parallel and serial communication channels 59

2.5. Timers and DMA 62

2.6. Analog interfaces – ADC/DAC 65

2.7. Graphics peripherals for pixel data 70

3. Sensors 76

3.1. Sensor devices 76

3.1.1. Conversion Methods 77

3.2 Application of sensors 77

3.2.1. Mechanical sensors 77

3.2.2. Acceleration sensor 78

3.2.3. Rotary sensors 80

3.2.4. Global positioning sensor and GPS 80

3.2.5. Laser distance meter 81

3.2.6. Cameras 82

3.3. Navigation 84

3.3.1. Fixing a position 84

3.3.2. Fixed calculation 85

3.4. From navigation to traffic control 86

4. Embedded and real-time operating systems 87

4.1. Prerequisites and alternatives to embedded and real-time OSes 87

4.2. Real-time OS Features 90

4.3. Embedded Linux, Windows Embedded CE 6.0, LynxOS and FreeRTOS 97

5. Component-based embedded systems 101

5.1. Types of components 102

5.2. Design of component-based embedded systems 103

5.3. Non-functional characteristics of components 106

6. Time-sensitive embedded systems 108

6.1. Categories of time-sensitive embedded systems 109

6.2. Architecture and parameters of time-sensitive embedded systems 111

6.3. Non-functional characteristics of time-sensitive embedded systems (QoS) 112

7. System means for real-time processing 114

7.1. Process planning 115

7.2. Real-time scheduling algorithms 118

7.3. Real-time OS scheduler debugging 119

7.4. Real-time processes in Windows 122

7.5. Real-time Core Extensions – INtime and RTX for Windows 126

7.6. Linux/Android real-time processes 128

7.7. Real-time and embedded databases 129

II. Embedded Applications 133

8. Distributed Embedded systems (IoT++) 139

8.1. Application of distributed embedded systems 140

8.2. Architecture of distributed EAS 141

8.3. Features of the Smart Sensors 142

8.4. Smart sensor networks 144

8.5. Design of distributed embedded systems 145

8.6. System communications in distributed embedded systems 147

8.7. Power management in smart sensors 148

8.8. System tools for smart sensors in mass service networks 150

9. Robotic systems 155

9.1. General characteristics 155

9.2. Functional layers of autonomous systems 160

9.3. Designing applications for robots 163

9.4. Architecture of robotic applications 164

9.5. Middleware for robots 166

9.6. Machine navigation 167

9.7. Machine vision 171

10. Communications as embedded system or subsystem 175

10.1. Layered architecture and protocol stack 175

10.2. Wireless communication channels 181

10.3. Network layer – IP networks 182

10.4. Wireless LANs – standard 802.11 (WiFi) 183

10.5. Microgrids – Bluetooth and BLE 185

10.6. Microgrids – IrDA 187

10.7. Cell phones 189

10.8. P2P- and M2M-networks, services, and platforms for IoT. MQTT 194

11. Multimedia systems and applications 196

11.1. Raw multimedia data 196

11.2. Compression of primary multimedia data 197

11.3. Lossless and lossy compression 200

11.4. Multimedia standards and components 202

11.5. Multimedia transfer 205

11.6. Stream data exchange with RTP, RTCP and RTSP 207

12. Roboethics 209

12.1. Backstory 210

12.2. Development phases of roboethics 210

12.3. Perspectives on roboethics 212

12.3.1. Engineering and roboethics 212

12.3.2. Guidelines for the Ethics and Trustworthiness of Artificial Intelligence 213

12.3.3. Trustworthy AI assessment 218

Glossary of terms 225