CEA LIST - Embedded Systems

Embedded Systems

Embedded systems are omnipresent in our everyday life ( Energy, automobiles, mobile phones, trains, planes etc.).
These interconnected, communicating systems include applications that handle data processed and exchanged and at higher and higher rates, and breakthroughs in technology are needed to answer the growing needs of industrial and general public applications.

Here the issues are:
- Mastering the complexity of applications.
- Dependability of software and host systems.
- Reduction of product design time.
- Real-time processing of ever-increasing amounts of data.
- Hardware and software architectures able to meet hard environmental constraints.
- Intelligent, autonomous sensors (image and video).

LIST research and development focuses on three areas:
- Embedded System architecture and design
- Software tools
- Intelligent vision systems

Current theses at the LIST

Embedded System theses

Patents

Embedded System patents

Presentation

Embedded System presentation (french version)

Embedded System architectures and design

Goals and issues

The high performance on embedded computing capacity for application domains (multimedia processing, intelligent sensors, cryptology, genome analysis etc.) have resulted in the development of dedicated architectures for these requirements (hardware and software architectures).
Completely new paradigms of architecture are expected for low-consumption high-intensive calculation in future compact embedded systems.

Research in this area should yield innovative solutions are prospected to meet the challenges of the future:
- reconfigurable parallel architecture adapted to the general public market,
- reliable distributed architectures able to fullfill the industrial requirements for
intensive calculation.

Research team:

Architecture and design

Research topics:

	Multi-application processors optimisation (ASIP). Reconfigurable circuits synthesis. Multi-disciplinary digital simulation (electromagnetic compatibility, thermal issues, physical coupling etc.). Fault tolerant distributed architectures. Remote diagnosis of embedded system networks.

		Further information

Main projects:

		ICAM: Intelligent video (french version)
		EPICURE:	Partitioning and co-designenvironment for reconfigurable architecture processes (french version)

Publications:

Embedded Systems architectures and design

Software tools

Goals and issues:

Embedded systems integrate more and more large software, frequently embedded in the
basic components of the system. This trend has resulted in an important need of advanced tools able to manage the entire development of the software cycle and to guarantee a high level of safety (detection of errors as earlier as possible).

The main stakes relating to such software tools are the following:
- mastering the time required and the cost involved in the development and in the validation of real-time systems, and distributed systems,
- mastering the safety of the system,
- managing the increasing complexity of systems on chip (network on chip, OS and middleware etc.).

The main stake rely in establishing industrial design of software and associated systems enabling verification and high-performance validation.

Research tools:

	Software for process safety
	Software safety

Research topics:

Model-based architecture (MDA).
Modeling and transformation of UML models.
Software infrastructure layers for embedded and distributed systems (modular, adaptative middleware).
Reliable deterministic design on distributed real-time systems.
Verification of complex heterogeneous models.
Identification of threats and complex software proofs (static analysis).
Modeling of SystemC language semantics.
Generalized simulation of hardware/software systems (dynamic analysis).
Generation of structural and functional tests, resolution of constraints, tests coverage.

Main projects:

		CARROLL: Development and validation directed by models (MDE, middleware)
		OASIS: Deterministic real-time multi-task design (french version)
		CAVEAT: Static analysis of industrial software (french version)
		FLIP:	Static analysis and formal proof of SystemC hardware components (french version)
		ARTIST: European excellence network (design of embedded systems)
		ACCORD/UML: Modeling and production of embedded real-time applications
		AGATHA: Automatic validation and generation of tests (french version)

Publications:

Software tools

Vision systems

Goals and issues:

The development of intelligent nomadic systems has resulted in substantially more embedded computing power being placed inside the sensors.
This allows to process signal in situ before transmission to databases or control systems.

This requires:
- algorithms for analyzing and using information contained in images,
- intelligent integrated sensors for optimal environment analysis.

The issues of this research are:
- designing integrated vision systems including detection of scenes,
- optimizing algorithms for image segmentation and data fusion.

Research team:

Vision systems

Research topics:

	Robust image video segmentation algorithms. Video compression algorithms. 3D model reconstruction of a scene. Indexing of images, recognition objects in complex scenes. Data fusion. Retina and processor coupling. Optimized real-time image processing libraries.

		Further information

Main projects:

		SAVE-U: The safety of people in town and on the road (french version)
		SCANNER 3D: High-speed modeling of architectures (french version)
		Pedestrian detection video
		CAD metrology video
		Resetting video

Publications:

Vision systems