101811 - REAL-TIME COMPUTER DEVICES

Subject type: Optional

Coordinator: Julián Horrillo Tello

Trimester: Second term

Credits: 6

Malgrat que la llengua de comunicació de l'assignatura és el català, no es descarta l'ús d'altres llengües que el Tecnocampus, per normativa, accepta: l'anglès i el castellà. The student can use it without any restrictions.

Optional subject framed in the block of the mention in Intelligent Manufacturing in Industry 4.0.

The miniaturization of computing power and memory has led to the development of controllers and smart devices, occupying very little volume, to be able to place them very close to where the data is acquired or used. They are what we know as cyberphysical systems, embedded, and edge computing.

These devices have, as one of the main features, working with real-time data, and ensure very short response times. This requires using specific real-time signal processing mechanisms.

During the course various types of real-time computing-oriented devices will be presented, it will be studied how to treat the digital signals provided by the sensors and the treatment that can be done with them from digital filters and data processing.

The practices are aimed at developing parts of one of these cyber-physical systems for a specific case using one of these types of devices. Specifically, work will be done with the ARM Cortex M4 microcontroller (on Texas Instruments' LAUNCHXL-F28379D development boards).

At the end of the course the student must be able to:

1. Know the importance and possibilities of cyberphysical systems in an environment of distributed smart devices.

2. Know the different types of processors suitable for real-time tasks, tools for programming and applications.

3. Implement real-time digital filters.

4. Uses software tools for digital filter analysis and design.

5. Know how to apply real-time processors and controllers in advanced robotics systems.

6. Designs and implements control solutions based on DSP and real-time systems, both hardware and software.

7. Applies programming tools for PLD devices, microprocessors, microcontrollers and DSP of digital equipment.

8. Design, write, test, debug, document, and maintain code in a high-level language to solve programming problems by applying algorithmic schemas and using data structures.

The subject consists of 4 hours a week of face-to-face classes in the classroom (large group), where the theoretical contents will be developed and exercises and problems of practical design will be solved, and 20 hours per laboratory practice course. small) developing real-time signal processing designs and applications.

Whenever deemed appropriate, activities of a completely optional nature will be made available to students to help them prepare and prepare for those of a compulsory nature.

1. Real-time digital signal processing (TDS) in the industrial environment 

1.1 Signal processing. Sampling, signal digitization and data processing.

1.2 Real-time systems. Reactive systems 

2. Digital filters and their design

2.1 Digital filters (FIR and IIR) and their design

2.2 Structures of digital filters

2.3 Discrete Fourier Transform and Fast Fourier Transform

2.4 Image filtering.

3. Prockers for real-time digital signal processing

3.1 Presentation of different types of processors that can be used.

3.2 Technical characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of its use, development tools, and main applications.

3.3 Importance of the Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Texas Instruments LAUNCHXL-F28379D Processor Overview. Evaluation card.

4. Real-time programming and applications

4.1 Application development

4.2 Synchronization of I / O transfers

4.3 Real time operating systems (RTOS)

1. Digital filter design

Working individually, the student must design a set of digital filters taking into account their requirements and specified functional characteristics. [Related to Competences E29; Evidence of Learning Outcome 3].

2. Program an FFT algorithm

In this individual activity, the student must study, design and program a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm. [Related to Skills E21, E22, E24, E27, E28 and E29; Evidence of Learning Outcome 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7].

3. Programming applications to use interrupts and I/O connections for the Texas Instruments F28379D card 

Working in groups, the student must progressively design an application that uses the card's analog inputs and outputs and interrupts. [Related to Skills E21, E22, E24, E27, E28 and E29; Evidence of Learning Outcome 4, 5, 6 and 7].

4. Programming an application of a digital filter in Real Time

Working in groups, the student must design, develop, and verify the program for an application of an IIR digital filter taking into account its specified requirements and functional characteristics. [Related to Skills E21, E22, E24, E27, E28 and E29; Evidence of Learning Outcome 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7].

5. Examen

Written test to evaluate the theoretical and practical concepts developed throughout the course. Individual activity. [Related to Skills E21, E22, E24, E27, E28 and E29; Evidence of Learning Outcome 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7].

For each activity, teachers will report on the particular rules and conditions that govern them. This information will be communicated in the physical classroom and / or published in the virtual classroom.

Individual activities presuppose the student's commitment to carry them out individually. All those activities in which the student does not fulfill this commitment will be considered suspended.

Likewise, the activities that must be carried out in groups presuppose the commitment of the students who make up them to carry them out within the group. All those activities in which the group has not respected this commitment will be considered suspended. The responsibility for the results of the work belongs to the group, and not to the individuals who make it up. In any case, teachers can, based on the information they have, customize the rating for each member of the group.

Any undelivered activity will be considered scored with zero points. Failure to attend a session automatically excludes from the evaluation of the corresponding activity, being considered scored with zero points.

It is optional for teachers to accept or not deliveries outside the deadlines indicated. In the event that these late deliveries are accepted, it is up to the teacher to decide whether to apply a penalty and its value.

The evaluation of the subject will be based on the results obtained by the working group throughout the term. Part of the evaluation is common to all members of the group, depending on the results of the work done; and another is individual, activity 4 (Exam). Individual activity within the groups will also be valued. 

The weight of each of the activities in the final evaluation of the subject is indicated below.

• ACTIVITY 1: 15%

• ACTIVITY 2: 10%

• ACTIVITY 3: 25%

• ACTIVITY 4: 10%

• ACTIVITY 4 (Exam): 40%

Attendance at class sessions and the delivery of the corresponding reports of the activities developed is a necessary condition for the evaluation of the subject.

Oppenheim, Alan & Schafer, Ronald (1975). Digital Signal Processing. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Ziemer, Rodger & Tranter, William & Fannin, Ronnald (2014). Signals and Systems: Continuous and Discrete. Essex. Pearson Educated Limited.   

Oppenheim, Alan V. (2000). Discrete time signal processing. Pearson Prentice Hall.

Khaitan, Siddhartha & McCalley, James (2014). Design Techniques and Applications of Cyber ​​Physical Systems: A Survey. IEEE Systems Journal