Modern enterprise-grade systems with virtually unlimited resources have many options when it comes to implementing state of the art intrusion prevention and detection solutions. These solutions are costly in terms of energy, execution time, circuit board area, and capital. Sustainable Internet of Things devices and power-constrained embedded systems are thus forced to make suboptimal security trade-offs. One such trade-off is the design of architectures which prevent execution of injected shell code, yet have allowed Return Oriented Programming (ROP) to emerge as a more reliable way to execute malicious code following attacks. ROP is a method used to take over the execution of a program by causing the return address of a function to be modified through an exploit vector, then returning to small segments of otherwise innocuous code located in executable memory one after the other to carry out the attacker's aims. We show that the Tiva TM4C123GH6PM microcontroller, which utilizes anARM Cortex-M4F processor, can be fully controlled with this technique. Firmware code is pre-loaded into a ROM on Tiva microcontrollers which can be subverted to erase and rewrite the flash memory where the program resides. That same firmware is searched for a Turing-complete gadget set which allows for arbitrary execution. We then design and evaluate a method for verifying the integrity of firmware on embedded systems, in this case Solid State Drives (SSDs). Some manufacturers make firmware updates available, but their proprietary protections leave end users unable to verify the authenticity of the firmware post installation. This means that attackers who are able to get a malicious firmware version installed on a victim SSD are able to operate with full impunity, as the owner will have no tools for detection. We have devised a method for performing side channel analysis of the current drawn by an SSD, which can compare its behavior while running genuine firmware against its behavior when running modified firmware. We train a binary classifier with samples of both versions and are able to consistently discriminate between genuine firmware and modified firmware, even despite changes in external factors such as temperature and supplied power. / Doctor of Philosophy / To most consumers and enterprises, a computer is the desktop or laptop device they use to run applications or write reports. Security for these computers has been a top priority since the advent of the Internet and the security landscape has matured considerably since that time. Yet, these consumer-facing computers are outnumbered several times over by embedded computers and microcontrollers which power ubiquitous systems in industrial control, home automation, and the Internet of Things. Unfortunately, the security landscape for these embedded systems is in relative infancy. Security controls designed for consumer and enterprise computers are often poorly suited for embedded system due to constraints such as power, memory, processing, and real-time performance demands. This research considers the unique constraints of embedded systems and analyzes their security in a practical way. We begin by exploring the mechanism and extent to which a device can be compromised. We show that a technique known as Return Oriented Programming (ROP) can be used to bypass some of the process control protections in place and that there can be enough existing code in the firmware to allow an attacker to execute code at will. This leads naturally to the question of how embedded computers can be secured. One important security assurance is the knowledge that a device is running legitimate firmware. This can be difficult for a device owner to verify due to proprietary protections put in place by manufacturers. However, we contribute a method to detect modifications to firmware on embedded systems, particularly Solid State Drives. This is done through an analysis of the current drawn during drive operations with best-practice data classification techniques. The findings of this research indicate that current embedded devices present a larger surface area for attack, less sophistication required for attack, and a larger quantity of devices vulnerable to attack. Even though these findings should raise concern, we also found that there are practical methods for detecting attack via monitoring and analysis.

In the recent years, CubeSat’s are evolving from purely educational tools to a standard platform for technology demonstration and miniaturized scientific instrumentation. The use of COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf) components aided the ongoing miniaturiza- tion of several technologies and demonstrated successfully. Furthermore advantages in this small satellite approach are due to their lesser development times and smaller sizes suitable for multiple CubeSat launches on a single launcher into their respective desig- nated orbits which is cost effective for Universities. These architectures not only promise the combination of both temporal resolution of GEO missions with spatial resolution of LEO missions, but also breaks the trade off in conventional Earth observation satel- lite designs. A thorough implementation of the firmware of vision payload of the Nano Satellite VELOX-I for the Earth observation and remote sensing purposes, in the near future with high scientific payoff is presented here. In course of implementation various case studies have been learned, current date CCSDS recommendations for image com- pression have been considered. Effect of key components such as power, memory and data transmission capability for small satellite remote sensing applications are discussed. Implementation of the core firmware of the payload and serial interface development in Java on Linux platform of Payload Processing Unit shall be able to inherit into the future VELOX missions. / <p>Validerat; 20121128 (global_studentproject_submitter)</p>

The robotics community has succeeded in creating remarkable machines and task-level programming tools, but arguably has failed to apply sophisticated autonomous machines to sophisticated tasks. One reason is that this combination leads to prohibitive complexity. Biological systems provide many examples of integrated systems that combine high-performance and flexibility, with logically-organized low-level control. Sophisticated organisms have evolved that depend on physical dexterity to thrive in a particular ecological niche while mitigating computational and behavioral complexity. This dissertation investigates the potential for a new kind of hybrid robotic design process. A design for performance that combines mechanical dexterity with low-level embedded firmware that organizes behavior and facilitates programming at a higher level. I propose that dexterous machines can incorporate embedded firmware that express the "aptitudes'' implicit in the design of the robot and hierarchically organize the behavior of the system for programming. This is a win-win situation where the quality of the embedded firmware determines how efficiently programmers (autonomous learning algorithms or human programmers) can construct control programs that are robust, flexible, and respond gracefully to unanticipated circumstances. This dissertation introduces the uBot-5---a mobile manipulator concept for human environments that provides dexterous modes for mobility and manipulation and control firmware that organizes these behavioral modes locally for use by applications code. Postural control underlies the uniform treatment of several mobility modes that engage different combinations of sensory and motor resources. The result is a platform for studying "whole-body'' control strategies that can be applied jointly to simultaneous mobility and manipulation objectives. The thesis examines the specification and development of both: (1) a dexterous robot for unstructured environments, and (2) the embedded firmware that organizes dexterous behavior for mobility and manipulation tasks. Integrated solutions are proposed that control transitions between postural "modes'' and provide a logically organized dexterous behavior hierarchy. Firmware programming can also be used to construct an efficient API for user programming and autonomous machine learning. My goal is to contribute technologies that can support new robotic applications in our culture that require fully integrated dexterous robots in unstructured environments. Personal robotics is an important emerging application that depends on seamlessly integrated and sophisticated machines, controllers, and adaptability. Logically organized representations for use in task-level application development are critical to pull this off. The impact of such technology could be significant---with applications that include healthcare and telemedicine, exploration, emergency response, logistics, and flexible manufacturing.

Sea ice in the Antarctic Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) plays a pivotal role in regulating heat and energy exchange between oceanic and atmospheric systems, which drive global climate. Current understanding of Southern Ocean sea ice dynamics is poor with temporal and spatial gaps in critical seasonal data-sets. The lack of in situ environmental and wave data from the MIZ in the Antarctic region drove the development of UCT's first generation of in situ ice-tethered measurement platform as part of a larger UCT and NRF SANAP project on realistic modelling of the Marginal Ice Zone in the changing Southern Ocean (MISO). This thesis focuses on the firmware development for the device and the design process taken to obtain key measurements for understanding sea ice dynamics and increasing sensing capabilities in the Southern Ocean. The buoy was required to survive the Antarctic climate and contained a global positioning system, temperature sensor, digital barometer and inertial measurement unit to measure waves-in-ice. Power was supplied to the device by a power supply unit consisting of commercial-grade batteries in series with a temperature-resistant low dropout regulator, and a power sensor to monitor the module. A satellite modem transmitted data through the Iridium satellite network. Finally, Flash chips provided permanent data storage. Firmware and peripheral driver files were written in C for an STMicroelectronics STM32L4 Arm-based microcontroller. To optimise the firmware for low power consumption, inactive sensors were placed in power-saving mode and the processor was put to sleep during periods of no sampling activity. The first device deployment took place during the SCALE winter expedition in July 2019. Two devices were deployed on ice floes to test their performance in remote conditions. However, due to mechanical and power errors, the devices failed shortly after deployment. A third device was placed on the deck of SA Aghulas II during the expedition and successfully survived for one week while continuously transmitting GPS coordinates and ambient temperature. The second generation featured subsequent improvements to the mechanical robustness and sensing capabilities of the device. However, due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent Antarctic expeditions were cancelled resulting in the final platform evaluation taking place on land. The device demonstrates a proof of concept for a low-cost, ice-tethered autonomous sensing device. However, additional improvements are required to overcome severe bandwidth and power constraints.

<p>Acreo AB has developed a radar prototype used for illustrate how the SiGe technology could be used. The radar prototype needs further development with a fast interface and a more integrated design. The beginning of the report describes the radar technique theory and the composing equations. The theoretical background is used to explain each component of the system. The report continues by specifying the target of the next radar prototype. The chosen implementation is motivated and the mode of procedure is described in detail. Test benches were used to verify correct functionality and some limits were found. The report is concluded with test results and recommendations on further enhancements.</p> / <p>Acreo AB har utvecklat en radarprototyp för att illustrera hur SiGe teknologi kan användas. Prototypen behöver vidareutvecklas med ett snabbt digitalt interface och en kompaktare design. Rapporten inleds med att beskriva radarteknikens funktionalitet och de utgörande ekvationerna. Den teoretiska bakgrunden används för att förklara varje komponent som systemet utgörs av. Rapporten fortsätter med att specificera målet med nästa radarprototyp. Den valda implementationen motiveras och tillvägagångssättet beskrivs detaljerat. Testuppkopplingar verifierade korrekt funktionalitet och begränsningar insågs. Rapporten avslutas med en sammanfattning av uppnådda testresultat och rekommendationer på framtida förbättringar.</p>

Acreo AB has developed a radar prototype used for illustrate how the SiGe technology could be used. The radar prototype needs further development with a fast interface and a more integrated design. The beginning of the report describes the radar technique theory and the composing equations. The theoretical background is used to explain each component of the system. The report continues by specifying the target of the next radar prototype. The chosen implementation is motivated and the mode of procedure is described in detail. Test benches were used to verify correct functionality and some limits were found. The report is concluded with test results and recommendations on further enhancements. / Acreo AB har utvecklat en radarprototyp för att illustrera hur SiGe teknologi kan användas. Prototypen behöver vidareutvecklas med ett snabbt digitalt interface och en kompaktare design. Rapporten inleds med att beskriva radarteknikens funktionalitet och de utgörande ekvationerna. Den teoretiska bakgrunden används för att förklara varje komponent som systemet utgörs av. Rapporten fortsätter med att specificera målet med nästa radarprototyp. Den valda implementationen motiveras och tillvägagångssättet beskrivs detaljerat. Testuppkopplingar verifierade korrekt funktionalitet och begränsningar insågs. Rapporten avslutas med en sammanfattning av uppnådda testresultat och rekommendationer på framtida förbättringar.

<p>In this master thesis, we design and implemented a super mode for multiple streaming signal processing applications, and got the timing budget based on Senior DSP processor. This work presented great opportunity to study the real-time system and firmware design knowledge on embedded system.</p>

Today's vehicles are controlled by several so called electronic control units (ECUs). ECUs can be seen as small computers that work together in order to perform a common task. They control everything from critical tasks such as engine control to less critical functionality such as window control. The most prominent trend that can be observed today is the development of self-driving functionality. Due to inherent complexity of self-driving functionality, ECUs are becoming more dependent on each other. A fundamental problem in today's vehicles is that there does not exist any efficient way of achieving trust in the vehicle's internal-network. How can ECUs be assured that the output of other ECUs can be trusted? If an ECU produces the wrong output when the vehicle is in autonomous mode it can lead to the vehicle performing unsafe actions and risking the lives of the passengers and driver. In this thesis we evaluate different already established firmware attestation solutions for achieving trust in a decentralized network. Furthermore, three new firmware attestation solutions specially tailored for the automotive domain are proposed. We demonstrate that all the found existing solutions have a fundamental flaw, they all have a single point of failure. Meaning that if you eliminate the correct node, the entire attestation process stops functioning. Thus, a new more robust solution specially tailored for the automotive domain needed to be developed. Three different consistency verification mechanisms were designed. One parallel solution, one serial solution and one merkle-tree solution. Two of the three proposed solutions, the parallel solution and serial solution, were implemented and assessed. Two tests were conducted, a detection performance test and a timing performance test. By assessing the detection performance test and timing performance test of the serial and parallel solutions, it was concluded that the parallel solution showed a significant improvement in both stability and performance over the serial solution.

In this master thesis, we design and implemented a super mode for multiple streaming signal processing applications, and got the timing budget based on Senior DSP processor. This work presented great opportunity to study the real-time system and firmware design knowledge on embedded system.

The viability of firmware engineering on a lower-tier computer manufacturer (OEM) level, where the OEM receives processor and chipset components second hand, was investigated. It was believed that safer and more reliable operation of an embedded system would be achieved if system startup times were minimised. Theoretical knowledge of firmware engineering, methods and standards for the x86 platform was compiled and evaluated. The practical aspects of firmware engineering were investigated through the construction of an open source boot loader for a rugged, closed-box embedded x86 Intel system using Coreboot and Seabios. The boot loader was compared with the original firmware and the startup times were found to be reduced ninefold from entry vector to operating system handover. Firmware engineering was found to be a complex field stretching from computer science to electrical engineering. Firmware development on a lower-tier OEM level was found to be possible, provided that the proper documentation could be obtained. To this end, the boot loader prototype was proof of concept. This allowed an alternative, open-source oriented model for firmware development to be proposed. Ultimately, each product use case needed to be individually evaluated in terms of requirements, cost and ideology.