Developing software for mobile terminals is a challenging task because the actual hardware is not available at the beginning of the software development phase. Once a hardware prototype is available the software development can continue on that platform. But before that a need for a model of the actual hardware is needed, hence some kind of emulator or simulator needs to be the developed to give the software developers a head start. The aim of this master thesis is to do a market survey of the available simulators for the ARM9E CPU and attached devices in a base- band chip and test their flexibility in terms of adding additional devices (both external and on chip), and also to implement a simulator using the C++ language. The goal is a modular structure for easy addition of certain components such as memory-interfaces, external devices etc. Another important part is the profiling of the executed code to instrument the execution in different ways, and efficiency to allow fast execution. The conclusion of the market study is that due to the high price of these simulators (1.5K€-40k€), we need to design our own simulator. Our simulator consists of different blocks; some of them are merely stubbed while others like the memory and CPU core are modelled more in detail. The performance of the simulator is around 200 KIPS due to the overhead in the debugging functionality. By removing the debugging overhead and optimizing the memory handling we could achieve at least 1 MIPS on the ARM execution and 5 MIPS on the Thumb execution.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Efficient and effective berth allocation is essential to guarantee high container throughput in a container terminal. Modern mega-terminals are usually comprised of multiple disjointed berths. However, this type of Berth Allocation Problem (BAP) has not attracted a lot of attention from the academic world due to its great complexity. This research develops new methodologies for solving complex BAPs, in particular, BAPs involving quay crane scheduling in a multiple-berth environment. This research develops a mathematical model and a new Branch and Price algorithm (B&P) which hybridizes the column generation approach and the Branch and Bound method (B&B) to generate optimal multiple-berth plans (MBAP) within acceptable time limits. A new exact algorithm based on the label-correcting concept is designed to obtain all potential columns by defining a new label structure and dominance rules. To accelerate the generation of columns, two heuristics are proposed to distribute vessels among berths and to establish the handling sequence of the vessels allocated to each berth. An early termination condition is also developed to avoid the “tailing off effect” phenomenon during column generation process. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed methodology are demonstrated by solving a set of randomly generated test problems. Since the Berth Allocation Problem (BAP) and the Quay Crane Scheduling Problem (QCSP) strongly interact, this research also studies the Simultaneous Berth Allocation and Quay Crane Scheduling Problem (BAQCSP). An advanced mathematical model and a new hybrid meta-heuristic GA-TS algorithm which is based on the concept of Genetic Algorithm (GA) are developed to solve the proposed BAQCSP effectively and efficiently. A new crossover operation inspired by the memory-based strategy of Tabu Search (TS) and the mutation operation are implemented to avoid premature convergence of the optimization process. The local search ability of TS is incorporated into the mutation operation to improve the exploitation of the solution space. Comparative experiments are also conducted to show the superiority of the performance of the proposed GA-TS Algorithm over the B&B and the canonical GA. Furthermore, this research extends the scope of BAQCSP to consider the Simultaneous Multiple-berth Allocation and Quay Crane Scheduling Problem (MBAQCSP). A MBAQCSP model is developed consisting of various operational constraints arising from a wide range of practical applications. Since MBAQCSP combines the structures of both MBAP and BAQCSP, the exact B&P proposed for solving MBAP can be modified to optimally solve MBAQCSP. However, the calculation time of B&P increases significantly as the V/B ratio (i.e., vessel number to berth number) grows. In order to eliminate this shortcoming, this research develops a GA-TS Aided Column Generation Algorithm which hybridizes the GA-TS Algorithm proposed for solving BAQCSP with the Column Generation Algorithm to locate the optimal or near optimal solutions of MBAQCSP. The computational results show that the proposed hybrid algorithm locates excellent near optimal solutions to all test problems within acceptable time limits, even problems with high V/B ratios. Finally, this research also shows that the proposed GA-TS Aided Column Generation Algorithm can be easily modified to solve MBAP efficiently. / published_or_final_version / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Adelaide, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-176).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1991. / Bibliography: leaves 94-108.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1991. / Bibliography: leaves 94-108.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, November, 1982. / Title from PDF t.p. Chart in pocket.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-61). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Also available in print.