ITC/USA 2007 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Third Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2007 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / In this paper, we discuss the benefits of maintaining a neutral-format hardware specification along with the telemetry metadata specification. We present several reasons and methods for maintaining the hardware specifications, as well as several potential uses of hardware specification. These uses include cross-validation with the telemetry metadata and automatic generation of both metadata and instrumentation networks.

This thesis presents a systematic and structured way to migrate embedded software running on a digital signal processor to a different hardware platform. The solution includes using design patterns, a layered architecture and clearly defined interfaces to perform hardware abstraction. The proposed solution is aimed for a particular embedded system used in a product at AI.

ITC/USA 2006 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Second Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 23-26, 2006 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / In this paper we provide the motivation for a neutral instrumentation hardware abstraction language that is focused on the description and control of instrumentation systems and networks. We also describe the design approach and structure of such a language that meets the needs. The language design is described according to the three roles it must serve: (1) as a descriptive language for specifying and describing the components and configuration of an instrumentation system, (2) as a command language for issuing configuration and data commands to instrumentation hardware and (3) as a query language for requesting the current state of instrumentation hardware.

ITC/USA 2008 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fourth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 27-30, 2008 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / In this paper we describe extensions to the Instrument Hardware Abstraction Language (IHAL). Since IHAL was first presented to ITC in 2006, a number of improvements were made to the design of IHAL. Major changes to the schema include splitting it into multiple XML Schema (XSD) files, separation of the description of instrumentation functions from the description of the hardware, and addition of a function pool.

Back-haul infrastructures of today's wireless operators must support the triple-play services demanded by the market or regulatory bodies. To cope with increasing capacity demand, the EU FP7 project CARMEN has developed a cost-effective heterogeneous multi-radio wireless back-haul architecture, which may also leverage the native multicast capabilities of broadcast technologies such as DVB-T to off-load high-bandwidth broadcast content delivery. However, the integration of such unidirectional technologies into a packet-switched architecture requires careful considerations. The contribution of this thesis is the investigation, design and evaluation of protocols and mechanisms facilitating the integration of such unidirectional technologies into the wireless back-haul architecture so that they can be configured and utilized by the spectrum and capacity optimization modules. This integration mainly concerns the control plane and, in particular, the aspects related to resource and capability descriptions, neighborhood, link and Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) Label-Switched Path (LSP) monitoring, unicast and multicast LSP signalling as well as topology forming and maintenance. During the course of this study we have analyzed the problem space, proposed solutions to the resulting research questions and evaluated our approach. Our results show that the now Unidirectional Technology (UDT)-aware architecture can readily consider Unidirectional Technologies (UDTs) to distribute, for example, broadcast content.

Today's autonomous robots come in a variety of shapes and sizes from all terrain vehicles clambering over rubble, to robots the size of coffee cups zipping about a laboratory. The diversity of these robots is extraordinary; but so is the diversity of the software created to control them even when the basic tasks many robots undertake are practically the same (such as obstacle detection, tracking, or path planning). It would be beneficial if some reuse of these coded sub-tasks could be achieved. However, most of the present day robot software is monolithic, very specialised and not at all modular, which hinders the reuse and sharing of code between robot platforms. One difficulty is that the hardware details of a robot are usually tightly woven into the high-level controllers. When these details are not decoupled and explicitly encapsulated, the entire code set must be revised if the robot platform changes. An even bigger challenge is that a robot is a context-aware device. Hence, the possible interpretations of the state of the robot and its environment vary along with its context. For example, as the robots differ in size and shape, the meaning of concepts such as direction, speed, and distance can change { objects that are considered far from one robot, might seem near to a much larger robot. When designing reusable robot software, these variable interpretations of the environment must be considered. Similarly, so must variations in context dependent robot instructions { for example, `move fast' has different abstractions; a `virtual robot' layer to manage the robot's platform abstractions; and high-level abstraction components that are used to describe the state of the robot and its environment. The prototype is able to support binary code portability and dynamic code extensibility across a range of different robots (demonstrated on eight diverse robot platform configurations). These outcomes significantly ease the burden on robot software developers when deploying a new robot (or even reconfiguring old robots) since high-level binary controllers can be executed unchanged on different robots. Furthermore, since the control code is completely decoupled from the platform information, these concerns can be managed separately, thereby providing a flexible means for managing different configurations of robots. These systems and techniques all improve the robot software design, development, and deployment process. Different meanings depending on the robot's size, environmental context and task being undertaken. What is needed is a unifying cross-platform software engineering approach for robots that will encourage the development of code that is portable, modular and robust. Toward this end, this research presents a complete abstraction model and implementation prototype that contain a suite of techniques to form and manage the robot hardware, platform, and environment abstractions. The system includes the interfaces and software components required for hardware device and operating system abstractions; a `virtual robot' layer to manage the robot's platform abstractions; and high-level abstraction components that are used to describe the state of the robot and its environment. The prototype is able to support binary code portability and dynamic code extensibility across a range of different robots (demonstrated on eight diverse robot platform configurations). These outcomes significantly ease the burden on robot software developers when deploying a new robot (or even reconfiguring old robots) since high-level binary controllers can be executed unchanged on different robots. Furthermore, since the control code is completely decoupled from the platform information, these concerns can be managed separately, thereby providing a flexible means for managing different configurations of robots. These systems and techniques all improve the robot software design, development, and deployment process.

The KreaTV Application Development Kit (ADK) product of Motorola enables application developers to create high level applications and browser plugins for the IPSTB system. As a result, customers will reduce development time, cost and supplier dependency. The main goal of this thesis was to port this platform to a standard Linux PC to make it easy to trace the bugs and debug the code. This work has been done by implementing a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) for Linux Operating System. HAL encapsulates the hardware dependent code and HAL APIs provide an abstraction of underlying architecture to the operating system and to application software. So, the embedded platform can be emulated on a standard Linux PC by implementing a HAL for it. We have successfully built the basic building blocks of HAL with some performance degradation. We are able to start up the application platform, use graphics mixing features and play a video via filtering the data from the transport stream and decoding it. But there is still a lot of work to do to build the whole HAL for all the platform to be run smoothly as they do on a set-top box hardware.

ITC/USA 2007 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Third Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2007 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The Instrumentation Hardware Abstraction Language (IHAL) has been developed to be a neutral language that is focused on the description and control of instrumentation systems and networks. This paper describes the various instrumentation configuration management tools we have designed that make use of IHAL’s neutral specification of instrumentation networks. We discuss the features currently present in prototypes as well as future enhancements.

Der stetig steigende Funktionsumfang im Automobil und die zunehmende Vernetzung von Steuergeräten erfordern neue Methoden zur Beherrschung der Komplexität in der Validierung und Verifikation. Die virtuelle Absicherung ermöglicht die Integration der Software in einem PC-System, unabhängig von der Ziel-Hardware, zur frühzeitigen Gewährleistung der Softwarequalität im Entwicklungsprozess. Ebenso kann die Wiederverwendbarkeit vorhandener Komponenten in zukünftigen Mikrocontrollern sichergestellt werden. Die Grundlage dafür liefert der AUTOSAR-Standard durch einheitliche Schnittstellenbeschreibungen, welche die Abstraktion von Hardware und Software ermöglichen. Allerdings enthält der Standard hardwareabhängige Software-Komponenten, die als Complex-Device-Drivers (CDDs) bezeichnet werden. Aufgrund ihrer Hardwareabhängigkeit sind CDDs nicht direkt in eine virtuelle Absicherungsplattform integrierbar, da die spezifischen Hardware-Module nicht verfügbar sind. Die Treiber sind dennoch Teil der Steuergeräte-Software und somit bei einem ganzheitlichen Absicherungsansatz mit zu betrachten. Diese Dissertation beschreibt sieben unterschiedliche Konzepte zur Berücksichtigung von CDDs in der virtuellen Absicherung. Aus der Evaluierung der Praxistauglichkeit aller Ansätze wird eine Auswahlmethodik für die optimale Lösung bei sämtlichen Anwendungsfällen von CDDs in der Steuergeräte-Software entwickelt. Daraus abgeleitet, eignen sich zwei der Konzepte für die häufigsten Anwendungsfälle, die im Weiteren detailliert beschrieben und realisiert werden. Das erste Konzept erlaubt die vollständige Simulation eines CDD. Dies ist notwendig, um die Integration der Funktions-Software selbst ohne den Treiber zu ermöglichen und alle Schnittstellen abzusichern, auch wenn der CDD noch nicht verfügbar ist. Durch eine vollständige Automatisierung ist die Erstellung der Simulation nur mit geringem Arbeitsaufwand verbunden. Das zweite Konzept ermöglicht die vollständige Integration eines CDD, wobei die Hardware-Schnittstellen über einen zusätzlichen Hardware-Abstraction-Layer an die verfügbare Hardware des Systems zur virtuellen Absicherung angebunden werden. So ist der Treiber in der Lage, reale Hardware-Komponenten anzusteuern und kann funktional abgesichert werden. Eine flexible Konfiguration der Abstraktionsschicht erlaubt den Einsatz für eine große Bandbreite von CDDs. Im Rahmen der Arbeit werden beide Konzepte anhand von industrierelevanten Projekten aus der Serienentwicklung erprobt und detailliert evaluiert. / The constantly increasing amount of functions in modern automobiles and the growing degree of cross-linking between electronic control units (ECU) require new methods to master the complexity in the validation and verification process. The virtual validation and verification enables the integration of the software on a PC system, which is independent from the target hardware, to guarantee the required software quality in the early development stages. Furthermore, the software reuse in future microcontrollers can be verified. All this is enabled by the AUTOSAR standard which provides consistent interface descriptions to allow the abstraction of hardware and software. However, the standard contains hardware-dependent components, called complex device drivers (CDD). Those CDDs cannot be directly integrated into a platform for virtual verification, because they require a specific hardware which is not generally available on such a platform. Regardless, CDDs are an essential part of the ECU software and therefore need to be considered in an holistic approach for validation and verification. This thesis describes seven different concepts to include CDDs in the virtual verification process. A method to always choose the optimal solution for all use cases of CDDs in ECU software is developed using an evaluation of the suitably for daily use of all concepts. As a result from this method, the two concepts suited for the most frequent use cases are detailed and developed as prototypes in this thesis. The first concept enables the full simulation of a CDD. This is necessary to allow the integration of the functional software itself without the driver. This way all interfaces can be tested even if the CDD is not available. The complete automation of the generation of the simulation makes the process very efficient. With the second concept a CDD can be entirely integrated into a platform for virtual verification, using an hardware abstraction layer to connect the hardware interfaces to the available hardware of the platform. This way, the driver is able to control real hardware components and can be tested completely. A flexible configuration of the abstraction layer allows the application of the concept for a wide variety of CDDs. In this thesis both concepts are tested and evaluated using genuine projects from series development.

Der stetig steigende Funktionsumfang im Automobil und die zunehmende Vernetzung von Steuergeräten erfordern neue Methoden zur Beherrschung der Komplexität in der Validierung und Verifikation. Die virtuelle Absicherung ermöglicht die Integration der Software in einem PC-System, unabhängig von der Ziel-Hardware, zur frühzeitigen Gewährleistung der Softwarequalität im Entwicklungsprozess. Ebenso kann die Wiederverwendbarkeit vorhandener Komponenten in zukünftigen Mikrocontrollern sichergestellt werden. Die Grundlage dafür liefert der AUTOSAR-Standard durch einheitliche Schnittstellenbeschreibungen, welche die Abstraktion von Hardware und Software ermöglichen. Allerdings enthält der Standard hardwareabhängige Software-Komponenten, die als Complex-Device-Drivers (CDDs) bezeichnet werden. Aufgrund ihrer Hardwareabhängigkeit sind CDDs nicht direkt in eine virtuelle Absicherungsplattform integrierbar, da die spezifischen Hardware-Module nicht verfügbar sind. Die Treiber sind dennoch Teil der Steuergeräte-Software und somit bei einem ganzheitlichen Absicherungsansatz mit zu betrachten. Diese Dissertation beschreibt sieben unterschiedliche Konzepte zur Berücksichtigung von CDDs in der virtuellen Absicherung. Aus der Evaluierung der Praxistauglichkeit aller Ansätze wird eine Auswahlmethodik für die optimale Lösung bei sämtlichen Anwendungsfällen von CDDs in der Steuergeräte-Software entwickelt. Daraus abgeleitet, eignen sich zwei der Konzepte für die häufigsten Anwendungsfälle, die im Weiteren detailliert beschrieben und realisiert werden. Das erste Konzept erlaubt die vollständige Simulation eines CDD. Dies ist notwendig, um die Integration der Funktions-Software selbst ohne den Treiber zu ermöglichen und alle Schnittstellen abzusichern, auch wenn der CDD noch nicht verfügbar ist. Durch eine vollständige Automatisierung ist die Erstellung der Simulation nur mit geringem Arbeitsaufwand verbunden. Das zweite Konzept ermöglicht die vollständige Integration eines CDD, wobei die Hardware-Schnittstellen über einen zusätzlichen Hardware-Abstraction-Layer an die verfügbare Hardware des Systems zur virtuellen Absicherung angebunden werden. So ist der Treiber in der Lage, reale Hardware-Komponenten anzusteuern und kann funktional abgesichert werden. Eine flexible Konfiguration der Abstraktionsschicht erlaubt den Einsatz für eine große Bandbreite von CDDs. Im Rahmen der Arbeit werden beide Konzepte anhand von industrierelevanten Projekten aus der Serienentwicklung erprobt und detailliert evaluiert. / The constantly increasing amount of functions in modern automobiles and the growing degree of cross-linking between electronic control units (ECU) require new methods to master the complexity in the validation and verification process. The virtual validation and verification enables the integration of the software on a PC system, which is independent from the target hardware, to guarantee the required software quality in the early development stages. Furthermore, the software reuse in future microcontrollers can be verified. All this is enabled by the AUTOSAR standard which provides consistent interface descriptions to allow the abstraction of hardware and software. However, the standard contains hardware-dependent components, called complex device drivers (CDD). Those CDDs cannot be directly integrated into a platform for virtual verification, because they require a specific hardware which is not generally available on such a platform. Regardless, CDDs are an essential part of the ECU software and therefore need to be considered in an holistic approach for validation and verification. This thesis describes seven different concepts to include CDDs in the virtual verification process. A method to always choose the optimal solution for all use cases of CDDs in ECU software is developed using an evaluation of the suitably for daily use of all concepts. As a result from this method, the two concepts suited for the most frequent use cases are detailed and developed as prototypes in this thesis. The first concept enables the full simulation of a CDD. This is necessary to allow the integration of the functional software itself without the driver. This way all interfaces can be tested even if the CDD is not available. The complete automation of the generation of the simulation makes the process very efficient. With the second concept a CDD can be entirely integrated into a platform for virtual verification, using an hardware abstraction layer to connect the hardware interfaces to the available hardware of the platform. This way, the driver is able to control real hardware components and can be tested completely. A flexible configuration of the abstraction layer allows the application of the concept for a wide variety of CDDs. In this thesis both concepts are tested and evaluated using genuine projects from series development.