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Den Hauptbestandteil des Operationssystems stellt der Zugriff auf SD-Karten mit dem Dateisystem FAT16 von Microsoft dar. Für die Bedienung wurde ein Kommandozeileninterpreter implementiert. Als Ein- und Ausgabegerät dient ein PC mit einem speziellen Terminalprogramm, welcher über USB mit dem Emulationsboard des SIRIUS Softcores verbunden ist. Das System wird über die Eingabe von Befehlen am Terminal gesteuert.
Der SIRIUS Softcore kann nur vom Flash des Emulationsboards booten. Da das Betriebssystem selbst jedoch auf der SD-Karte gespeichert werden soll, ist ein Basis-Betriebssystem erforderlich, welches im Flash abgelegt ist. Das Basis-Betriebssystem lädt gleich nach dem Start das eigentliche Betriebssystem von der SD-Karte. Falls jedoch keine SD-Karte gesteckt ist, ermöglicht das Basis-Betriebssystem mit einem Kommandozeileninterpreter einige Grundfunktionen.
Der Cache-Speicher für den Softprozessor SIRIUS ist ein 4-fach assoziativer Cache-Speicher, der mit einem DDR-Interface auf einen externen Speicher zugreifen kann. Er verwaltet und beschleunigt Zugriffe vom Prozessor auf diesen Speicher. Der Cache-Speicher arbeitet intern mit 32 Bit und der doppelten Prozessortaktfrequenz und ermöglicht Systeme mit größeren Speicheranforderungen ohne signifikante Performanceverluste. Der Cache-Speicher wurde mit der Hardwarebeschreibungssprache VHDL erstellt und mit dem bestehenden Mikrocontrollersystem verbunden.
Das Gesamtsystem wurde zunächst simuliert und anschließend mit dem Cyclone III FPGA Starter Kit von Altera, welches ein 32 MB DDR-RAM-Modul zur Verfügung stellt, durch Ausführen eines Testprogramms erfolgreich verifiziert. Für den kompletten Cache-Speicher werden inklusive der Pins für den externen Oszillator und des Reset-Tasters 3805 Logik-Zellen, 27 M9K-Blöcke, 44 Pins und eine PLL benötigt.
Die drei großen Hersteller von Cochlea-Implantat (CI)-Systemen ermöglichen es klinischen Audiologen, die Mikrofoneigenschaften der meisten CI-Sprachprozessoren zu prüfen. Dazu können bei diesen Sprachprozessoren Monitorkopfhörer angeschlossen und das/die Mikrofon(e) inklusive eines Teils der Signalvorverarbeitung abgehört werden. Präzise Angaben dazu, mit welchen Stimuli, bei welchem Pegel und nach welchem Kriterium diese Prüfung stattfinden soll, machen die CI-Hersteller nicht. Auf Basis dieser Prüfung soll der Audiologe dann über die Funktion der Mikrofone und damit darüber entscheiden, ob der betreffende Sprachprozessor an den Hersteller eingeschickt wird oder nicht.
Zur Objektivierung der CI-Sprachprozessor-Mikrofon-Prüfung haben wir eine Testbox entwickelt, mit der alle abhörbaren aktuellen CI-Sprachprozessoren der drei großen Hersteller geprüft werden können. Die Box wurde im 3D-Druck-Verfahren hergestellt. Der zu prüfende Sprachprozessor wird in die Messbox eingehängt und über einen darin verbauten Lautsprecher mit definierten Prüfsignalen (Sinustöne unterschiedlicher Frequenz) beschallt. Das Mikrofonsignal wird über das Kabel der Monitorkopfhörer herausgeführt und mit einer Shifting- and Scaling-Schaltung in einen Spannungsbereich transformiert, der für die AD-Wandlung mit einem Mikrokontroller (ATmega1280 verbaut auf einem Arduino Mega) geeignet ist. Derselbe Mikrokontroller übernimmt über einen eigens gebauten DA-Wandler die Ausgabe der Sinustöne über den Lautsprecher. Signalaufnahme und –wiedergabe erfolgen mit jeweils 38,5 kHz Samplingrate. Der für jede Frequenz über mehrere Perioden des Prüfsignals ermittelte Effektivwert wird mit dem Effektivwert, der mit einem neuwertigen Referenzprozessor für diese Frequenz gemessen wurde, verglichen. Die Messergebnisse werden graphisch auf einem Display ausgegeben.
Derzeit läuft eine erste Datenerhebung mit in der Klinik subjektiv auffällig gewordenen CI-Sprachprozessoren, die anschließend in der Messbox untersucht werden. So sollen realistische Schwellen für kritische Abweichungen von den Referenz-Effektivwerten ermittelt werden. Im weiteren Verlauf sollen dann Hit und False Alarm-Raten der subjektiven Prüfung bestimmt werden.
The ability to detect a target signal masked by noise is improved in normal-hearing listeners when interaural phase differences (IPDs) between the ear signals exist either in the masker or in the signal. To improve binaural hearing in bilaterally implanted cochlear implant (BiCI) users, a coding strategy providing the best possible access to IPDs is highly desirable. Outcomes of a previous study (Zirn, Arndt et al. 2016) revealed that a subset of BiCI users showed improved IPD detection thresholds with the fine structure processing strategy FS4 compared to the constant rate strategy HDCIS using narrowband stimuli. In contrast, little differences between the coding strategies were found for broadband stimuli with regard to binaural speech intelligibility level differences (BILD) as an estimate of binaural unmasking. Compared to normalhearing listeners (7.5 ± 1.2 dB) BILD were small in BiCI users (around 0.5 dB with both coding strategies).
In the present work, we investigated the influence of binaural fitting parameters on BILD. In our cohort of BiCI users many were implanted with electrode arrays differing in length left versus right. Because this length difference typically corresponded to the distance of two electrode contacts the first modification of bilateral fitting was a tonotopic adjustment by deactivation of the most apical electrode contact on the side with the deeper inserted array (tonotopic approach).
The second modification was the isolation of the residual, most apical electrode contacts by deactivation of the basally adjacent electrode contact on each side (tonotopic sparse approach). Applying these modifications, BILD improved by up to 1.5 dB.
The ability to detect a signal masked by noise is improved in normal-hearing (NH) listeners when interaural phase differences (IPD) between the ear signals exist either in the masker or the signal. We determined the impact of different coding strategies in bilaterally implanted cochlear implant (BiCI) users with and without fine-structure coding (FSC) on masking level differences. First, binaural intelligibility level differences (BILD) were determined in NH listeners and BiCI users using their clinical speech processors. NH subjects (n=8) showed a significant mean BILD of 7.5 dB. In contrast, BiCI users (n=9) without FSC as well as with FSC revealed a barely significant mean BILD (0.4 dB respectively 0.6 dB). Second, IPD thresholds were measured in BiCI users using either their speech processors with FS4 or direct stimulation with FSC. With the latter approach, synchronized stimulation providing an interaural accuracy of stimulation timing of 1.67 µs was realized on pitch matched electrode pairs. The resulting individual IPD threshold was lower in most of the subjects with direct stimulation than with their speech processors. These outcomes indicate that some BiCI users can benefit from increased temporal precision of interaural FSC and adjusted interaural frequency-place mapping presumably resulting in improved BILD.
Das normalhörende auditorische System ist in der Lage, interaurale Zeit- bzw. Phasendifferenzen zur verbesserten Signaldetektion im Störgeräusch zu nutzen. Dieses Phänomen wird häufig als binaurale Entmaskierung bezeichnet und ist sowohl bei einfachen Signalen wie Sinustönen, als auch bei Sprachsignalen im Störgeräusch wirksam. Vorangegangene Studien haben gezeigt, dass binaurale Entmaskierung eingeschränkt auch bei bilateralen CI-Trägern beobachtbar ist (Zirn et al., 2016).
Aktuelle Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die binaurale Entmaskierung sensitiv gegenüber der bilateralen CI-Anpassung ist. So lässt sich der Effekt durch tonotopen Abgleich und Herausstellen eines apikalen Feinstrukturkanals modulieren. Steigerungen der binauralen Entmaskierung um bis zu 1,5 dB sind auf diese Weise gegenüber der konventionellen CI-Anpassung möglich. Allerdings variiert der Einfluss der CI-Anpassung interindividuell erheblich.
BiCI users’ sensitivity to interaural phase differences for single- and multi-channel stimulation
(2016)
Für die Implementation in ASIC's wurde ein kompakter Mikroprozessor-Kernel als Standardzellen-Makro entworfen. Durch konsequenten Einsatz von Hochsprachen und CAE-Werkzeugen (VHDL, Synthese) konnte ein vollständiges Design in nur vier Monaten durchgeführt werden. Der Prozessor wird in einem Testchip erprobt.
Uncontrollable manufacturing variations in electrical hardware circuits can be exploited as Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs). Herein, we present a Printed Electronics (PE)-based PUF system architecture. Our proposed Differential Circuit PUF (DiffC-PUF) is a hybrid system, combining silicon-based and PE-based electronic circuits. The novel approach of the DiffC-PUF architecture is to provide a specially designed real hardware system architecture, that enables the automatic readout of interchangeable printed DiffC-PUF core circuits. The silicon-based addressing and evaluation circuit supplies and controls the printed PUF core and ensures seamless integration into silicon-based smart systems. Major objectives of our work are interconnected applications for the Internet of Things (IoT).
The importance of obtaining simultaneous particle size and concentration values has grown up with continuing discussion of the health effects, of internal combustion engine generated particulate emissions and in particular of Diesel soot emissions. In the present work an aerosol measurement system is described that delivers information about particle size and concentration directly from the undiluted exhaust gas.
Using three laser diodes of different wavelengths which form one parallel light beam, each spectral attenuation is analysed by a single detector and the particle diameter and concentration is evaluated by the use of the Mie theory and shown on-line at a frequency of 1 Hz. The system includes an optical long-path-cell (White principle) with an adjustable path length from 2.5 to 15 m, which allows the analysis within a broad concentration range.
On-line measurements of the particulate emissions in the hot, undiluted exhaust of Diesel engines are presented under stationary and transient engine’s load conditions. Mean particle diameters well below 100 nm are detected for modern Diesel engines. The measured particle concentration corresponds excellently with the traditional gravimetrical measurements of the diluted exhaust. Additionally, measurements of particle emissions (mostly condensed hydricarbons) from a two-stroke engine are presented and discussed.
In the last decade, IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks (IEEE802.15.4), also known as 6LoWPAN, has well evolved as a primary contender for short range wireless communications and holds the promise of an Internet of Things, which is completely based on the Internet Protocol. The authors' team has developed a 6LoWPAN protocol stack in C language, the stack without the necessity to use a specific design environment or operating system. It is highly flexible, modular, and portable and can be enhanced by several interesting modules, like a Wake-On-Radio-(WOR) MAC layer or a TLS1.2 based security sublayer. The stack is made available as open source at https://github.com/hso-esk/emb6. It was extensively tested on the Automated Physical Testbed (APTB) for Wireless Systems, which is available in the authors' lab and allows a flexible setup and full control of arbitrary topologies. The results of the measurements demonstrate a very good stability and short-term with long-term performance also under dynamic conditions.
The overview of public key infrastructure based security approaches for vehicular communications
(2015)
Modern transport infrastructure becomes a full member of globally connected network. Leading vehicle manufacturers have already triggered development process, output of which will open a new horizon of possibilities for consumers and developers by providing a new communication entity - a car, thus enabling Car2X communications. Nevertheless some of available systems already provide certain possibilities for vehicles to communicate, most of them are considered not sufficiently secured. During last 15 years a number of big research projects funded by European Union and USA governments were started and concluded after which a set of standards were published prescribing a common architecture for Car2X and vehicles onboard communications. This work concentrates on combining inner and outer vehicular communications together with a use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
Wireless communication systems more and more become part of our daily live. Especially with the Internet of Things (IoT) the overall connectivity increases rapidly since everyday objects become part of the global network. For this purpose several new wireless protocols have arisen, whereas 6LoWPAN (IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks) can be seen as one of the most important protocols within this sector. Originally designed on top of the IEEE802.15.4 standard it is a subject to various adaptions that will allow to use 6LoWPAN over different technologies; e.g. DECT Ultra Low Energy (ULE). Although this high connectivity offers a lot of new possibilities, there are several requirements and pitfalls coming along with such new systems. With an increasing number of connected devices the interoperability between different providers is one of the biggest challenges, which makes it necessary to verify the functionality and stability of the devices and the network. Therefore testing becomes one of the key components that decides on success or failure of such a system. Although there are several protocol implementations commonly available; e.g., for IoT based systems, there is still a lack of according tools and environments as well as for functional and conformance testing. This article describes the architecture and functioning of the proposed test framework based on Testing and Test Control Notation Version 3 (TTCN-3) for 6LoWPAN over ULE networks.
Extended Performance Measurements of Scalable 6LoWPAN Networks in an Automated Physical Testbed
(2015)
IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks, also known as 6LoWPAN, is becoming more and more a de facto standard for such communications for the Internet of Things, be it in the field of home and building automation, of industrial and process automation, or of smart metering and environmental monitoring. For all of these applications, scalability is a major precondition, as the complexity of the networks continuously increase. To maintain this growing amount of connected nodes a various 6LoWPAN implementations are available. One of the mentioned was developed by the authors' team and was tested on an Automated Physical Testbed for Wireless Systems at the Laboratory Embedded Systems and Communication Electronics of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, which allows the flexible setup and full control of arbitrary topologies. It also supports time-varying topologies and thus helps to measure performance of the RPL implementation. The results of the measurements prove an excellent stability and a very good short and long-term performance also under dynamic conditions. In all measurements, there is an advantage of minimum 10% with regard to the average times, like global repair time; but the advantage with reagr to average values can reach up to 30%. Moreover, it can be proven that the performance predictions from other papers are consistent with the executed real-life implementations.
In the last decade, IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks, also known as 6LoWPAN, has well evolved as a primary contender for short range wireless communication and holds the promise of an Internet of Things, which is completely based on the Internet Protocol. In the meantime, various 6LoWPAN implementations are available, be it open source or commercial. One of these implementations, which was developed by the authors' team, was tested on an Automated Physical Testbed for Wireless Systems at the Laboratory Embedded Systems and Communication Electronics of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, which allows the flexible setup and full control of arbitrary topologies. It also supports time-varying topologies and thus helps to measure performance of the RPL implementation. The results of the measurements show a very good stability and short-term and long-term performance also under dynamic conditions. In addition, it can be proven that the performance predictions from other papers are consistent with real-life implementations.
The CAN bus still is an important fieldbus in various domains, e.g. for in-car communication or automation applications. To counter security threats and concerns in such scenarios we design, implement, and evaluate the use of an end-to-end security concept based on the Transport Layer Security protocol. It is used to establish authenticated, integrity-checked, and confidential communication channels between field devices connected via CAN. Our performance measurements show that it is possible to use TLS at least for non time-critical applications, as well as for generic embedded networks.
Implementierung von Softcore-Prozessoren und/oder weiteren IPs (Intellectual Property) in FPGAs
(2018)
Die zunehmende Integration von kompletten Systemen auf einem Chip (System-on-Chip, SoC) erfordert auch immer die Integration einer Recheneinheit bzw. eines Prozessorkerns. Möchte man insbesondere Low-Power-SoC-Systeme entwickeln, z.B. drahtlose Sensor-SoC-Systeme für Anwendungen im Rahmen von Industrie 4.0, ist die Implementierung eines solchen Prozessorkerns mit hohen Herausforderungen verbunden. Prinzipiell können hierfür verschiedene Ansätze verfolgt werden, nämlich die Implementierung einer Hardcore Prozessor-IP (IP = Intellectual Property) oder einer Softcore-Prozessor-IP. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird zunächst auf den derzeitigen Stand der Technik verfügbarer Hardcore- oder Softcore-Prozessoren unter den Randbedingungen der Low-Power-Anforderungen und der weiten Verbreitung des Cores in industriellen Anwendungen eingegangen. Schließlich werden die Ergebnisse der Implementierung und Evaluierung eines derzeit frei verfügbaren 16-bit MSP430-kompatiblen Softcore Prozessors auf einem Altera-Cyclon-FPGA vorgestellt. Aus den Ergebnissen wird ein entsprechendes Fazit für die Implementierung von Low-Power-SoC-Systeme gegeben.
The demand of wireless solutions in industrial applications increases since the early nineties. This trend is not only ongoing, it is further pushed by developments in the area of software stacks like the latest Bluetooth Low Energy Stack. It is also pushed by new chip-designs and powerful and highly integrated electronic hardware. The acceptance of wireless technologies as a possible solution for industrial applications, has overcome the entry barrier [1]. The first step to see wireless as standard for many industrial applications is almost accomplished. Nevertheless there is nearly none acceptance of wireless technology for Safety applications. One highly challenging and demanding requirement is still unsolved: The aspect safety and robustness. Those topics have been addressed in many cases but always in a similar manner. WirelessHART as an example addresses this topic with redundant so called multiple propagation paths and frequency hopping to handle with interferences and loss of network participants. So far the pure peer to peer link is rarely investigated and there are less safety solutions available. One product called LoRa™ can be seen as one possible solution to address this lack of safety within wireless links. This paper focuses on the safety performance evaluation of a modem-chip-design. The use of diverse and redundant wireless technologies like LoRa can lead to an increase acceptance of wireless in safety applications. Many measurements in real industrial application have been carried out to be able to benchmark the new chip in terms of the safety aspects. The content of this research results can help to raise the level of confidence in wireless. In this paper, the term “safety” is used for data transmission reliability.
Battery degradation is a complex physicochemical process that strongly depends on operating conditions and environment. We present a model-based analysis of lithium-ion battery degradation in smart microgrids, in particular, a single-family house and an office tract with photovoltaics generator. We use a multi-scale multi-physics model of a graphite/lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP) cell including SEI formation as ageing mechanism. The cell-level model is dynamically coupled to a system-level model consisting of photovoltaics, inverter, power consumption profiles, grid interaction, and energy management system, fed with historic weather data. The behavior of the cell in terms of degradation propensity, performance, state of charge and other internal states is predicted over an annual operation cycle. As result, we have identified a peak in degradation rate during the battery charging process, caused by charging overpotentials. Ageing strongly depends on the load situation, where the predicted annual capacity fade is 1.9 % for the single-family house and only 1.3 % for the office tract.
iSign - internet based simulation of guided wave propagation - ist eine Lernumgebung für Online-Laborversuche. Die Client-Serverarchitektur nutzt server-seitig das Tool F3D, das elektromagnetische Felder in 3D-Strukturen berechnet. Ein Apache-Webserver (unter Linux) bedient den Theorie-/Aufgaben-Teil und die Lernsystemadministration. Ein HPUX Simulationsserver steuert und kontrolliert den mehrstufigen Simulationsvorgang. Eine MySQL-Datenbank erlaubt dynmaische Webseiten-Generierung und Simulations-, Projekt- und Userdatenhaltung. Java-Applets, JavaServer Pages und JavaBeans erzeugen die interaktive Client-Oberfläche zur Eingabe, Ergebnisdarstellung und für Online-Virtual Reality. Die einheitlich gestaltete Benutzeroberfläche verbirgt die Systemkomplexität.
IPv6 over LoRaWAN™
(2016)
Although short-range wireless communication explicitly targets local and regional applications, range continues to be a highly important issue. The range directly depends on the so-called link budget, which can be increased by the choice of modulation and coding schemes. The recent transceiver generation in particular comes with extensive and flexible support for software-defined radio (SDR). The SX127× family from Semtech Corp. is a member of this device class and promises significant benefits for range, robust performance, and battery lifetime compared to competing technologies. This contribution gives a short overview of the technologies to support Long Range (LoRa™) and the corresponding Layer 2 protocol (LoRaWAN™). It particularly describes the possibility to combine the Internet Protocol, i.e. IPv6, into LoRaWAN™, so that it can be directly integrated into a full-fledged Internet of Things (IoT). The proposed solution, which we name 6LoRaWAN, has been implemented and tested; results of the experiments are also shown in this paper.
Signal detection and bandwidth estimation, also known as channel segmentation or information channel estimation, is a perpetual topic in communication systems. In the field of radio monitoring this issue is extremely challenging, since unforeseeable effects like fading occur accidentally. In addition, most radio monitoring devices normally scan a wide frequency range of several hundred MHz and have to detect a multitude of different signals, varying in signal power, bandwidth and spectral shape. Since narrowband sensing techniques cannot be directly applied, most radio monitoring devices use Nyquist wideband sensing to discover the huge frequency range. In practice, sensing is normally conducted by an FFT sweep spectrum analyzer that delivers the power spectral density (PSD) values to the radio monitoring system. The channel segmentation is the initial step of a comprehensive signal analysis in a radio monitoring system based on the PSD values. In this paper, a novel approach for channel segmentation is presented that is based on a quantization and a histogram evaluation of the measured PSD. It will be shown that only the combination of both evaluations will lead to an successful automatic channel segmentation. The performance of the proposed algorithm is shown in a real radio monitoring szenario.
Security in IT systems, particularly in embedded devices like Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs), has become an important matter of concern as it is the prerequisite for ensuring privacy and safety. Among a multitude of existing security measures, the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol family offers mature and standardized means for establishing secure communication channels over insecure transport media. In the context of classical IT infrastructure, its security with regard to protocol and implementation attacks has been subject to extensive research. As TLS protocols find their way into embedded environments, we consider the security and robustness of implementations of these protocols specifically in the light of the peculiarities of embedded systems. We present an approach for systematically checking the security and robustness of such implementations using fuzzing techniques and differential testing. In spite of its origin in testing TLS implementations we expect our approach to likewise be applicable to implementations of other cryptographic protocols with moderate efforts.
The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol is a cornerstone of secure network communication, not only for online banking, e-commerce, and social media, but also for industrial communication and cyber-physical systems. Unfortunately, implementing TLS correctly is very challenging, as becomes evident by considering the high frequency of bugfixes filed for many TLS implementations. Given the high significance of TLS, advancing the quality of implementations is a sustained pursuit. We strive to support these efforts by presenting a novel, response-distribution guided fuzzing algorithm for differential testing of black-box TLS implementations. Our algorithm generates highly diverse and mostly-valid TLS stimulation messages, which evoke more behavioral discrepancies in TLS server implementations than other algorithms. We evaluate our algorithm using 37 different TLS implementations and discuss―by means of a case study―how the resulting data allows to assess and improve not only implementations of TLS but also to identify underspecified corner cases. We introduce suspiciousness as a per-implementation metric of anomalous implementation behavior and find that more recent or bug-fixed implementations tend to have a lower suspiciousness score. Our contribution is complementary to existing tools and approaches in the area, and can help reveal implementation flaws and avoid regression. While being presented for TLS, we expect our algorithm's guidance scheme to be applicable and useful also in other contexts. Source code and data is made available for fellow researchers in order to stimulate discussions and invite others to benefit from and advance our work.
The Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) protocol has been designed to provide end-to-end security over unreliable communication links. Where its connection establishment is concerned, DTLS copes with potential loss of protocol messages by implementing its own loss detection and retransmission scheme. However, the default scheme turns out to be suboptimal for links with high transmission error rates and low data rates, such as wireless links in electromagnetically harsh industrial environments. Therefore, in this paper, as a first step we provide an analysis of the standard DTLS handshake's performance under such adverse transmission conditions. Our studies are based on simulations that model message loss as the result of bit transmission errors. We consider several handshake variants, including endpoint authentication via pre-shared keys or certificates. As a second step, we propose and evaluate modifications to the way message loss is dealt with during the handshake, making DTLS deployable in situations which are prohibitive for default DTLS.
Als Fortsetzung des FHOP-Projektes wurde an der Fachhochschule Offenburg auf Basis des bestehenden Mikroprozessorkerns im Rahmen einer Diplomarbeit ein Mikrocontroller in ES2-0.7 μm-Technologie entworfen. Der Controller wurde modular aufgebaut mit den Komponenten: FHOP-Mikroprozessor, Buscontroller, Waitstate-Chipselect-Einheit, 16x16 Bit Multiplizierer, 2KB ROM, 256 Byte RAM, Watchdog, PIO mit 16 konfigurierbaren Ports, SIO, 2 Timer und ein Interruptcontroller für 8 Interrputquellen.
Der Chip benötigt bei einer Komplexität von ca. 65400 Transistoren eine Siliziumfläche von etwa 27 mm². Er wurde im September 1996 zur Fertigung gegeben und mittlerweile erfolgreich getestet. Das interne ROM des Mikrocontrollers enthält das BIOS sowie ein Testprogramm. Zur Erstellung der Software steht eine komplette Entwicklungsumgebung zur Verfügung. Sämtliche Komponenten stehen im FHOP-Design-Kit in Kürze zur Verfügung.
The Institute of Applied Research Offenburg is working in the field of autonomous data loggers since many years. In collaboration with industry, a new RFID based active sensor data logger for continuous recording of temperature has been developed and is now manufactured in mass production. Compared to existing systems, an unusual large data memory is integrated, which can be used via a simplified file system in a flexible way. The system will be used to accompany and monitor temperature sensitive goods of high value. The transponder is the first member of a new class of logging devices, the smallest will be not larger than a 2 Euro-coin with a fully integrated ASIC frontend.
Remote measurement of the physiology, so-called biotelemetry, is a key technology in the modern veterinary medicine. The usage of wireless implants has less impact on the behavior of animals than manual measurement methods and cause less disturbance than wired devices. But, common biotelemetry still uses proprietary communication and power concepts focused on small systems with one animal. Therefore, the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg is developing a low-cost RFID system called muTrans1, which is able to measure ECG, pressure, temperature, oxygen saturation and activity. The muTrans uses an own RFID sensor transponder and standardized commercial components and combines them to a scalable RFID system able to build-up RFID sensor networks with a nearly unlimited size.
RFID- Frontend ISO 15693
(2008)
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) with biventricular pacing is an established therapy for heart failure (HF) patients (P) with ventricular desynchronization and reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction. The aim of this study was to evaluate electrical right atrial (RA), left atrial (LA), right ventricular (RV) and LV conduction delay with novel telemetric signal averaging electrocardiography (SAECG) in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) P to better select P for CRT and to improve hemodynamics in cardiac pacing.
Methods: ICD-P (n=8, age 70.8 ± 9.0 years; 2 females, 6 males) with VVI-ICD (n=4), DDD-ICD (n=3) and CRT-ICD (n=1) (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) were analysed with telemetric ECG recording by Medronic programmer 2090, ECG cable 2090AB, PCSU1000 oscilloscope with Pc-Lab2000 software (Velleman®) and novel National Intruments LabView SAECG software.
Results: Electrical RA conduction delay (RACD) was measured between onset and offset of RA deflection in the RAECG. Interatrial conduction delay (IACD) was measured between onset of RA deflection and onset of far-field LA deflection in the RAECG. Interventricular conduction delay (IVCD) was measured between onset of RV deflection in the RVECG and onset of LV deflection in the LVECG. Telemetric SAECG recording was possible in all ICD-P with a mean of 11.7 ± 4.4 SAECG heart beats, 97.6 ± 33.7 ms QRS duration, 81.5 ± 44.6 ms RACD, 62.8 ± 28.4 ms RV conduction delay, 143.7 ± 71.4 ms right cardiac AV delay, 41.5 ms LA conduction delay, 101.6 ms LV conduction delay, 176.8 ms left cardiac AV delay, 53.6 ms IACD and 93 ms IVCD.
Conclusions: Determination of RA, LA, RV and LV conduction delay, IACD, IVCD, right and left cardiac AV delay by telemetric SAECG recording using LabView SAECG technique may be useful parameters of atrial and ventricular desynchronization to improve P selection for CRT and hemodynamics in cardiac pacing.
Spectral analysis of signal averaging electrocardiography in atrial and ventricular tachyarrhythmias
(2017)
Background: Targeting complex fractionated atrial electrograms detected by automated algorithms during ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation has produced conflicting outcomes in previous electrophysiological studies. The aim of the investigation was to evaluate atrial and ventricular high frequency fractionated electrical signals with signal averaging technique.
Methods: Signal averaging electrocardiography (ECG) allows high resolution ECG technique to eliminate interference noise signals in the recorded ECG. The algorithm uses automatic ECG trigger function for signal averaged transthoracic, transesophageal and intracardiac ECG signals with novel LabVIEW software (National Instruments, Austin, Texas, USA). For spectral analysis we used fast fourier transformation in combination with spectro-temporal mapping and wavelet transformation for evaluation of detailed information about the frequency and intensity of high frequency atrial and ventricular signals.
Results: Spectral-temporal mapping and wavelet transformation of the signal averaged ECG allowed the evaluation of high frequency fractionated atrial signals in patients with atrial fibrillation and high frequency ventricular signals in patients with ventricular tachycardia. The analysis in the time domain evaluated fractionated atrial signals at the end of the signal averaged P-wave and fractionated ventricular signals at the end of the QRS complex. The analysis in the frequency domain evaluated high frequency fractionated atrial signals during the P-wave and high frequency fractionated ventricular signals during QRS complex. The combination of analysis in the time and frequency domain allowed the evaluation of fractionated signals during atrial and ventricular conduction.
Conclusions: Spectral analysis of signal averaging electrocardiography with novel LabVIEW software can utilized to evaluate atrial and ventricular conduction delays in patients with atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. Complex fractionated atrial electrograms may be useful parameters to evaluate electrical cardiac arrhythmogenic signals in atrial fibrillation ablation.
Agile Business Intelligence als Beispiel für ein domänenspezifisch angepasstes Vorgehensmodell
(2016)
Business-Intelligence-Systeme stellen durch ihre Unterstützung bei der Entscheidungsfindung für Unternehmen eine wichtige Rolle dar. Mit einer stetig dynamischeren Unternehmensumwelt geht daher die Anforderung nach der agilen Entwicklung dieser Systeme einher, so dass in der BI-Domäne zunehmend erfolgreich agile Methoden und Vorgehensmodelle eingesetzt werden. Die Weiterentwicklung und Anpassung von BI-Systemen ist dahingehend besonders, dass diese in der Regel langjährig gewachsenen Systemen und Strukturen betreffen, die strengen regulatorischen Rahmenbedingungen unterliegen, was eine Herausforderung für agile Vorgehensweisen darstellt. Wurden die Werte und Prinzipien des agilen Manifests [AM01] und die daraus abgeleiteten Methoden zu Beginn meist eins zu eins auf den Bereich BI übertragen, so hat sich das Verständnis von BI- Agilität als ganzheitliche Eigenschaft der BI im deutschsprachigen Raum etabliert, und agile Me- thoden wurden auf die Besonderheiten der BI-Domäne adaptiert. In diesem Beitrag werden BI-Agilität und Agile BI erläutert, ein Ordnungsrahmen für Maßnahmen zur Steigerung der BI-Agilität eingeführt sowie Herausforderungen bei Agile BI erläutert.
Im Projekt bwLehrpool wurde ein verteiltes System für die flexible Nutzung von Rechnerpools durch Desktop-Virtualisierung entwickelt. Auf Basis eines zentral gebooteten Linux- Grundsystems können beliebige virtualisierbare Betriebssysteme für Lehrund Prüfungszwecke zentral bereitgestellt und lokal auf den Maschinen aus-gewählt werden. Die verschiedenen Ar- beitsumgebungen müssen nicht mehr auf den PCs installiert werden und erlauben so eine multifunktionale Nutzung von PCs und Räumen für vielfältige Lehrund Lernszenarien sowie für elektronische Prüfungen. bwLehrpool abstrahiert von der PC-Hardware vor Ort und ermöglicht den Dozenten die eigene Gestaltung und Verwaltung ihrer Softwareumgebungen als Self-Service. Darüber hinaus fördert bwLehrpool den hochschulübergreifenden Austausch von Kursumgebungen.
In public transportation, the motor pool often consists of various different vehicles bought over a duration of many years. Sometimes, they even differ within one batch bought at the same time. This poses a considerable challenge in the storage and allocation of spare parts, especially in the event of damage to a vehicle. Correctly assigning these parts before the vehicle reaches the workshop could significantly reduce both the downtime and, therefore, the actual costs for companies. In order to achieve this, the current software uses a simple probability calculation. To improve the performance, the data of specific companies was analysed, preprocessed and used with several modelling techniques to classify and, therefore, predict the spare parts to be used in the event of a faulty vehicle. We summarize our experience running through the steps of the Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining and compare the performance to the previously used probability. Gradient Boosting Trees turned out to be the best modeling technique for this special case.
This paper describes the use of the single-linkage hierarchical clustering method in outlier detection for manufactured metal work pieces. The main goal of the study is to group defects that occur 5 mm into a work piece from the edge, i.e., the border of the metal work piece. The goal is to remove defects outside the area of interest as outliers. According to the assumptions made for the performance criteria, the single-linkage method has achieved better results compared to other agglomeration methods.
Due to its numerous application fields and benefits, virtualization has become an interesting and attractive topic in computer and mobile systems, as it promises advantages for security and cost efficiency. However, it may bring additional performance overhead. Recently, CPU virtualization has become more popular for embedded platforms, where the performance overhead is especially critical. In this article, we present the measurements of the performance overhead of the two hypervisors Xen and Jailhouse on ARM processors in the context of the heavy load “Cpuburn-a8” application and compare it to a native Linux system running on ARM processors.
In contrast to conventional aortic valve replacement, the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) is a new highly specialist alternative to surgical valve replacement for patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis and high operative risk. The procedure was performed in a minimally invasive way and was introduced at the university heart centre, Freiburg – Bad Krozingen in 2008. The results have been getting better and better over the years. The aim of the investigation is the analysis of electrocardiogram conduction time and the electrocardiography changes recorded hours and days after the procedure depending on artificial heart valve models, which may lead to pacemaker implantation, even the analysis of the effectiveness of treatment.
Transcatheter aortiv valve implantation is a new safe strategy treatment for patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis and high operative risk. The aim of the study was to compare the pre-and post- muiscatheter aortiv valve implantation procedures to determine the atrioventricuktr conduction time as a potential predictor of permanent pacemaker therapy requirement after transcatheter aortiv valve implantation. The transcatheter aortiv valve implantation patients were divided into groups without pacemaker and with dual or single chamber pacemEtker with diffent atrioventrieular conduction time disturbance before and after transcatheter aortiv valve implantation. In heart failure, patients without permanent pacemaker therapy after transcatheter aortiv valve implantation, atrioventricular conduction time was prolonged after transcatheter aortiv valve implantation. In patients with permanent dual chamber pacemaker therapy after transcatheter aortiv valve implantation, atrioventricular conduction time was normalised with dual chaniber atrioventrieuku pacing mode. Atrioventricular conduction time may be a useful parameter to evaluate the risk of post-procedural atrioventricular conduction block and permanent pacemaker therapy in transcatheter north, valve implantation patients.
In the work at hand, we combine a Private Information Retrieval (PIR) protocol with Somewhat Homomorphic Encryption (SHE) and use Searchable Encryption (SE) with the objective to provide security and confidentiality features for a third party cloud security audit. During the auditing process, a third party auditor will act on behalf of a cloud service user to validate the security requirements performed by a cloud service provider. Our concrete contribution consists of developing a PIR protocol which is proceeding directly on a log database of encrypted data and allowing to retrieve a sum or a product of multiple encrypted elements. Subsequently, we concretely apply our new form of PIR protocol to a cloud audit use case where searchable encryption is employed to allow additional confidentiality requirements to the privacy of the user. Exemplarily we are considering and evaluating an audit of client accesses to a controlled resource provided by a cloud service provider.
Today's network landscape consists of many different network technologies, a wide range of end-devices with a large scale of capabilities and power, and an immense quantity of information and data represented in different formats. Research on 3D imaging, virtual reality and holographic techniques will result in new user interfaces (UI) for mobile devices and will increase their diversity and variety. In this paper software architecture has been proposed to establish device and content format independent communication, implemented in Language Learning Game (LLG).
Network landscape of recent time contains many different network technologies, a wide range of end-devices with a large scale of capabilities and power, and an immense quantity of information and data represented in different formats. Research on 3D imaging, virtual reality and holographic techniques will result in new user interfaces (UI) for mobile devices, will increase their diversity and variety. In this paper software architecture has been proposed to establish device and content format independent communication including 3D imaging and virtual reality data as content. As experimental validation the concept is implemented in collaborative Language Learning Game (LLG), which is a learning tool for language acquisition.
The improvements in the hardware and software of communication devices have allowed running Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications on those. Nowadays, it is possible to overlay synthetic information on real images, or even to play 3D on-line games on smart phones or some other mobile devices. Hence the use of 3D data for business and specially for education purposes is ubiquitous. Due to always available at hand and always ready to use properties of mobile phones, those are considered as most potential communication devices. The total numbers of mobile phone users are increasing all over the world every day and that makes mobile phones the most suitable device to reach a huge number of end clients either for education or for business purposes. There are different standards, protocols and specifications to establish the communication among different communication devices but there is no initiative taken so far to make it sure that the send data through this communication process will be understood and used by the destination device. Since all the devices are not able to deal with all kind of 3D data formats and it is also not realistic to have different version of the same data to make it compatible with the destination device, it is necessary to have a prevalent solution. The proposed architecture in this paper describes a device and purpose independent 3D data visibility any time anywhere to the right person in suitable format. There is no solution without limitation. The architecture is implemented in a prototype to make an experimental validation of the architecture which also shows the difference between theory and practice.
Nowadays, it is assumed of many applications, companies and parts of the society to be always available online. However, according to [Times, Oct, 31 2011], 73% of the world population do not use the internet and thus aren't “online” at all. The most common reasons for not being “online” are expensive personal computer equipment and high costs for data connections, especially in developing countries that comprise most of the world’s population (e.g. parts of Africa, Asia, Central and South America). However it seems that these countries are leap-frogging the “PC and landline” age and moving directly to the “mobile” age. Decreasing prices for smart phones with internet connectivity and PC-like operating systems make it more affordable for these parts of the world population to join the “always-online” community. Storing learning content in a way accessible to everyone, including mobile and smart phones, seems therefore to be beneficial. This way, learning content can be accessed by personal computers as well as by mobile and smart phones and thus be accessible for a big range of devices and users. A new trend in the Internet technologies is to go to “the cloud”. This paper discusses the changes, challenges and risks of storing learning content in the “cloud”. The experiences were gathered during the evaluation of the necessary changes in order to make our solutions and systems “cloud-ready”.
Smoothie: a solution for device and content independent applications including 3D imaging as content
(2014)
Network landscape of recent time contains many different network technologies, a wide range of end-devices with a large scale of capabilities and power, and an immense quantity of information represented in different data formats. Research on 3D imaging, virtual reality and holographic techniques will result in new user interfaces (UI) for mobile devices and will increase their diversity and variety. A lot of effort is being made in order to establish open, scalable and seamless integration of various technologies and content presentation for different devices including those that are mobile, considering the individual situation of the end user. Till today the research is going on in different parts of the world but the task is not completed yet. The goal of this research work is to find a way to solve the above stated problems by investigating system architectures to provide unconstrained, continuous and personalized access to the content and interactive applications everywhere and at anytime with different devices. As a Solution of the problem considered, a new architecture named “Smoothie” is proposed.
The concept of m-learning which differs from other forms of e-learning covers a wide range of possibilities opened up by the convergence of new mobile technologies, wireless communication structure and distance learning development. This process of converging has launched some new goals to support m-learning where heterogeneity of devices, their operating systems (Linux, Windows, Symbian, Android etc) and supported markup languages (WML, XHTML etc), adaptive content, preferences or characteristics of user have become some of the major problems to be solved. To facilitate the learning process even more and to establish literally anytime anywhere learning, learning material/content should be available to the user always even if the user is in offline. Multiple devices used by the same user should also be synchronized among themselves and with server to provide updated learning content and to give a freedom to the user to choose any device as per his/her convenience. In this paper software architecture has been proposed to solve these problems and has been implemented by using a multidimensional flashcard learning system which synchronizes among all the devices that are being used by the user.
Today's network landscape consists of quite different network technologies, wide range of end-devices with large scale of capabilities and power, and immense quantity of information and data represented in different formats. Research on 3D imaging, virtual reality and holographic techniques will result in new user interfaces (UI) for mobile devices and will increase their diversity and variety. A lot of efforts are being done in order to establish open, scalable and seamless integration of various technologies and content presentation for different devices including mobile considering individual situation of the end user. This is very difficult because various kinds of devices used by different users or in different times/parallel by the same user which are not predictable and have to be recognized by the system in order to identify device capabilities. Not only the devices but also Content and User Interfaces are big issues because they could include different kinds of data format like text, image, audio, video, 3D Virtual Reality data and other upcoming formats. A very suitable and useful example of the use of such a system is mobile learning because of the large amount of varying devices with significantly different features and functionalities. This is true not only to support different learners, e.g. all learners within one learning community, but also to support the same learner using different equipment parallel and/or at different times. Those applications may be significantly enhanced by including virtual reality content presentation. Whatever the purposes are, it is impossible to develop and adapt content for all kind of devices including mobiles individually due to different capabilities of the devices, cost issues and author‘s requirement. A solution should be found to enable the automation of the content adaptation process.
The establishment of a software tool chain among requirements management tools, black box test approach tool CTE XL and RTRT is proposed in this paper. The use of Classification Tree Method ensures the reduction in the number of test cases and promises an increased efficiency when testing. The traceability of test cases and requirements is guaranteed by the established software tool chain with well defined interfaces. As the experimental results point out, a better test coverage can be achieved. Future work can be based on automatic generation of init and expected values for testing, requiring no interference from a software quality engineer. In conclusion, the tasks that need to be performed by the software quality engineers is to define the black box test cases using CTM/CTE XL, import the requirements from the requirements management tools, import the XML file to test tool RTRT. By giving the initial and expected values the testing can be performed in a comfortable way.
Optische Navigationssysteme weisen bisher eine eindeutige Trennung zwischen nachverfolgendem Gerät (Tool Tracker) und nachverfolgten Geräten (Tracked Tools) auf. In dieser Arbeit wird ein neues Konzept vorgestellt, dass diese Trennung aufhebt: Jedes Tracked Tool ist gleichzeitig auch Tool Tracker und besteht aus Marker-LEDs sowie mindestens einer Kamera, mit deren Hilfe andere Tracker in Lage und Orientierung nachverfolgt werden können. Bei Verwendung von nur einer Kamera geschieht dies mittels Pose Estimation, ab zwei Kameras werden die Marker-LEDs trianguliert. Diese Arbeit beinhaltet die Vorstellung des neuen Peer-To-Peer-Tracking-Konzepts, einen sehr schnellen Pose-Estimation-Algorithmus für beliebig viele Marker sowie die Klärung der Frage, ob die mit Pose Estimation erreichbare Genauigkeit vergleichbar mit der eines Stereo-Kamera-Systems ist und den Anforderungen an die chirurgische Navigation gerecht wird.
In online analytical processing (OLAP), filtering elements of a given dimensional attribute according to the value of a measure attribute is an essential operation, for example in top-k evaluation. Such filters can involve extremely large amounts of data to be processed, in particular when the filter condition includes “quantification” such as ANY or ALL, where large slices of an OLAP cube have to be computed and inspected. Due to the sparsity of OLAP cubes, the slices serving as input to the filter are usually sparse as well, presenting a challenge for GPU approaches which need to work with a limited amount of memory for holding intermediate results. Our CUDA solution involves a hashing scheme specifically designed for frequent and parallel updates, including several optimizations exploiting architectural features of Nvidia’s Fermi and Kepler GPUs.
An der Fachhochschule Offenburg wird der Design-Kit FHO_MTC_CMOS_035_v1.0 erstellt. Mit Hilfe dieses Kits lassen sich Designs in der AMI O.35 Mikrometer Technologie entwerfen. Alle durchgeführten Arbeiten werden durch den Entwurf eines Lottozahlengenerator-Chips verifiziert, der gefertigt wird. Damit sind alle wesentlichen Schritte bekannt, die für die Aufbereitung eines Design-Kits für beliebige Technologien für die Mentor-Tools erforderlich sind. Der Design-Kit wird für alle MPC-Mitglieder freigegen, die eine NDA für AMI bei Europractice unterzeichnet haben.
In the recent two years the authors have developed a light weight and low power flight control system for model helicopters consisting of an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS), a navigator (INS) augmented with GPS, barometric altitude sensor and a magnetic sensor, a flight control computer (FCC) and bidirectional ground data links. The system has been tested on a commercial stunt flight model helicopter. The AHRS consists of three MEMS-gyros, two 2-axis MEMS accelerometers and a microcontroller performing the required sensor compensation and data processing to generate attitude angles and true rate and acceleration data of the flying platform. The heading angle is augmented with a 2-axis magnetic sensor. The AHRS is stunt flight capable. The INS integrates the acceleration data to obtain velocity and position data. All data are calculated in both the helicopter and the local earth frame with 50 Hz rate. The algorithm is augmented with GPS data for the lateral movement and with a barometric altitude sensor for the vertical movement. The barometric data are compensated for air pressure changes due to the helicopter main rotor. The FCC contains a set of control loops in order to stabilize the helicopter in all axis and to perform commanded velocity and position tasks. The sampling rate for the control loops is again 50 Hz allowing flight control with high bandwidth. Various safety features are implemented in the software. The bidirectional data link is based on a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth Class I RF-link with a 115 kbaud data rate. A dipole antenna is used on the helicopter, an automatically tracking patch antenna is used on the ground. For commanded velocity flight a standard 35 MHz RF-link is used. For data sampling, monitoring and mode control a laptop is used on the ground. Several operating modes are implemented ranging from commanded velocity flight to simple automatic stunt flight according to predefined flight tracks. The model helicopter is an ALIGN TREX 600 with 3 kg flight mass and a brushless electric motor. The rotor diameter is 1.40 m. The helicopter is able to carry a payload which mass depends on the size of the installed LiPo-cells and the purpose of the flight mission. The system has been tested in quite a few flight tests and missions. The helicopter is controlled safely up to wind loads of at least 5 Beaufort - 6 Beaufort. Data and video captures will be presented. If permission is granted, a demonstration flight will be performed on the premises of the conference.
Both German and French Air-Source Heat Pump (ASHP) markets have been enjoying an overall upwards trend for many years but, nevertheless, they remain merely slightly penetrated. In terms of market players and their share, the French market is aptly diversified, whereas the German one, being utterly dominated by one single manufacturer, is badly in need of some diversification. At the same time Korean ASHP manufacturers are targeting the French but not German ASHP market. The main purpose of the paper is to find out likely reasons for their one-sided engagement, primarily those associated with the ASHP technology and its system-related aspects.
Due to a controversial enrollment policy in most engineering programs at German Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS), many freshmen show very low school grades in key subjects like Math and Physics. Nevertheless they expect to be entertained in the lectures and get demotivated easily. Despite initial reservations, a cheer-and-challenge approach was developed for teaching Mechanics to freshmen having very diverse school grades. When tested, it showed astonishing results.
Efficient, low-cost, secure and reliable communication solutions are a major stepping stone for smart metering and smart grid applications. This especially holds true for the so called primary communication or local metrological network (LMN) between a local meter or actuator and a data collector or gateway, where the highest requirements with regard to cost, bandwidth, and energy efficiency have to be taken into consideration. Multiple developments and field tests are going on in this field, however, energy autarkic devices are hardly found, yet. This contribution describes the development of an automatic water meter reading (AWMR) technology based on Wireless M-Bus to provide water utility companies with an automatic remote water meter reading solution. It addresses the special needs of home utilities by providing a remote metering solution independent from the electricity infrastructure, both in terms of data communication and in terms of power supply. For this project, a cost efficient integrated energy harvesting system powered by the available water flow was developed, to enable operation independently of the mains grid, and eliminate the need for battery replacement for near-zero maintenance costs.
Efficient, secure and reliable communication is a major precondition for powerful applications in smart metering and smart grid. This especially holds true for the so called primary communication in the Local Metrological Network (LMN) between meter and data collector, as the LMN comes with the most stringent requirements with regard to cost, range, as well as bandwidth and energy efficiency. Until today, LMN field tests are operated all over the world. In these installations, however, energy autarkic systems play a marginal role. This contribution describes the results of the framework 7 (FP 7) WiMBex project (“Remote wireless water meter reading solution based on the EN 13757 standard, providing high autonomy, interoperability and range”). In this project an energy autarkic water meter was developed and tested, which follows the specification of the Wireless M-Bus protocol (EN 13757). The complete system development covers the PCB with the RF transceiver and the microcontroller, the energy converter and storage, and the software with the protocol. This contribution especially concentrates on the design, the development and the verification of the routing protocol. The routing protocol is based on the Q mode of EN13757-5 (Wireless M-Bus) and was extended by an additional energy state related parameter. This extension is orthogonal to the existing protocol and considers both the charge level and the charge characteristics (rate of occurrences, intensity). The software was implemented in NesC under the operating system TinyOS. The system was verified in an automated test bed and in field tests in UK and Ireland.
Efficient, low-cost, secure and reliable communication solutions are a major stepping stone for smart metering and smart grid applications. This especially holds true for the so called primary communication or local metrological network (LMN) between a local meter or actuator and a data collector or gateway, where the highest requirements with regard to cost, bandwidth, and energy efficiency have to be taken into consideration. Multiple developments and field tests are going on in this field, however, energy autarkic devices are hardly found, yet.
eTPL: An Enhanced Version of the TLS Presentation Language Suitable for Automated Parser Generation
(2017)
The specification of the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol defines its own presentation language used for the purpose of semi-formally describing the structure and on-the-wire format of TLS protocol messages. This TLS Presentation Language (TPL) is more expressive and concise than natural language or tabular descriptions, but as a result of its limited objective has a number of deficiencies. We present eTPL, an enhanced version of TPL that improves its expressiveness, flexibility, and applicability to non-TLS scenarios. We first define a generic model that describes the parsing of binary data. Based on this, we propose language constructs for TPL that capture important information which would otherwise have to be picked manually from informal protocol descriptions. Finally, we briefly introduce our software tool etpl-tool which reads eTPL definitions and automatically generates corresponding message parsers in C++. We see our work as a contribution supporting sniffing, debugging, and rapid-prototyping of wired and wireless communication systems.
The low cost and small size of MEMS inertial sensors allows their combination into a multi sensor module in order to improve performance. However the different linear accelerations measured on different places on a rotating rigid body have to be considered for the proper fusion of the measurements. The errors in measurement of MEMS inertial sensors include deterministic imperfection, but also random noise. The gain in accuracy of using multiple sensors depends strongly on the correlation between these errors from the different sensors. Although for sensor fusion it usually assumed that the measurement errors of different sensors are uncorrelated, estimation theory shows that for the combination of the same type of sensors actually a negative correlation will be more beneficial. Therefore we describe some important and often neglected considerations for the combination of several sensors and also present some preliminary results with regard to the correlation of measurements from a simple multi sensor setup.
The Thread protocol is a recent development based on 6LoWPAN (IPv6 over IEEE 802.15.4), but with extensions regarding a more media independent approach, which – additionally – also promises true interoperability. To evaluate and analyse the operation of a Thread network a given open source 6LoWPAN stack for embedded devices (emb::6) has been extended in order to comply with the Thread specification. The implementation covers Mesh Link Establishment (MLE) and network layer functionality as well as 6LoWPAN mesh under routing mechanism based on MAC short addresses. The development has been verified on a virtualization platform and allows dynamical establishment of network topologies based on Thread's partitioning algorithm.
A novel approach of a test environment for embedded networking nodes has been conceptualized and implemented. Its basis is the use of virtual nodes in a PC environment, where each node executes the original embedded code. Different nodes run in parallel, connected via so-called virtual channels. The environment allows to modifying the behavior of the virtual channels as well as the overall topology during runtime to virtualize real-life networking scenarios. The presented approach is very efficient and allows a simple description of test cases without the need of a network simulator. Furthermore, it speeds up the process of developing new features as well as it supports the identification of bugs in wireless communication stacks. In combination with powerful test execution systems, it is possible to create a continuous development and integration flow.
A novel approach of a testbed for embedded networking nodes has been conceptualized and implemented. It is based on the use of virtual nodes in a PC environment, where each node executes the original embedded code. Different nodes are running in parallel and are connected via so-called virtual interfaces. The presented approach is very efficient and allows a simple description of test cases without the need of a network simulator. Furthermore, it speeds up the process of developing new features.
OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture) is already a well-known concept used widely in the automation industry. In the area of factory automation, OPC UA models the underlying field devices such as sensors and actuators in an OPC UA server to allow connecting OPC UA clients to access device-specific information via a standardized information model. One of the requirements of the OPC UA server to represent field device data using its information model is to have advanced knowledge about the properties of the field devices in the form of device descriptions. The international standard IEC 61804 specifies EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) as a generic language for describing the properties of field devices. In this paper, the authors describe a possibility to dynamically map and integrate field device descriptions based on EDDL into OPCUA.
Automated RF Emulator for a Highly Scalable IEEE802.11p Communication and Localization Subsystem
(2014)
The IEEE802.11p standard describes a protocol for car-to-X and mainly for car-to-car-communication. In the research project Ko-TAG, which is part of the research initiative Ko-FAS, cooperative sensor technology is developed for the support of highly autonomous driving. The Ko-TAG subsystem improves the real-time characteristics of IEEE802.11p needed for precise time of flight real-time localization while still fitting into the regulatory schemes. A secondary radar principle based on communication signals enables localization of objects with simultaneous data transmission. The Ko-TAG subsystem mainly concentrates on the support of traffic safety applications in intra-urban scenarios. This paper details on the development of a fully automated RF emulator used to test the Ko-TAG subsystem.
The RF emulator includes the physical networking nodes, but models the RF environment using RF-waveguides. The RF emulator allows the controlling of path loss and connectivity between any of the nodes with the help of RF attenuators and programmable RF switches, while it is shielded against its surrounding RF environment in the lab. Therefore it is an inexpensive alternative to an RF absorber chamber, which often is not available or exceeds the project’s budget.
Details about the system definition can be found in earlier papers. Test results are shown in the last part of the paper.
A highly scalable IEEE802.11p communication and localization subsystem for autonomous urban driving
(2013)
The IEEE802.11p standard describes a protocol for car-to-X and mainly for car-to-car-communication. It has found its place in hardware and firmware implementations and is currently tested in various field tests. In the research project Ko-TAG, which is part of the research initiative Ko-FAS, cooperative sensor technology is developed for the support of highly autonomous driving. A secondary radar principle based on communication signals enables localization of objects with simultaneous data transmission. It mainly concentrates on the detection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users (VRU), but also supports pre crash safety applications. Thus it is mainly targeted for the support of traffic safety applications in intra-urban scenarios. This contribution describes the Ko-TAG part of the overall initiative, which develops a subsystem to improve the real-time characteristics of IEEE802.11p needed for precise time of flight real-time localization. In doing this, it still fits into the regulatory schemes. It discusses the approach for definition and verification of the protocol design, while maintaining the close coexistence with existing IEEE802.11p subsystems. System simulations were performed and hardware was implemented. Test results are shown in the last part of the paper.
The IEEE802.11p standard describes a protocol for car-to-X and mainly for car-to-car-communication. It has found its place in hardware and firmware implementations and is currently tested in various field tests. In the research project Ko-TAG, which is part of the research initiative Ko-FAS, cooperative sensor technology is developed and its benefit for traffic safety applications is evaluated. A secondary radar principle based on communication signals enables localization of objects with simultaneous data transmission. It mainly concentrates on the detection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users (VRU), but also supports pre crash safety applications. The Ko-TAG proposal enriches the current IEEE802.11p real-time characteristics needed for precise time-of-flight real-time localization. This contribution describes the development of a subsystem, which extends the functionality of IEEE802.11p and fits into the regulatory schemes. It discusses the approach for definition and verification of the protocol design, while maintaining the close coexistence with existing IEEE802.11p subsystems. System simulations were performed and hardware was implemented. The next step will be field measurements to verify the simulation results.
Die neueste Generation von programmierbaren Logikbausteinen verfügt neben den konfigurierbaren Logikzellen über einen oder mehrere leistungsfähige Mikroprozessoren. In dieser Arbeit wird gezeigt, wie ein bestehendes Zwei-Chip-System auf einen Xilinx Zynq 7000 mit zwei ARM A9-Cores migriert wird. Bei dem System handelt es sich um das „GPS-gestützte Kreisel-system ADMA“ des Unternehmens GeneSys. Die neue Lösung verbessert den Datenaustausch zwischen dem ersten Mikroprozessor zur digitalen Signalverarbeitung und dem zweiten Prozessor zur Ablaufsteuerung durch ein Shared Memory. Für die schnelle und echtzeitfähige Datenübertragung werden zahlreiche hochbitratige Schnittstellengenutzt.
The paper describes the hardware and software architecture of the developed multi MEMS sensor prototype module, consisting of ARM Cortex M4 STM32F446 microcontroller unit, five 9-axis inertial measurement units MPU9255 (3D accelerometer, 3D gyroscope, 3D magnetometer and temperature sensor) and a BMP280 barometer. The module is also equipped with WiFi wireless interface (Espressif ESP8266 chip). The module is constructed in the form of a truncated pyramid. Inertial sensors are mounted on a special basement at different angles to each other to eliminate hardware sensors drifts and to provide the capability for self-calibration. The module fuses information obtained from all types of inertial sensors (acceleration, rotation rate, magnetic field and air pressure) in order to calculate orientation and trajectory. It might be used as an Inertial Measurement Unit, Vertical Reference Unit or Attitude and Heading Reference System.
Legacy industrial communication protocols are proved robust and functional. During the last decades, the industry has invented completely new or advanced versions of the legacy communication solutions. However, even with the high adoption rate of these new solutions, still the majority industry applications run on legacy, mostly fieldbus related technologies. Profibus is one of those technologies that still keep on growing in the market, albeit a slow in market growth in recent years. A retrofit technology that would enable these technologies to connect to the Internet of Things, utilize the ever growing potential of data analysis, predictive maintenance or cloud-based application, while at the same time not changing a running system is fundamental.
The communication between objects, i.e. between cars (car-2-car, C2C), between cars and infrastructure (car-2-infrastructure, C2I) and between cars and vulnerable road users (car-2-VRU, C2VRU) is a major stepping stone towards traffic applications to enable efficient and safe traffic flow. However, these applications pose very high requirements to the communication protocols, which go beyond the capabilities of an available standardized solution.
This contribution shows how iterative design processes can help to fulfill these requirements, while re-using a maximum of elements from one level to the next and thus avoiding unrealistic overhead. In especially, the added value of simulation and emulation in this iterative process is elaborated.
The research project Ko-TAG [2], as part of the research initiative Ko-FAS [1], funded by the German Ministry of Economics and Technologies (BMWi), deals with the development of a wireless cooperative sensor system that shall pro-vide a benefit to current driver assistance systems (DAS) and traffic safety applications (TSA). The system’s primary function is the localization of vulnerable road users (VRU) e.g. pedestrians and powered two-wheelers, using communication signals, but can also serve as pre-crash (surround) safety system among vehicles. The main difference of this project, compared to previous ones that dealt with this topic, e.g. the AMULETT project, is an underlying FPGA based Hardware-Software co-design. The platform drives a real-time capable communication protocol that enables highly scalable network topologies fulfilling the hard real-time requirements of the single localization processes. Additionally it allows the exchange of further data (e.g. sensor data) to support the accident pre-diction process and the channel arbitration, and thus supports true cooperative sensing. This paper gives an overview of the project’s current system design as well as of the implementations of the key HDL entities supporting the software parts of the communication protocol. Furthermore, an approach for the dynamic reconfiguration of the devices is described, which provides several topology setups using a single PCB design.
Energy and environment continue to be major issues of human mankind. This holds true on the regional, the national, and the global level. And it is one of the problems, where engineers and scientists in conjunction with political will and people's awareness, can find new approaches and solutions to save the natural resources and to make their use more efficient.
Institute of Reliable Embedded Systems and Communication Electronics, Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany has developed an automated testing environment, Automated Physical TestBeds (APTB), for analyzing the performance of wireless systems and its supporting protocols. Wireless physical networking nodes can connect to this APTB and the antenna output of this attaches with the RF waveguides. To model the RF environment this RF waveguides then establish wired connection among RF elements like splitters, attenuators and switches. In such kind of set up it’s well possible to vary the path characteristics by altering the attenuators and switches. The major advantage of using APTB is the possibility of isolated, well controlled, repeatable test environment in various conditions to run statistical analysis and even to execute regression tests. This paper provides an overview of the design and implementation of APTB, demonstrates its ability to automate test cases, and its efficiency.
In the field of smart metering it can be observed that standardized protocol, like Wireless M-Bus or ZigBee, enjoy a rapidly increasing popularity. For the protocol implementations, however, up to now, mostly legacy engineering processes and technologies are used, and modern approaches such as model driven design processes or open software platform are disregarded. Therefore, within the WiMBex project, it shall be demonstrated that it is possible to develop a commercial class Wireless M-Bus implementation following state-of-the art design process and using TinyOS as an open source platform. This contribution describes the overall approach of the project, as well as the state and the first experiences of the current work in progress.
Climate change and resultant scarcity of water are becoming major challenges for countries around the world. With the advent of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) in the last decade and a relatively new concept of Internet of Things (IoT), embedded systems developers are now working on designing control and automation systems that are lower in cost and more sustainable than the existing telemetry systems for monitoring. The Indus river basin in Pakistan has one of the world's largest irrigation systems and it is extremely challenging to design a low-cost embedded system for monitoring and control of waterways that can last for decades. In this paper, we present a hardware design and performance evaluation of a smart water metering solution that is IEEE 802.15.4-compliant. The results show that our hardware design is as powerful as the reference design, but allows for additional flexibility both in hardware and in firmware. The indigenously designed solution has a power added efficiency (PAE) of 24.7% that is expected to last for 351 and 814 days for nodes with and without a power amplifier (PA). Similarly, the results show that a broadband communication (434 MHz) over more than 3km can be supported, which is an important stepping stone for designing a complete coverage solution of large-scale waterways.
Due to climate change and scarcity of water reservoirs, monitoring and control of irrigation systems is now becoming a major focal area for researchers in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are rapidly finding their way in the field of irrigation and play the key role as data gathering technology in the domain of IoT and CPS. They are efficient for reliable monitoring, giving farmers an edge to take precautionary measures. However, designing an energy-efficient WSN system requires a cross-layer effort and energy-aware routing protocols play a vital role in the overall energy optimization of a WSN. In this paper, we propose a new hierarchical routing protocol suitable for large area environmental monitoring such as large-scale irrigation network existing in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The proposed protocol resolves the issues faced by traditional multi-hop routing protocols such as LEACH, M-LEACH and I-LEACH, and enhances the lifespan of each WSN node that results in an increased lifespan of the whole network. We used the open-source NS3 simulator for simulation purposes and results indicate that our proposed modifications result in an average 27.8% increase in lifespan of the overall WSN when compared to the existing protocols.
Die immer weitreichenderen Anwendungen des Smart Metering und des Smart Grid stellen immer höhere Anforderungen an Kommunikationstechnologien, die die Zielkonflikte aus Echtzeitfähige, Stabilität, Kosten und Energieeffizienz möglichst anwendungsoptimiert und auf einem immer höheren Niveau lösen. Insbesondere im Bereich der so genannten Primärkommunikation zwischen einem Sensor- oder Aktorknoten und einem Datensammler mit Gatewayfunktionalität konnten in den vergangenen Jahren wesentliche Fortschritte erzielt werden. Zu nennen sind hierbei insbesondere die Aktivitäten der ZigBee Alliance rund um den offenen Spezifikationsprozess des ZigBee Smart Energy Profiles (SEP) und der OMS-Gruppe beim ZVEI, die auf dem Wireless M-Bus nach EN13757-4 aufbauen, der sich seinerseits lebhaft und zielgerichtet weiter entwickelt. Der Beitrag diskutiert die vorhandenen Einschränkungen und die verfügbaren Lösungsansätze. Er illustriert diese anhand einiger öffentlich geförderter Projekte, an denen das Team des Autors beteiligt ist.
This paper presents the elements and the results from the European research project inCASA (Integrated Network for Completely Assisted Senior Citizen’s Autonomy), which designed and implemented a seamless integration of heterogeneous systems and network protocols for regionally distributed telecare and telehealth applications. The integration includes a multitude of physical interface, the transcoding of data models using embedded middleware, and a backend system with open interfaces. The implementation was verified in field tests in five European countries.
Immer mehr Anwendungen der Heim- und der Gebäudeautomatisierung werden vernetzt, weil damit erweiterte Funktionen ermöglicht oder Kosten gespart werden können. Dabei führt eine Reihe von Aspekten zu einem erhöhten Risiko für diese vernetzten Systeme. Gegenwärtig arbeiten verschiedene Gruppen an Sicherheitslösungen für die vernetzte Heim- und Gebäudeautomatisierung. Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über diese Aktivitäten und zeigt die wesentlichen Entwicklungsrichtungen auf.
Home Care Applications and Ambient Assisted Living become increasingly attractive. This is caused as well by market pull, as the number of elderly people grows monotonously, as well as by technology push, as technological advances and attractive products pave the way to economically advantageous offerings. However, in real-life applications, a significant number of challenges remain. Those include seamless communication between products from different supplier, due to the lack of sufficiently standardized solutions, energy budgets, and scalability of solutions. This paper presents the experience from the InCASA project (Integrated Network for Completely Assisted Senior Citizen's Autonomy), where architectures for heterogeneous physical and logical communication flows are examined.
The communication technologies for automatic meter reading (smart metering) and for energy production and distribution networks (smart grid) have the potential to be one of the first really highly scaled machine-to-machine-M2M-applications. During the last years, two very promising developments around the wireless part of the smart grid communication were initialized, which possibly could have an impact on the network architectures and the markets far beyond Germany and far beyond energy automation. Besides the specification of the OMS Group of a security extension to the Wireless M-Bus protocol (EN13757-4), the German Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BSI) has designed a Protection Profile (PP) and a Technical Directive (TR) for the communication unit of an intelligent measurement system (Smart Meter Gateway), which were released in March 2013. This design uses state of the art technologies and prescribes their implementation in real-life systems. At first, the proposed paper will present the most important characteristics of this architecture. It will then give an insight into the implementation of the OMS security protocols, which imply the usage of a mutually authenticated SSL protocol also in the Local Metrological Network. This is achieved with the help of an additional Authentication and Fragmentation Layer (AFL). This secure communication will be terminated in a BSI conformant secure smart meter gateway, which is developed in a different project and described in the second step. Finally, the contribution will discuss the integration of such a metering network into an overall telecommunication network and PKI infrastructure.
Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) is a major enabler for the upcoming smart grid. Potentially, it will be one of the first really large-scale M2M-communication solutions for sensor applications.
To date, the definition of the standardized communication stacks for Local Metrological Network (LMN) in AMR is still ongoing. This holds true both for ZigBee Smart Energy Profile and for Wireless M-Bus according to EN 13757. During this process, there is the necessity for flexible, albeit optimized solutions, which support the different existing and upcoming versions of the communication protocols. In the case of Wireless M-Bus, the major contender for European and possibly Asian installations, this is valid not only for the different operation modes (C-, N-, P-, Q-, R-, S-, and T-modes), which work in different frequencies (i.e. 868 MHz, 433 MHz, and 169 MHz) but also for the application layer, where additional bodies, like EN137575, Open Metering System (OMS) Group, or national bodies follow their approaches.
This contribution describes requirements, design techniques and experiences from the development of highly efficient Wireless M-Bus protocol stacks with support of good flexibility and portability between microcontroller platforms and RF-transceivers. The presented approach is not limited to the use of modern software engineering design processes, as such, but also includes essential additional features like testing or simulation, as well as tools for commissioning and monitoring.
The Internet of Things (IoT), ubiquitous computing and ubiquitous connectivity, Cyber Physical Systems (CPS), ambient intelligence, Machine-to-Machine communication (M2M) or Car-to-Car (C2C)-communication, smart metering, smart grid, telematics, telecare, telehealth – there are many buzzwords around current developments related to the Internet.
This contribution gives an overview on such IoT-applications, as they are already used today to improve the availability of information, increase efficiency, push system limits and extend the value chain. At a closer look, the economic and technical development can be separated into different phases. It is interesting that we are currently at the threshold to a new phase, with decentralized and cooperative communication and control nodes as cornerstones. Thus, embedded systems and their connectivity are in the middle of the scene.
This recent development is described along with some example projects from the author’s team which are used in industrial automation, energy supply and distribution (home automation and smart metering), traffic engineering (cooperative driver assistance systems), and in telehealth and telecare.
In this work, we consider a duty-cycled wireless sensor network with the assumption that the on/off schedules are uncoordinated. In such networks, as all nodes may not be awake during the transmission of time synchronization messages, nodes will require to re-transmit the synchronization messages. Ideally a node should re-transmit for the maximum sleep duration to ensure that all nodes are synchronized. However, such a proposition will immensely increase the energy consumption of the nodes. Such a situation demands that there is an upper bound of the number of retransmissions. We refer to the time a node spends in re-transmission of the control message as broadcast duration. We ask the question, what should be the broadcast duration to ensure that a certain percentage of the available nodes are synchronized. The problem to estimate the broadcast duration is formulated so as to capture the probability threshold of the nodes being synchronized. Results show the proposed analytical model can predict the broadcast duration with a given lower error margin under real world conditions, thus demonstrating the efficiency of our solution.
The application of leaky feeder (radiating) cables is a common solution for the implementation of reliable radio communication in huge industrial buildings, tunnels and mining environment. This paper explores the possibilities of leaky feeders for 1D and 2D localization in wireless systems based on time of flight chirp spread spectrum technologies. The main focus of this paper is to present and analyse the results of time of flight and received signal strength measurements with leaky feeders in indoor and outdoor conditions. The authors carried out experiments to compare ranging accuracy and radio coverage area for a point-like monopole antenna and for a leaky feeder acting as a distributed antenna. In all experiments RealTrac equipment based on nanoLOC radio standard was used. The estimation of the most probable path of a chirp signal going through a leaky feeder was calculated using the ray tracing approach. The typical non-line-of-sight errors profiles are presented. The results show the possibility to use radiating cables in real time location technologies based on time-of-flight method.
Since cabling is very complex and often causes reliability problems in aircrafts new approaches which base on wireless technologies are highly desired. In this paper an innovative communication system is proposed that uses the essential elements of the airframe for data transfer. The communication is based on the wireless standard for Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) and enables high data rates, which are required for the in-flight entertainment system as an example of use.
In large aircrafts the cabling is very complex and often causes reliability problems. This is specially true for modern In-flight Entertainment (IFE) systems, where every passenger can select a preferred movie, play computer games or be able to communicate with other travellers. Due to EMC problems, wireless communication systems (WiFi etc.) didn't succeed in solving these problems. In this paper an innovative communication system is proposed which perfectly supplements an aircraft IFE system. The key innovation of this system is to use structures that are essential parts of the airframe for data transfer, such as seat rails. Those rails consist of rectangular shapes and could easily be modified to fulfill the function of waveguides for microwaves. A waveguide as part of the seat rail would provide enormous benefits for aircrafts, such as a large bandwidth and consequently high data rates, no problems with EMC, unlimited flexibility of seat configuration, mechanical robustness with associated increase of reliability and a few additional advantages related to aircrafts such as reduction of weight and costs.
Transthoracic impedance cardiography (ICG) is a non-invasive method for determination of hemodynamic parameters. The basic principle of transthoracic ICG is the measurement of electrical conductivity of the thorax over the time. The aim of the study was the analysis of hemodynamic parameters from healthy individuals and the evaluation of various hemodynamic monitoring devices. Fourteen men (mean age 25 ± 4.59 years) and twelve women (mean age 24 ± 3.5 years) were measured during the cardiovascular engineering laboratory at Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Offenburg, Germany. The ICG recordings were measured with the devices CardioScreen 1000, CardioScreen 2000 and TensoScreen with the corresponding Software Cardiovascular Lab 2.5 (Medis Medizinische Messtechnik GmbH, Illmenau, Germany). In order to create identical frame conditions, all measurements were recorded in the same position and for the same duration. Various positions were simulated from horizontal lying position to vertical standing position. Altogether, more than 30 hemodynamic parameters were measured.