Rugged & fanless in vehicle computers / vehicle pc integrated wide range DC input with surge protection which comply ISO 7637-2 and E-Mark. CAN bus, GPS, GPRS/3.5G/LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth makes Acrosser in vehicle pc / vehicle computer/ Car PC become the best choice for applications in various vehicles such as bus, heavy duty truck, taxi, fire fighter truck, police car, ambulance and train. Typical applications are fleet management,
Technology event organiser Energi Technical has announced that it will be launching "The Reliable Software Developers' Conference", scheduled for May 2014.
This one-day conference will provide an important forum for engineers and developers working in the development of safety critical systems and high availability systems. It is expected to attract software developers working in such industries as automotive, railway systems, aerospace, banking, medical and energy. www.rsd-conference.co.uk
"In recent years, software has become so complex that ensuring safety and reliability is now a major challenge," said Richard Blackburn, Event Organiser. "Many systems now have millions of lines of code and will handle enormous amounts of data. Further to this, modern computer based systems will make millions of decisions every second and also have to be immune to interference and unpredictable events. This event will look at the MISRA coding standards, debug tools and software testing tools that are available to assist software programmers and engineers seeking to develop reliable and safety critical systems."
The Reliable Software Developers' Conference will be co-located with the 2014 UK Device Developers' Conference. Both will be a one-day conference to be run in Bristol, Cambridge, Northern England and Scotland on May 20th, May 20rd, June 3rd and June 5th.
Delegates attending either event will have the opportunity to sit in on technical presentations and ½ day technical workshops and a attend a vendor exhibition of tools and technology for the development of real-time and embedded systems. www.device-developer-conference.co.uk
"Advanced Debug Tools, Code Test, Version Control, Verification Tools and Software Standards have been a growing feature of recent conferences, so it made sense to create a dedicated event," said Richard. "There will be a lot expertise available to delegates, and the chance to meet a broad range of vendors of test technologies and tools, all under one roof."
Developed in collaboration with MISRA (Coding Standards), the Reliable Software Developers' Conference will feature a number of presentations in the morning, followed by a half-day technical workshop in the afternoon. The presentations will be free and open to delegates of both Conferences, but the half-day workshops will be subject to a charge of £75. Delegates will learn about developments in coding standards, test and verification tools and best practices and it will also be an opportunity to meet with many industry experts.
As we near the end of 2013, Acrosser would like to send you our warmest New Year’s wishes! We wish you and your family health, comfort, and prosperity this holiday season.
We also thank you for keeping up with our latest products, sending us inquiries, and choosing our products for your integrated solution! In 2014, we hope you will continue to choose Acrosser. We look forward to assisting you and your company in becoming the leader in your vertical market, and building a win-win relationship together.
And don’t forget about our star product, AES-HM76Z1FL, and its upcoming Product Testing Event in January! Remember to mark your calendar, since Acrosser is lending the product for free only to selected participants! Please stay tuned for more event information in early January!
With your continuous dedication and our commitment to quality, Acrosser is always motivated to make your embedded idea a reality!
acrosser Technology, a world-leading network communication designer and manufacturer, introduces two network appliances that deliver great performance and protection while simplifying your network. Each product has its own target market and appeals to a unique audience. Acrosser’s ANR-IB75N1/A/B serves as an integrated Unified Threat Management (UTM) device that covers all of your networking security needs. Featuring a 3rd generation Intel Core i processor, increased processing throughput is easily made. For integration with information security systems, the device also features functions such as anti-virus, anti-spam, fire wall, intrusion detection, VPN and web filtering, in order to provide complete solutions to meet the demands of various applications.
Key features of the ANR-IB75N1/A/B include:
‧Support for LGA1155 Intel® Core ™ i7/i5/i3 processor / Pentium CPU
‧Intel B75 Chipset
‧2 x DDRIII DIMM, up to 16GB memory.
‧2 x Intel 82576EB Fiber ports
‧8 x Intel 82574L 10/100/1000Mbps ports
‧Two pairs LAN ports support bypass feature (LAN 1/2 + LAN 3/4)
‧LAN bypass can be controlled by BIOS and Jumper
‧CF socket, 2 x 2.5” HDD, 1 x SATA III, 1 x SATA II
‧Console, VGA (pinhead), 2 x USB 3.0 (2 x external)
‧Support boot from LAN, console redirection
‧Equipped with 80 Plus Bronze PSU to decrease CO2 dissipation and protect our environment
‧LCM module to provide user-friendly interface
‧Standard 1U rackmount size
As for our micro box, the AND-D525N2 provides more possibilities for different applications due to its small form factor (234mm*165mm*44mm). Aside from its space-saving design, the other 3 major features of the AND-D525N2 are its high performance, low power consumption and competitive price. Please send us your inquiry via our website (http://www.acrosser.com/inquiry.html), or simply contact your nearest local sales location for further information.
Key features of the AND-D525N2 include:
‧Intel Atom D525 1.86GHz
‧Intel ICH8M Chipset
‧x DDR3 SO-DIMM up to 4GB
‧1 x 2.5 inch HDD Bay, 1 x CF socket
‧4 x GbE LAN, Realtek 8111E
‧2 x USB2.0
‧2 x SATA II
‧1 x Console
‧1 x MiniPCIe socket
Besides In addition to these two models, Acrosser also provides a wide selection of network security hardware. With more than 26 years of rich industry experience, Acrosser has the ODM/OEM ability to carry out customized solutions, shortening customers’ time-to-market and creating numerous profits.
However, the growing speed of Ethernet is quite considerable in China and we think it is a great opportunity for Chinese customers to upgrade their automation system under current market condition. Customers will just jump from old Fieldbus Technologies direct to Ethernet now and actually many of them are doing right now. The Chinese market is currently engaged in extensive upgrading and new infrastructure construction, and that will require a great deal of Ethernet applications.
In China, international brands are quite influential. This is also true for industrial networking protocols because most of them having their supporting companies. For example, the most popular Fieldbus protocols in China are PROFIBUS and CC-Link, which are developed and promoted by Siemens and Mitsubishi separately, which command large market share in China.
The demand for computing performance in the IPC market continues to become stronger as the IT field advances. Acrosser’s new AES-HM76Z1FL has been designed to meet these demands.
The F.I.T. Technology used to build this new product reflects its 3 major features: fanless design, Intel core i processor and ultra thin frame. The fanless design not only reduces the risk of exposure to air dust, but also prevents fan-malfunction. With a height of less than 0.8 inches, AES-HM76Z1FL’s slim design makes itself FIT into every application.
As its structure and output interface show, AES-HM76Z1FL provides a wide range of choices, from HDMI, VGA, USB, and audio to GPIO output interfaces that suit almost all industries. For wireless communication needs, the AES-HM76Z1FL has a mini-PCle expansion slot which provides support on both 3.5G and WiFi.
Another fascinating feature of the AES-HM76Z1FL is its ease of installation for expansions. By disassembling the bottom cover, expansions such as CF cards, memory upgrades and mini-PCIe can be easily complete without moving the heat sink. Moreover, Acrosser adopts 4 types of CPU (Intel Core i7/i3, Intel Celeron 1047UE/927UE) for AES-HM76Z1FL, allowing it to satisfy the scalable market demands of different applications.
In conclusion, the AES-HM76Z1FL is truly a well-rounded product designed for diverse applications. To promote our star product AES-HM76Z1FL, Acrosser will launch a product testing campaign starting in January, 2014. Acrosser will provide selected applications with the new AES-HM76Z1FL for one month, and it’s free! For more detailed information, please stay tuned for our press release, or leave us an inquiry on our website at www.acrosser.com!
To clarify the difference, let’s start by defining what I mean by services
and products. By providing services, automation
vendors engage with customers to perform labor and knowledge intensive tasks
that may include system design, engineering services, system integration,
preventative maintenance, remote operations, and other services. By providing
products, automation
vendors sell something to the customers, system integrators and engineering
firms that they will apply to accomplish automation tasks in manufacturing and
process environments.
Acrosser Technology Co. Ltd, a world-leading industrial and embedded computer designer and manufacturer, announces the new AES-HM76Z1FL embedded system. AES-HM76Z1FL, Acrosser’s latest industrial endeavor, is surely a FIT under multiple circumstances. Innovation can be seen in the new ultra slim fanless design, and its Intel core i CPU can surely cater for those seeking for high performance. Therefore, these 3 stunning elements can be condensed as "F.I.T. Technology." (Fanless, Intel core i, ultra Thin)
The heat sink from the fanless design provides AES-HM76Z1FL with great thermal performance, as well as increases the efficiency of usable space. The fanless design provides dustproof protection, and saving the product itself from fan malfunction. AES-HM76Z1FL has thin client dimensions, with a height of only 20 millimeters (272 mm x183 mm x 20 mm). This differs from most embedded appliances, which have a height of more than 50 millimeters.
The AES-HM76Z1FL embedded system uses the latest technology in scalable Intel Celeron and 3rd generation Core i7/i3 processors with a HM76 chipset. It features graphics via VGA and HDMI, DDR3 SO-DIMM support, complete I/O such as 4 x COM ports, 3 x USB3.0 ports, 8 x GPI and 8 x GPO, and storage via SATA III and Compact Flash. The AES-HM76Z1FL also supports communication by 2 x RJ-45 gigabit Ethernet ports, 1 x SIM slot, and 1 x MinPCIe expansion socket for a 3.5G or WiFi module.
Different from most industrial products that focus on application in one specific industry, the AES-HM76Z1FL provides solutions for various applications through the complete I/O interfaces. Applications of the AES-HM76Z1FL include: embedded system solutions, control systems, digital signage, POS, Kiosk, ATM, banking, home automation, and so on. It can support industrial automation and commercial bases under multiple circumstances.
Key features: ‧Fanless and ultra slim design ‧Support Intel Ivy Bridge CPU with HM76 chipset ‧2 x DDR3 SO-DIMM, up to 16GB ‧Support SATA III and CF storage ‧HDMI/VGA/USB/Audio/GPIO output interface ‧Serial ports by RS-232 and RS-422/485 ‧2 x GbE, 1 x SIM, and 1 x MiniPCIe(for3G/WiFi)
The need for improved performance is evidenced by continuous new product
introductions by processor manufacturers such as Intel, AMD, and others. Whether
it is better threading, more cores, better graphics, lower power, or higher
clock speeds, these companies continuously respond to demand for more and faster
computing across the board – whether on the desktop or in embedded
industrial systems. But replacing a complete subassembly or subsystem each
time a compelling new generation of technology becomes available is
time-consuming, expensive, and risky. And yet the need to leverage greater
levels of processor power and performance is an imperative. Separating the
processor module from the underlying carrier means that technology upgrade is
painless and affordable.
Beyond this, the modular COM Express approach allows users the flexibility to
deliver
An in-the-loop testing strategy is often used as itemized below and
summarized in Table 2:
1. Simulation test cases are derived and run on the model using
Model-In-the-Loop (MIL) testing.
2. Source code is verified by compiling and executing it on a host computer
using Software-In-the-Loop (SIL) testing.
3. Executable object code is verified by cross-compiling and executing it on
the embedded
processor or an instruction set simulator using Processor-In-the-Loop (PIL)
testing.
4. Hardware implementation is verified by synthesizing HDL and executing it
on an FPGA using FPGA-In-the-Loop (FIL) testing.
5. The embedded
system is verified and validated using the original plant model using
Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) testing. A requirements-based test approach with
test reuse for models and code is explicitly described in ARP4754A, DO-178C, and
DO-331, the model-based design supplement to DO-178C.
Introduction to model-based design
With model-based design, UAV engineers develop and simulate system models
comprised of hardware and software using block diagrams and state charts, as
shown in Figures 1 and 2. They then automatically generate, deploy, and verify
code on their embedded
systems. With textual computation languages and block diagram model tools,
one can generate code in C, C++, Verilog, and VHDL languages, enabling
implementation on MCU, DSP[], FPGA[], and ASIC hardware. This lets system,
software, and hardware engineers collaborate using the same tools and
environment to develop, implement, and verify systems. Given their auto-nomous
nature, UAV systems heavily employ closed-loop controls, making system modeling
and closed-loop simulation, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, a natural
fit. Testing actual UAV systems via ground-controlled flight tests is
expensive. A better way is to test early in the design process using desktop
simulation and lab test benches. With model-based design, verification starts as
soon as models are created and simulated for the first time. Tests cases based
on high-level requirements formalize simulation testing. A common verification
workflow is to reuse the simulation tests throughout model-based design as the
model transitions from system model to software model to source code to
executable object code using code generators and cross-compilers.
refer to:
http://mil-embedded.com/articles/transitioning-do-178c-arp4754a-uav-using-model-based-design/
John Browett, general manager of the CLPA, addresses what sort of impact the concept of Industry 4.0, and importantly the technologies that underpin it, will have on open industrial networks such as CC-Link.
One of the biggest implications of Industry 4.0 is that the demands placed on industrial networks will increase significantly.
We are facing a potentially exponential increase in the amount of data manufacturing systems will handle as vision systems, batch control, regulatory compliance, quality management and more will mean that the amount of data those networks have to handle is going to rocket.
As a result, we require sufficient bandwidth to allow for this increased use. At present, CC-Link IE is the only industrial automationnetworking technology that can provide a gigabit (1 Gbit/s) of bandwidth, which makes it exceptionally well placed to deal with the demands of Industry 4.0.
To find an example of how data intensive these solutions can be one only has to look at the needs of the leading Korean flat panel display manufacturers. Their tolerance for so-called ‘dead pixels’ is almost zero. To put this into perspective, a modern HD screen has 1080 vertical pixels horizontally and 1920 vertically. That’s 2,073,600 pixels on each unit. The manufacturing processes have to check each of these pixels, hundreds of times a day to ensure quality and control yield. It’s easy to see how quickly solutions like this will generate vast volumes of data.
As another example, the global automotive industry produces countless different combinations of each vehicle model at an incredible rate. It’s typical for an assembly plant to produce a complete in-vehicle at a rate of more than one per minute.
Producing these countless different versions at such a pace demands a huge amount of flexibility and a great deal of bandwidth to cope with both the production instructions and the quality control. Most models today have literally thousands of different model configurations depending on customer option choice. To complicate things further, it’s not uncommon for one assembly plant to produce a variety of models. Again, it’s easy to see how this puts huge demands on the networks that deliver this information to the assembly line systems that ensure the correct parts are fitted on the correct vehicle.
Embedded computer is an Intel Atom-based platform equipped with interfaces like SATA, Gigabit Ethernet, and PCI Express, and is suited for applications such as networking appliance Storage (NAS) and network security, Garman says. “Professional embedded developers working on commercial products will like the fact that the MinnowBoard is open hardware, and can be customized without having to sign any Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs),” he adds.
GizmoSphere has also entered the maker market with x86 process technology, including an industrial AMD Embedded G-Series APU capable of 52.8 GFLOPS at under 10 W on their Gizmo board. Part of the Gizmo Explorer Kit, the package “was designed to be flexible so that designers can customize the system according to their specific industrial development goals,” says Kerry Brown, Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Sage Electronic Engineering.
refer to:
http://embedded-computing.com/articles/diy-pushes-open-hardware-kindergarten-kickstarter/
The 4th generation Intel Core processor adds a number of features to its security portfolio, including McAfee’s Deep Defender technology, which resides between the memory and embedded system to perform real-time memory and CPU monitoring without impacting overall system performance.
As shown in the picture, additional security elements include multiple solutions. TenAsys also offers the INtime RTOS family, which can run as a stand-alone RTOS or alongside Microsoft Windows as shown. Both products enable users to partition a multicore platform to run mixed fanless embedded systems, making better use of the processor’s advanced features to provide highly integrated solutions. (Microsoft and TenAsys are both Associate members of the Alliance.)A factory is only as strong as its weakest link, so every Internet of Things client in the factory needs protection from viruses, malware, and hacking to prevent costly interruptions to factory operation.
The Contrac series continuous electric variable-speed actuators are the ideal solution for highly precise, continuous position regulation of injection control valves and reduce operating costs.
The intelligent field devices of Contrac actuator systems are based upon single board computer of conventional rotary and linear actuators. The name Contrac is an amalgamation of the words 'control' and 'actuator'. The actuator system sets itself apart with continuous positioning, precise control, long service intervals, overload protection in end positions without torque-dependent cut-off as well as its high protection class. The single board computer series comprises tried and tested mechanical components combined with microprocessor electronics and is compatible with fieldbuses as well as conventional control methods. The embedded systems devices offer diagnostic options and parameter settings are performed via a graphic user interface. The systems are self-monitoring and offer fail-safe back-up of technical data.
JR Automation, in business since 1980, is a rapidly expanding embedded system automation company with experience in creating a wide range of solutions, from stand-alone operator assist stations to highly automated assembly lines. Similarly, AWL is a leader in production industrial computer and experienced in the automotive and general industries with proficiency in laser welding. With JR and AWL’s standing as leading global system integrators, this strategic partnership will facilitate an environment rich with knowledge, ability, and possibility for our customers.
With the advancement of customer success at the helm, the strategies of JR Automation and AWL-Techniek have aligned, creating a partnership that will allow global customer bases to benefit from an equally global system integrator presence. JR will service and support customers in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and AWL will support customers in Europe and China.
Engineers working in the development of software for automotive embedded computers will have the opportunity to learn about the latest tools and techniques at Lauterbach's September Automotive Forum. However, much of the content will be based around the embedded computers development and validation of Autosar compliant code and the development of code for specific devices such as the BOSCH GTM, the AURIX and Freescale's Nexus based Qorivva solutions. Some of the presentations will also touch on the debugging of code on multicore systems. Delegates will also have the opportunity to discuss their specific challenges and requirements.
Today, microelectronics enable advanced safety features, new in-vehicle information and entertainment services, and greater energy efficiency. The electric/electronic share of value added to a state-of-the-art vehicle is already at 40 percent for traditional, internal combustion engine cars and jumps as high as 75 percent for electric or hybrid electric in-vehicles. This trend will accelerate as advances in semiconductor technology continue to drive down the cost of various electronic modules and subsystems. What's more on the global mobile market, let us just wait for the next trend arrive.
The initial goal in creating the Raspberry Pi credit card sized, Linux-based Single Board Computer (SBC) – targeted primarily at education – was to develop a response to the decline of students engaging with computer science and related engineering disciplines. Our desire was to reverse the trend of children becoming consumers rather than creators. The following case study follows the hardware development process from an early failure, initial prototypes, and through to the finished production design.
Over recent years there has been an increasing trend for children to be consumers of digital content rather than be future creators or engineers. This trend is driven by manufacturers looking to provide a seamless experience for target customers on a variety of electronic platforms, from gaming consoles to tablets and laptop computers.
As a result, access to raw I/O has become restricted. Similarly, any packaged provision of a programming environment is an anathema to the products’ commercial goals. The knowledge required to create “hello world” or flash an external LED has become simply too vast and the opportunity to learn vital skills such as structuring/codifying ideas and debugging has been largely subsumed by a click-and-shoot world. Any motivation to get under the hood and see how these products work is largely dissipated by the impenetrable barriers presented by these “locked down” systems.
The challenge in developing the Raspberry Pi credit card sized, Linux-based SBC was to break down these barriers and provide access at a sufficiently low cost so any fear of breaking the hardware was effectively removed. Having the hardware is only half the story; the provision of a rich set of programming environments such as Scratch and Python with libraries to allow control of peripheral hardware provides an engaging toolset for learning through experimentation and play in either the formal classroom or at the many school and independent maker (hackspace) clubs. The following case study shows how Raspberry Pi was developed from the ground up.
Although video over Wi-Fi applications have been available for quite some time, this is the industry’s first attempt to develop an interoperability specification for video distribution. It specifies provisioning and management for negotiating video capabilities between a source and sync device, standard video transcoding schemes built on H.264, transport and control schemes, packetization, and content protection based on High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) 2.0. Many of the device and in-vehicle discovery components of the protocol are built around the previously released Wi-Fi Direct specification. The WI-FI CERTIFIED Miracast specification enables car manufacturers to wirelessly mirror smartphone screens to in-dash LCDs, creating an immediately personalized interface in the dashboard. Additionally, this in-vehicle standards-based technology allows consumers to safely control smartphones through the dashboard so they can answer calls and check text messages.
ANR-IB75N1/A/B is a rackmount platform (440x372x44mm) which can be installed in the 19” rack. It can carry a 3rd generation Intel Core i i3, i5, i7, or Pentium processors to deliver higher efficiency, increased processing throughput, and improved performance on applications. ANR-IB75N1/A/B also comes equipped with a maximum 16GB DDR3 memory and optional 2 or 4 x SFP and 8 x LAN ports. System Integrators can select different configurations for their network appliances. It offers the best P/P ratio in applications like the UTM, IDS/IPS, VPN, Firewall, Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam, RSA gateway, QoS, streaming.
ANR-IB75N1/A/B uses 80 Plus PSU which reduces energy consumption and helps protect the environment. The software and hardware configurable LAN bypass feature also prevents communication breaks due to power loss or system hang-ups. In addition to Intel long life support chipsets, ANR-IB75N1/A/B is designed with a long-term support of 5 years.
When it comes to software development, the old adage is best spun in a slightly different way: better "early" than never. Accordingly, static analysis can help those developing in Java to stay one step ahead of potential coding problems.
Today’s software development teams are under immense pressure; the market demands high-quality, secure releases at a constantly increasing pace while security threats become more and more sophisticated. Considering the high cost of product failures and security breaches, it is more important than ever to address these risks throughout the software development process. Potential problems need to be spotted early to prevent release delays or, worse, post-release failures.Fortunately, there are numerous tools to help developers manage these risks, helping to identify potential problems early in the development phase when issues are less disruptive and easier to fix. They are readily accessible to developers and easy to use within many development environments. This applies to developers programming in any language; however, we focus on Java in this discussion (see Sidebar 1).
Sidebar 1: Though Java’s mature ecosystem, numerous IDEs, and abundance of reference materials ease Java application development, they can also bestow a false sense of security upon developers, who should be watchful to mitigate Java’s weaknesses.
Static analysis helps mitigate risk
When considering static analysis tools for Java or otherwise, it is important to understand what these tools are. The term “static analysis” refers to the approach of analyzing a program without executing it. As we’ll see in the next section, static analysis tools can be used to produce reports on anything from coding standard violations to specific errors or vulnerabilities. Simply put, static analysis tools analyze source code to find information useful for managing risk.
One benefit of static analysis is that it can be performed early in the development cycle, often before the application will even execute. It is commonly integrated into an automated build, so that there is virtually no overhead to running frequent analyses. By integrating static analysis into the inner development loop, users maximize the value they get from such tools.
When used in conjunction with a well-designed development process, static analysis tools provide crucial visibility into the state of the software. This enables development teams to understand the level of risk in their code and where the risk resides so they can take action to mitigate or remove it entirely (Table 1). Individual tools generally focus on specific problems faced by software development teams, and teams often use a combination of these tools to get a comprehensive view of their development effort.
Table 1: Static analysis tools typically find specific types of issues, with each type representing a different class of risk and requiring a different type of action.
Developers have traditionally used static analysis tools via a simple IDE integration or as stand-alone tools. While the tools add significant value to the development effort, the proliferation of tools has created efficiency problems as developers spend more and more time using and maintaining different tools and sifting through more and more results. To wisely manage development resources, teams must be able to effectively manage, filter, and prioritize all those issues.
To address these problems, development testing platforms have emerged to unify and manage all of this static analysis information in one place, simplifying the user experience and increasing visibility and efficiency at larger scales while providing relevant access controls and reporting. Development testing platforms are even starting to blur the line between static analysis and other types of analysis by utilizing – during the static analysis process – artifacts generated during earlier program runs. For example, these platforms can use code coverage information from test runs during static analysis to effectively identify missing test cases automatically. The traditional approach to this problem requires significant manual effort based on simple coverage thresholds. By leveraging data from different sources, these platforms are able to significantly reduce the manual effort and time required to accomplish this with other methods.
Selecting static analysis tools for Java
The most popular, free, static analysis tools for Java are probably Checkstyle, PMD, and FindBugs. While they all fall under the “static analysis” umbrella, their strengths are so sufficiently different that many consider the tools to be complementary rather than alternatives.
Checkstyle
Checkstyle is billed as “a development tool to help programmers write Java code that adheres to a coding standard[1],” although it does not strictly limit itself to coding standard enforcement. It provides a documented API for users to define their own custom checks. Typical coding standards utilize basic rules to make code more readable and reduce the likelihood that future code changes will introduce bugs. Standards tend to define conventions about formatting (white space, bracketing, naming, commenting, and so on), inheritance, and visibility. When adequately enforced, well-designed coding standards can help developers reduce risk. Enforcement can be difficult, though, since coding standards generate a lot of violations and there can be significant pressure to ignore noisy rules. With legacy code, this can make enforcing new coding standards unfeasible. While most of the issues identified by Checkstyle do not affect code correctness, robustness, or performance, there is real value in helping developers quickly understand code written by others. It is not always obvious how to quantify the risk represented by these violations and it is problematic to measure risk directly from violation counts, but changes in those counts can be a reasonable proxy for changes in risk.
PMD
PMD is described as “…a source code analyzer. It finds unused variables, empty catch blocks, unnecessary object creation, and so forth[2].” It, too, is evolving and the current checks focus mainly on syntactic oddities that might belie developer mistakes, such as overcomplicated expressions, empty blocks, unused variables, parameters, and class members. It also has a popular module to identify duplicated code. Because it is generally reporting “suspicious code” as opposed to specific coding errors or standards violations, the user will need to carefully select the checks enabled for everyday use. Because enforced rules are selected by the user, this tool can be useful for both legacy and greenfield projects, and it is often easy to correlate these counts with risk. Unfortunately, it might not be obvious whether reported issues should be considered defects or maintenance concerns.
FindBugs
FindBugs is probably the most popular of these tools. It looks for actual bugs in the code, as well as suspicious code and standards violations. Because of the wide range of reported issues, it is important to use a configuration that includes the most relevant checks for the project. This is especially true for legacy projects, as it’s easier to keep new projects clean from the beginning. Like PMD, any team can benefit from using FindBugs and associating issue counts to risk can be straightforward.
Commercial static analysis tools show similar diversity, identifying everything from standards violations to actual defects and security vulnerabilities. To illustrate how a commercial tool might compare to a free tool, I analyzed version 1.496 of the Jenkins job management system (www.jenkins-ci.org) using a proprietary static analysis solution and version 2.0.1 of FindBugs, with all checks enabled. On this code base, 852 unique issues were identified – with only 28 issues identified by both products. The proprietary solution found 197 unique issues, with 188 of those coming from high-impact categories (security and concurrency bugs, resource leaks, and unhandled exceptions like null dereferences). FindBugs found 627 unique issues, with 29 coming from those high-impact categories. In short, each of the tools found significant high-impact issues missed by the others, so using a proprietary solution or FindBugs alone will leave significant risk undetected.
Development testing – Tying it all together
Static analysis tools are a powerful ally in the software development effort for Java developers, as these tools enable developers to gain insight into risk throughout the software development life cycle. They are typically easy to automate, enabling users to spend their time fixing problems rather than running the tools.
When it comes to managing risk, more information is generally better – as long as that information illuminates actual sources of risk that developers care about. When deciding which tools to adopt, remember to consider not just the types of issues that analysis tools identify, but how those tools can work together to provide additional value. Also, be sure to configure them appropriately so that the number of issues doesn’t overwhelm your users.
Modern development testing platforms take testing tools to another level by unifying the data in one place, simplifying the user experience, and creating opportunities to provide even more value.
A new All-in-OneGaming Board, the AMB-A55EG1. AMB-A55EG1 features AMD Embedded G-Series T56N 1.65GHz dual-core APU, two DDR3-1333 SO-DIMM, which provides great computing and graphic performance is suitable for casino gaming and amusement applications. It is designed to comply with the most gaming regulations including GLI, BMM, and Comma 6A. AMB-A55EG1 is specifically designed to be a cost competitive solution for the entry-level gaming market.
AMB-A55EG1 utilizes the functions of an X86 platform, 72-pin Gaming I/O interface, intrusion detection and also various security options, and a complete line of Application Programming Interfaces to create smoother gaming development.
Key features of AMB-A55EG1:
● AMD Embedded G-Series T56N 1.65GHz dual-core APU
● 2 DDR3 SO-DIMM slot support to max 8GB
● 1 VGA port + 1 HDMI port
● 72-pin golden finger interface
● 256KB battery back-up SRAM with battery low monitor
● 2 ccTalk ports
● 1 Gigabit Ethernet port
● 6 USB ports
● 2 SATA ports + 1 mSATA port
● 2 Intrusion Detection door switches
● Hardware security by FPGA + PIC
● 5.1 channels with 2 channel amplifier (6W x 2)
Acrosser AMB-A55EG1 is powered by AMD low power G-Series T56N dual core platform that uses an AMD Radeon HD 6320 graphic controller. The DirectX® 11 support lets you enjoy awesome graphics performance, stunning 3D visual effects and dynamic interactivity. Discrete-level GPU with OpenGL 4.0 and OpenCL™ 1.1 support device provides the tools to build the designs of tomorrow, today.
In conclusion, AMB-A55EG1 bridges Acrosser’s innovated gaming solutions and AMD Embedded G-Series APU to bring the optimum combination of computing power, graphic performance, and gaming features. Acrosser supports all gaming products in Windows XP Pro, XP embedded and mainstream Linux operation system with complete software development kit (SDK). In addition, Acrosser’s gaming platforms have a minimum 5-year availability to fulfill the demand of long term supply in gaming industry.
For more information on AMB-A55EG1 or any other products, please contact your local Acrosser sales channel or logon to our website: www.acrosser.com
This seems to be the year for milestone events in the EDA industry, though calculations show some of the “anniversary” designations to be premature. Nevertheless, the first big EDA event of the year is the Design and Verification Conference (DVCon), held in San Jose, CA every February. DVCon celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, after a transformation from HDLcon in 2003, which followed the earlier union of theVHDLInternational User’s Forum and InternationalVerilogHDL Conference. Those predecessor conferences trace their origins back 25 years and 20 years, respectively.
After DVCon, EDA marketers quickly turn to preparations for the JuneDesign Automation Conference(DAC), perhaps with a warm-up at Design, Automation, andTestin Europe (DATE) in March. DAC is the big show, however, and this year marks the 50th such event (and its 49th anniversary). Phil Kaufman Award winner Pat Pistilli received the EDA industry’s’ highest honor for his pioneer work in creating DAC, which grew from his amusingly-named Society to Help Avoid Redundant Effort (SHARE) conference in 1964.
Milestones inevitably lead to some reflection, but also provide an opportunity to look forward to what the future will bring. In our 2nd annual EDA Digest Resource Guide, we will be asking EDA companies to share what they see as the biggest challenges facing the industry in the next five years, and how the industry will change to meet those challenges. Will future innovations be able to match the impact of the greatest past developments in EDA, which enabled the advances in electronics that we benefit from today?
Delivering excellent performance comparable to high-end desktop systems, it also features excellent 2D and 3D graphics capabilities as well as hardware video decoding.
MicroMax The M-Max 810 PR/MS3 high-performance rugged industrial computer provides reliable operation in tough environments including transportation(ground, rail, air and marine), mining and processing applications.
MicroMax announced today it is exhibiting its M-Max 810 PR/MS3, an ATR-based system for avionics, at Embedded World 2013 in Nuremberg.
Sam Abarbanel, President of MicroMax, stated “Our newest embedded ddition to the M-Max line of rugged computers demonstrates MicroMax’s excellence at building tough machines for harsh environments. Our unique fully sealed fanless ATRenclosure is especially designed to embedded form-factor boards. We proudly demonstrate this system at Embedded World as yet another example of our quality engineering and manufacturing abilities.”
refer to: http://embedded-computing.com/news/micromax-exhibited-embedded-world-in-nuremburg/#at_pco=cfd-1.0
Chopper stabilization is the only way to achieve stability over the operating temperature range for a Hall effect sensor
Truth:Many designers believe the misconception that non-chopper-stabilized parts are not stable. In reality, one of the most important factors contributing to the sensor’s stability starts with the Hall element used by the manufacturer.
Many sensors today utilize single and embedded dual Hall effect elements, which are susceptible to wide ranges of magnetic performance due topackagingstresses. To mitigate these stresses, most manufacturers use an averaging process (chopper stabilization) to provide a more stable operation over embedded voltage and temperature.
Another way to realize stability is to start with a more stable Hall effect element. A quad Hall element is less susceptible to stress-induced error because voltage is measured in four directions, cancelling the offsets in each element to provide stable operation over the operating temperature range. A quad Hall element offers more stable sensor performance, requiring less averaging correction than what chopper stabilization provides. In addition, Hall sensors utilizing this technology are not larger than their single or dual Hall element counterparts using chopper stabilization.
Virtualization for embedded systems has many implementations in which two or more operating systems coexist to gain the benefits of each. One approach puts Microsoft Windows and a Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) together.
Much is being said about virtualization these days in the softwareworld. Simply stated, virtualization is about getting multiple OSs to run on the same computing platform at the same time. Virtualization has been cited as a key technology for getting the most performance out of the newest multicore processors. But just as not all computing applications are the same, not all virtualization approaches are appropriate for all applications.
Embedded systems have a key requirement that doesn’t normally apply to office and server computers: the need for deterministic response to real-time events. To support the requirement for determinism, embedded applications typically use RTOSs. Embedded applications also employ general-purpose OSs to handle operator interfaces, databases, and general-purpose computing tasks.
In the past, because OSs couldn’t successfully co-reside on computing platforms, system developers employed multiple processing platforms using one or more to support real-time functions and others to handle general-purpose processing. System designers that can combine both types of processing on the same platform can save costs by eliminating redundant computing hardware. The advent of multicore processors supports this premise because it is possible to dedicate processor cores to different computing environments; however, the software issues posed by consolidating such environments require special consideration. Combining real-time and general-purpose operating environments on the same platform (Figure 1) places some stringent requirements on how virtualization is implemented.
Figure 1: Embedded virtualization combines real-time and general-purpose processing on a single platform.
Paravirtualization
A common approach to supporting multiple OSs, on an embedded platform is to employ operating software called a hypervisor that boots first on power-up, then loads the OSs. The hypervisor is in charge of the platform and handles the memory partitioning and other processor resources between the OS environments. If the CPU doesn’t support Intel’s VT-x hardware extensions for virtualization, modifications must be made to the guest OSs, so they know that they’re supported by a hypervisor. They must carry out their own address translation to avoid conflict with memory belonging to other OSs.
A situation such as this, where the guest OS is aware that it is a guest, is called paravirtualization. Though the scheme might work, the main downside to this approach is that developers can’t use a standard out-of-the-box OS as a guest. This is the virtualization approach that the Xen hypervisor takes. Modifying a third-party OS can lead to major support headaches, and the cost of supporting such a product over its long-term life cycle through upgrades and updates is significant.
Server virtualization
To minimize the changes that need to be made to a guest OS so that it can run in a virtual environment, developers can build a hypervisor that emulates the entire machine, providing each guest OS with what it thinks is exclusive access to the processor platform. This approach is being used today on multicore processor systems to run multiple instances of the same application.
While this approach might be satisfactory for server applications that are optimized to keep the processors busy, it is unacceptable for embedded applications that need to ensure the fastest possible response to external events. Currently available software products of this type are not optimized for Intel Architecture processors or a particular class of applications. Every time a new OS configuration needs to be supported, significant work is required to tailor the hypervisor to work with the selected OSs.
Hardware-aided embedded virtualization
The best type of virtualization for embedded applications involves hardware assist features provided by the processor and platform architecture, which the hypervisor uses to ensure that the system meets the performance goals of the applications to be supported. With embedded virtualization, parts of the machine are emulated to provide a standard environment for multiple OSs, and parts of the system are not emulated to ensure that system performance goals are met. Basic functions such as the PCI bus interface and CMOS registers are emulated, but the I/O interfaces that are necessary for real-time responsiveness are assigned for exclusive use by the guest RTOS.
The embedded hypervisor must partition the machine to separate resources for exclusive use by each OS. TenAsys’ eVM for Windows accomplishes this by configuring the Microsoft Windows bootloader to limit the number of hardware threads and memory that it uses. Windows boots first and runs normally with the remaining resources allocated to it. Because it is running on the bare machine rather than an emulating software layer, Windows tasks execute with maximum performance.
Next, the RTOS and real-time application software are loaded into memory allocated for the real-time portion of the application, then the RTOS is booted from a Windows driver and begins executing application code in its isolated hardware environment. With access to its own performance-critical I/O devices, the real-time application will run completely independently of Windows. Special drivers are provided so that the real-time environment can use Windows resources. When Windows and real-time tasks need to communicate or the real-time application needs to use Windows resources, the two environments communicate via emulated communications links in shared memory such as virtual Ethernet and serial links (see Figure 2). Real-time I/O devices are configured via a generic device driver on the Windows side, and real-time interrupts are configured to be delivered to the virtual machine manager and not to Windows.
Figure 2: Windows and real-time tasks communicate via virtual communication channels between OSs.
Leveraging Intel Architecture
Embedded system developers have made huge investments in intellectual property that they would like to protect. Besides costing money and time to re-implement, changing application code to run in new OS environments can inject errors into applications or cause them to become unreliable.
Efficient embedded virtualization requires hardware support so that a variety of OSs can run without modification. By using the VT-x hardware extensions that Intel provides in its new CPUs and chipsets, an efficient execution platform can be delivered without requiring the guest OS or its drivers to be modified or the system disk to be repartitioned.
New hardware support under development at Intel will enable embedded virtualization with other general-purpose OSs. In addition, Intel is currently developing support for virtualizing the CPU’s paging mechanism and interrupt controller. With the new hardware features, guest OSs can be started and stopped independently, and Windows can be rebooted without needing to reboot the entire platform.
Embedded virtualization saves costs
In the embedded market, developers have been accustomed to tailoring operating environments with additional work and expense using multiple processing platforms to guarantee real-time system responsiveness. But the future can be different. Using eVM for Windows to enable system consolidation without requiring software customization can avoid solutions that are not adaptable while enabling solutions that can be implemented quickly at reasonable cost.
Stephen covers key system software issues that embedded systems developers must address, including next-generation SoCs that contain multiple cores and methodologies to properly allocate the applications between several types of operating systems.
Embedded developers face several decisions when developing medical embedded devices, from selecting the best system software for optimal application performance, to understanding the interactions and limitations between the software operating system and target hardware. Should the software engineer use a small micro-kernel,Real-Time Operating System (RTOS), or a General Purpose OS (GPOS) such as Android or Linux? Other considerations include the physical size of the system for portability and functionality requirements, including faster performance, power consumption, data protection, and display (user interface) technology. And FDA certification and industry standards that affect embedded software selection come into the mix as well.
Modern medical devices are evolving at a record clip. From portable wireless units for patients to use at home to larger more complex devices used by healthcare professionals at a facility, there’s no question we are at the forefront of developing new ways to empower patients and medical professionals alike. How do we make sure the system software that controls these devices does exactly as planned with little to no risk of harming the patient?
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