Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli

Bio: Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli is an academic researcher from University of California, Berkeley. The author has contributed to research in topics: Logic synthesis & Finite-state machine. The author has an hindex of 99, co-authored 934 publications receiving 45201 citations. Previous affiliations of Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli include National University of Singapore & Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Methodology for the Design of Analog Integrated Interfaces Using Contracts

Abstract: The design of complex analog interfaces would largely benefit from model-based development and compositional methods to improve the quality of its final result However, analog circuit behaviors are so tightly intertwined with their environment that: 1) abstractions needed for model-based design are often not accurate, thus making it difficult to achieve reliable system performance estimations, and 2) generic, design-independent interfaces that are needed to develop compositional techniques are very difficult to define In this paper, we propose a platform-based design methodology that uses analog contracts to develop reliable abstractions and design-independent interfaces A contract explicitly handles pairs of properties, representing the assumptions on the environment and the promises of a component under these assumptions Horizontal contracts encode composition rules that constrain how library elements should be “legally” used Vertical contracts define under which conditions an aggregation of components satisfies the requirements posed at a higher level of abstraction If both sets of contracts are satisfied, we can produce implementations by composition and refinement that are correct by construction We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach on the design of an ultra-wide band receiver used in an Intelligent Tire system, an on-vehicle wireless sensor network for active safety applications

Characterization, Analysis, and Recommendations for Exploiting the Opportunities of Cyber-Physical Systems

Abstract: Leveraging on a comprehensive analysis of cyber-physical systems (CPSs) in Europe, this chapter presents overall findings focusing on (1) a characterization of CPS, (2) opportunities and challenges ...

Classification, Customization, and Characterization: Using MILP for Task Allocation and Scheduling

Abstract: Task allocation and scheduling for heterogeneous multicore platforms must be automated for such platforms to be successful. Techniques such as Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) provide the ability to easily customize the allocation and scheduling problem to application or platform-specific peculiarities. The representation of the core problem in a MILP form has a large impact on the solution time required. In this paper, we investigate a variety of such representations and propose a taxonomy for them. A promising representation is chosen with extensive computational characterization. The MILP formulation is customized for a multimedia case study involving the deployment of a Motion JPEG encoder application onto a Xilinx Virtex II Pro FPGA platform. We demonstrate that our approach can produce solutions that are competitive with manual designs.

Scheduling the FlexRay bus using optimization techniques

Abstract: FlexRay is a new communication protocol for automotive systems, providing support for transmission of periodic messages in static segments and priority-based scheduling of event-triggered messages in dynamic segments. The design of a FlexRay schedule is not an easy task because of protocol constraints and demands for extensibility and flexibility. We study the problem of FlexRay bus scheduling from the perspective of the application designer, interested in optimizing the performance of application related timing metrics or extensibility. We provide solutions for different task scheduling policies on existing industry standards based on a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) framework.

A survey of techniques for formal verification of combinational circuits

Abstract: With the increase in the complexity of present day systems, proving the correctness of a design has become a major concern. Simulation based methodologies are generally inadequate to validate the correctness of a design with a reasonable confidence. More and more designers are moving towards formal methods to guarantee the correctness of their designs. The authors survey some state-of-the-art techniques used to perform automatic verification of combinational circuits. They classify the current approaches for combinational verification into two categories: functional and structural. The functional methods consist of representing a circuit as a canonical decision diagram. Two circuits are equivalent if and only if their decision diagrams are equal. The structural methods consist of identifying related nodes in the circuit and using them to simplify the problem of verification. They briefly describe some of the methods in both the categories and discuss their merits and drawbacks.

Gradient-based learning applied to document recognition

Abstract: Multilayer neural networks trained with the back-propagation algorithm constitute the best example of a successful gradient based learning technique. Given an appropriate network architecture, gradient-based learning algorithms can be used to synthesize a complex decision surface that can classify high-dimensional patterns, such as handwritten characters, with minimal preprocessing. This paper reviews various methods applied to handwritten character recognition and compares them on a standard handwritten digit recognition task. Convolutional neural networks, which are specifically designed to deal with the variability of 2D shapes, are shown to outperform all other techniques. Real-life document recognition systems are composed of multiple modules including field extraction, segmentation recognition, and language modeling. A new learning paradigm, called graph transformer networks (GTN), allows such multimodule systems to be trained globally using gradient-based methods so as to minimize an overall performance measure. Two systems for online handwriting recognition are described. Experiments demonstrate the advantage of global training, and the flexibility of graph transformer networks. A graph transformer network for reading a bank cheque is also described. It uses convolutional neural network character recognizers combined with global training techniques to provide record accuracy on business and personal cheques. It is deployed commercially and reads several million cheques per day.

Differential Evolution – A Simple and Efficient Heuristic for Global Optimization over Continuous Spaces

Abstract: A new heuristic approach for minimizing possibly nonlinear and non-differentiable continuous space functions is presented. By means of an extensive testbed it is demonstrated that the new method converges faster and with more certainty than many other acclaimed global optimization methods. The new method requires few control variables, is robust, easy to use, and lends itself very well to parallel computation.

Phd by thesis

Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

Graph-Based Algorithms for Boolean Function Manipulation

Abstract: In this paper we present a new data structure for representing Boolean functions and an associated set of manipulation algorithms. Functions are represented by directed, acyclic graphs in a manner similar to the representations introduced by Lee [1] and Akers [2], but with further restrictions on the ordering of decision variables in the graph. Although a function requires, in the worst case, a graph of size exponential in the number of arguments, many of the functions encountered in typical applications have a more reasonable representation. Our algorithms have time complexity proportional to the sizes of the graphs being operated on, and hence are quite efficient as long as the graphs do not grow too large. We present experimental results from applying these algorithms to problems in logic design verification that demonstrate the practicality of our approach.

Principles of Model Checking

Abstract: Our growing dependence on increasingly complex computer and software systems necessitates the development of formalisms, techniques, and tools for assessing functional properties of these systems. One such technique that has emerged in the last twenty years is model checking, which systematically (and automatically) checks whether a model of a given system satisfies a desired property such as deadlock freedom, invariants, and request-response properties. This automated technique for verification and debugging has developed into a mature and widely used approach with many applications. Principles of Model Checking offers a comprehensive introduction to model checking that is not only a text suitable for classroom use but also a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners in the field. The book begins with the basic principles for modeling concurrent and communicating systems, introduces different classes of properties (including safety and liveness), presents the notion of fairness, and provides automata-based algorithms for these properties. It introduces the temporal logics LTL and CTL, compares them, and covers algorithms for verifying these logics, discussing real-time systems as well as systems subject to random phenomena. Separate chapters treat such efficiency-improving techniques as abstraction and symbolic manipulation. The book includes an extensive set of examples (most of which run through several chapters) and a complete set of basic results accompanied by detailed proofs. Each chapter concludes with a summary, bibliographic notes, and an extensive list of exercises of both practical and theoretical nature.