Showing papers on "Systems architecture published in 2015"

PX4: A node-based multithreaded open source robotics framework for deeply embedded platforms

Abstract: We present a novel, deeply embedded robotics middleware and programming environment. It uses a multithreaded, publish-subscribe design pattern and provides a Unix-like software interface for micro controller applications. We improve over the state of the art in deeply embedded open source systems by providing a modular and standards-oriented platform. Our system architecture is centered around a publish-subscribe object request broker on top of a POSIX application programming interface. This allows to reuse common Unix knowledge and experience, including a bash-like shell. We demonstrate with a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) use case that the system modularity is well suited for novel and experimental vehicle platforms. We also show how the system architecture allows a direct interface to ROS and to run individual processes either as native ROS nodes on Linux or nodes on the micro controller, maximizing interoperability. Our microcontroller-based execution environment has substantially lower latency and better hardware connectivity than a typical Robotics Linux system and is therefore well suited for fast, high rate control tasks.

System architecture and key technologies for 5G heterogeneous cloud radio access networks

Abstract: Compared with fourth generation cellular systems, fifth generation wireless communication systems are anticipated to provide spectral and energy efficiency growth by a factor of at least 10, and the area throughput growth by a factor of at least 25. To achieve these goals, a H-CRAN is presented in this article as the advanced wireless access network paradigm, where cloud computing is used to fulfill the centralized large-scale cooperative processing for suppressing co-channel interferences. The state-of-the-art research achievements in the areas of system architecture and key technologies for H-CRANs are surveyed. Particularly, Node C as a new communication entity is defined to converge the existing ancestral base stations and act as the base band unit pool to manage all accessed remote radio heads. Also, the software-defined H-CRAN system architecture is presented to be compatible with software-defined networks. The principles, performance gains, and open issues of key technologies, including adaptive large-scale cooperative spatial signal processing, cooperative radio resource management, network function virtualization, and self-organization, are summarized. The major challenges in terms of fronthaul constrained resource allocation optimization and energy harvesting that may affect the promotion of H-CRANs are discussed as well.

The Lean Theorem Prover (System Description)

Abstract: Lean is a new open source theorem prover being developed at Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University, with a small trusted kernel based on dependent type theory. It aims to bridge the gap between interactive and automated theorem proving, by situating automated tools and methods in a framework that supports user interaction and the construction of fully specified axiomatic proofs. Lean is an ongoing and long-term effort, but it already provides many useful components, integrated development environments, and a rich API which can be used to embed it into other systems. It is currently being used to formalize category theory, homotopy type theory, and abstract algebra. We describe the project goals, system architecture, and main features, and we discuss applications and continuing work.

System Architecture: Strategy and Product Development for Complex Systems

Abstract: Architecture and Function of Complex Systems System architecture is the study of early decision making in complex systems. This text teaches how to capture experience and analysis about early system decisions, and how to choose architectures that meet stakeholder needs, integrate easily, and evolve flexibly. With case studies written by leading practitioners, from hybrid cars to communications networks to aircraft, this text showcases the science and art of system architecture.

An Autonomous Multi-UAV System for Search and Rescue

Abstract: This paper proposes and evaluates a modular architecture of an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system for search and rescue missions. Multiple multicopters are coordinated using a distributed control system. The system is implemented in the Robot Operating System (ROS) and is capable of providing a real-time video stream from a UAV to one or more base stations using a wireless communications infrastructure. The system supports a heterogeneous set of UAVs and camera sensors. If necessary, an operator can interfere and reduce the autonomy. The system has been tested in an outdoor mission serving as a proof of concept. Some insights from these tests are described in the paper.

SDIoT: a software defined based internet of things framework

Abstract: The internet of things (IoT) represent the current and future state of the Internet. The large number of things (objects), which are connected to the Internet, produce a huge amount of data that needs a lot of effort and processing operations to transfer it to useful information. Moreover, the organization and control of this large volume of data requires novel ideas in the design and management of the IoT network to accelerate and enhance its performance. The software defined systems is a new paradigm that appeared recently to hide all complexity in traditional system architecture by abstracting all the controls and management operations from the underling devices (things in the IoT) and setting them inside a middleware layer, a software layer. In this work, a comprehensive software defined based framework model is proposed to simplify the IoT management process and provide a vital solution for the challenges in the traditional IoT architecture to forward, store, and secure the produced data from the IoT objects by integrating the software defined network, software defined storage, and software defined security into one software defined based control model.

Software defined mobile networks: concept, survey, and research directions

Abstract: This article provides a brief overview on the current development of software-defined mobile networks (SDMNs). Software defined networking is seen as a promising technology to manage the complexity in communication networks. The need for SDMN comes from the complexity of network management in 5G mobile networks and beyond, driven by increasing mobile traffic demand, heterogeneous wireless environments, and diverse service requirements. The need is strong to introduce new radio network architecture by taking advantage of software oriented design, the separation of the data and control planes, and network virtualization to manage complexity and offer flexibility in 5G networks. Clearly, software oriented design in mobile networks will be fundamentally different from SDN for the Internet, because mobile networks deal with the wireless access problem in complex radio environments, while the Internet mainly addresses the packet forwarding problem. Specific requirements in mobile networks shape the development of SDMN. In this article we present the needs and requirements of SDMN, with particular focus on the software-defined design for radio access networks. We analyze the fundamental problems in radio access networks that call for SDN design and present an SDMN concept. We give a brief overview on current solutions for SDMN and standardization activities. We argue that although SDN design is currently focusing on mobile core networks, extending SDN to radio access networks would naturally be the next step. We identify several research directions on SDN for radio access networks and expect more fundamental studies to release the full potential of software-defined 5G networks.

Real-Time Big Data Analytical Architecture for Remote Sensing Application

Abstract: The assets of remote senses digital world daily generate massive volume of real-time data (mainly referred to the term “Big Data”), where insight information has a potential significance if collected and aggregated effectively. In today’s era, there is a great deal added to real-time remote sensing Big Data than it seems at first, and extracting the useful information in an efficient manner leads a system toward a major computational challenges, such as to analyze, aggregate, and store, where data are remotely collected. Keeping in view the above mentioned factors, there is a need for designing a system architecture that welcomes both real-time, as well as offline data processing. Therefore, in this paper, we propose real-time Big Data analytical architecture for remote sensing satellite application. The proposed architecture comprises three main units, such as 1) remote sensing Big Data acquisition unit (RSDU); 2) data processing unit (DPU); and 3) data analysis decision unit (DADU). First, RSDU acquires data from the satellite and sends this data to the Base Station, where initial processing takes place. Second, DPU plays a vital role in architecture for efficient processing of real-time Big Data by providing filtration, load balancing, and parallel processing. Third, DADU is the upper layer unit of the proposed architecture, which is responsible for compilation, storage of the results, and generation of decision based on the results received from DPU. The proposed architecture has the capability of dividing, load balancing, and parallel processing of only useful data. Thus, it results in efficiently analyzing real-time remote sensing Big Data using earth observatory system. Furthermore, the proposed architecture has the capability of storing incoming raw data to perform offline analysis on largely stored dumps, when required. Finally, a detailed analysis of remotely sensed earth observatory Big Data for land and sea area are provided using Hadoop. In addition, various algorithms are proposed for each level of RSDU, DPU, and DADU to detect land as well as sea area to elaborate the working of an architecture.

Cyber-Physical Systems: From Theory to Practice

Abstract: Although comprehensive knowledge of cyber-physical systems (CPS) is becoming a must for researchers, practitioners, system designers, policy makers, system managers, and administrators, there has been a need for a comprehensive and up-to-date source of research and information on cyber-physical systems. This book fills that need.Cyber-Physical Systems: From Theory to Practice provides state-of-the-art research results and reports on emerging trends related to the science, technology, and engineering of CPS, including system architecture, development, modeling, simulation, security, privacy, trust, and energy efficiency. It presents the research results of esteemed professionals on cutting-edge advances in cyber-physical systems that include communications, computing, and control.The book consists of eight sections, each containing chapters contributed by leading experts in the field. Each section covers a different area that impacts the design, modeling, and evaluation of CPS, including: Control systems Modeling and design Communications and signal processing Mobility issues Architecture Security issues Sensors and applications Computing issues The books coverage includes cyber-physical system architecture, mobile cyber-physical systems, cyber-physical systems for intelligent (road/air) transportation, and cyber-physical system applications and standardization.With the CPS field advancing so rapidly, this book is an ideal reference to help researchers, system designers, and practitioners manufacture devices that are compatible with CPS standards. Presenting numerous examples that illustrate practical applications derived from theory, the book is also suitable for use as a textbook in upper undergraduate and graduate-level university courses.

A case study in locating the architectural roots of technical debt

Abstract: Our recent research has shown that, in large-scale software systems, defective files seldom exist alone. They are usually architecturally connected, and their architectural structures exhibit significant design flaws which propagate bugginess among files. We call these flawed structures the architecture roots, a type of technical debt that incurs high maintenance penalties. Removing the architecture roots of bugginess requires refactoring, but the benefits of refactoring have historically been difficult for architects to quantify or justify. In this paper, we present a case study of identifying and quantifying such architecture debts in a large-scale industrial software project. Our approach is to model and analyze software architecture as a set of design rule spaces (DRSpaces). Using data extracted from the project's development artifacts, we were able to identify the files implicated in architecture flaws and suggest refactorings based on removing these flaws. Then we built economic models of the before and (predicted) after states, which gave the organization confidence that doing the refactorings made business sense, in terms of a handsome return on investment.

A Functional Architecture for Autonomous Driving

Abstract: As the Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) of self-driving vehicles increase, it is necessary to investigate the Electrical/Electronic(E/E) system architectures for autonomous driving, beyond proof-of-concept prototypes. Relevant patterns and anti-patterns need to be raised into debate and documented. This paper presents the principal components needed in a functional architecture for autonomous driving, along with reasoning for how they should be distributed across the architecture. A functional architecture integrating all the concepts and reasoning is also presented.

An Axiomatic Design of a Multiagent Reconfigurable Mechatronic System Architecture

Abstract: In recent years, the fields of reconfigurable manufacturing systems, holonic manufacturing systems, and multiagent systems have made technological advances to support the ready reconfiguration of automated manufacturing systems. While these technological advances have demonstrated robust operation and been qualitatively successful in achieving reconfigurability, their ultimate industrial adoption remains limited. Among the barriers to adoption has been the relative absence of formal and quantitative multiagent system design methodologies based on reconfigurability measurement. Hence, it is not clear that the degree to which these designs have achieved their intended level of reconfigurability, which systems are indeed quantitatively more reconfigurable, and how these designs may overcome their design limitations to achieve greater reconfigurability in subsequent design iterations. To our knowledge, this paper is the first multiagent system reference architecture for reconfigurable manufacturing systems driven by a quantitative and formal design approach. It is rooted in an established engineering design methodology called axiomatic design for large flexible engineering systems and draws upon design principles distilled from prior works on reconfigurability measurement. The resulting architecture is written in terms of the mathematical description used in reconfigurability measurement, which straightforwardly allows instantiation for system-specific application.

Study on the IOT Architecture and Gateway Technology

Abstract: There are disadvantages in the practical application with Three-layer architecture of IOT (Internet of Things). In order to emphasize the level of IOT intelligent application, this paper introduces the five layers system architecture which can better interpret the meaning and features of the IOT, and discusses the gateway technology which connecting the sensing network and traditional communication network. According to the actual demand of hotel chain industry for improving guests' living environment, the paper also discusses the design of IOT application scheme with using the IOT gateway as a bridge. The scheme may effectively meet the service requirements of hotel chain industry.

A Hybrid Task Mapping Algorithm for Heterogeneous MPSoCs

Abstract: The application workloads in modern MPSoC-based embedded systems are becoming increasingly dynamic. Different applications concurrently execute and contend for resources in such systems, which could cause serious changes in the intensity and nature of the workload demands over time. To cope with the dynamism of application workloads at runtime and improve the efficiency of the underlying system architecture, this article presents a hybrid task mapping algorithm that combines a static mapping exploration and a dynamic mapping optimization to achieve an overall improvement of system efficiency. We evaluate our algorithm using a heterogeneous MPSoC system with three real applications. Experimental results reveal the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm by comparing derived solutions to the ones obtained from several other runtime mapping algorithms. In test cases with three simultaneously active applications, the mapping solutions derived by our approach have average performance improvements ranging from 45.9p to 105.9p and average energy savings ranging from 14.6p to 23.5p.

EasyConnect: A Management System for IoT Devices and Its Applications for Interactive Design and Art

Abstract: Many Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have been used in applications for money flow, logistics flow, people flow, interactive art design, and so on. To manage these increasing disparate devices and connectivity options, ETSI has specified end-to-end machine-to-machine (M2M) system architecture for IoT applications. Based on this architecture, we develop an IoT EasyConnect system to manage IoT devices. In our approach, an IoT device is characterized by its “features” (e.g., temperature, vibration, and display) that are manipulated by the network applications. If a network application handles the individual device features independently, then we can write a software module for each device feature, and the network application can be simply constructed by including these brick-like device feature modules. Based on the concept of device feature, brick-like software modules can provide simple and efficient mechanism to develop IoT device applications and interactions.

Fault tolerant and scalable IoT-based architecture for health monitoring

Abstract: A novel Internet of Things based architecture supporting scalability and fault tolerance for healthcare is presented in this paper The wireless system is constructed on top of 6LoWPAN energy efficient communication infrastructure to maximize the operation time Fault tolerance is achieved via backup routing between nodes and advanced service mechanisms to maintain connectivity in case of failing connections between system nodes The presented fault tolerance approach covers many fault situations such as malfunction of sink node hardware and traffic bottleneck at a node due to a high receiving data rate A method for extending the number of medical sensing nodes at a single gateway is presented A complete system architecture providing a quantity of features from bio-signal acquisition such as Electrocardiogram (ECG), Electroencephalography (EEG), and Electromyography (EMG) to the representation of graphical waveforms of these gathered bio-signals for remote real-time monitoring is proposed

Use of PHM Information and System Architecture for Optimized Aircraft Maintenance Planning

Abstract: Remaining useful life (RUL) estimations obtained from a prognostics and health monitoring (PHM) system can be used to plan in advance for the repair of components before a failure occurs. However, when system architecture is not taken into account, the use of PHM information may lead the operator to rush to replace a component that would not affect immediately the operation of the system under consideration. This paper presents a methodology for decision support in maintenance planning with application in aeronautical systems. The proposed methodology combines system architecture information and RUL estimations for all components in the system under study, allowing the estimation of an overall system-level RUL (S-RUL). The S-RUL information can be used to support maintenance decisions regarding the replacement of multiple components. For this purpose, the decision problem can be cast into an optimization framework involving the minimization of the component replacement cost under a safety constraint. Two case studies are used to illustrate the S-RUL concept, as well as the proposed optimization methodology.

A Distributed Test System Architecture for Open-source IoT Software

Abstract: In this paper, we discuss challenges that are specific to testing of open IoT software systems. The analysis reveals gaps compared to wireless sensor networks as well as embedded software. We propose a testing framework which (a) supports continuous integration techniques, (b) allows for the integration of project contributors to volunteer hardware and software resources to the test system, and (c) can function as a permanent distributed plugtest for network interoperability testing. The focus of this paper lies in open-source IoT development but many aspects are also applicable to closed-source projects.

Practical semantics for the Internet of Things: Physical states, device mashups, and open questions

Abstract: The Internet of Things (IoT) envisions cross-domain applications that combine digital services with services provided by resource-constrained embedded devices that connect to the physical world. Such smart environments can comprise a large number of devices from various different vendors. This requires a high degree of decoupling and neither devices nor user agents can rely on a priori knowledge of service APIs. Semantic service descriptions are applicable to heterogeneous application domains due to their high level of abstraction and can enable automatic service composition. This paper shows how the RESTdesc description format and semantic reasoning can be applied to create Web-like mashups in smart environments. Our approach supports highly dynamic environments with resource-constrained IoT devices where services can become unavailable due to device mobility, limited energy, or network disruptions. The concepts are backed by a concrete system architecture whose implementation is publicly available. It is used to evaluate the semantics-based approach in a realistic IoT-related scenario. The results show that current reasoners are able to produce medium-sized IoT mashups, but struggle with state space explosion when physical states become part of the proofing process.

A System Architecture for Software-Defined Industrial Internet of Things

Abstract: Wireless sensor networks have been a driving force of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) advancement in the process control and manufacturing industry. The emergence of IIoT opens great potential for the ubiquitous field device connectivity and manageability with an integrated and standardized architecture from low-level device operations to high-level data-centric application interactions. This technological development requires software definability in the key architectural elements of IIoT, including wireless field devices, IIoT gateways, network infrastructure, and IIoT sensor cloud services. In this paper, a novel software-defined IIoT (SD-IIoT) is proposed in order to solve essential challenges in a holistic IIoT system, such as reliability, security, timeliness scalability, and quality of service (QoS). A new IIoT system architecture is proposed based on the latest networking technologies such as WirelessHART, WebSocket, IETF constrained application protocol (CoAP) and software-defined networking (SDN). A new scheme based on CoAP and SDN is proposed to solve the QoS issues. Computer experiments in a case study are implemented to show the effectiveness of the proposed system architecture.

Software-defined environment for reconfigurable manufacturing systems

Abstract: Conventional manufacturing systems like assembly lines cannot handle the constantly changing requirements of a modern-day manufacturer, which are driven by volatile market demands. In a bid to satisfy such requirements, modern manufacturing systems, comprising innumerable cyber-physical systems (CPS), aim to be reconfigurable. CPS implement production processes through an ICT infrastructure networked with sensors and actuators embedded in the shop floor. Reconfigurability, in context of manufacturing systems, must include the entire system of networked components and hence requires a flexible ICT infrastructure. Providing flexible ICT infrastructures, often, comes at the cost of diluted quality of service (QoS) guarantees. This, however, is not an option for manufacturing systems, most of which require strict QoS guarantees to function correctly. To overcome this obstacle, we propose a new software-defined environment (SDE) for reconfigurable manufacturing systems with real-time properties in this paper. Software-defined environment is an emerging technology that provides flexible ICT infrastructures modifiable using software. Our contributions include an SDE-based system architecture for dynamically configuring the underlying infrastructure for a manufacturing system. In particular, we focus on configuring the network for the time-sensitive communication flows essential for realising CPS. Moreover, we propose a pair of routing algorithms to calculate routes for these flows while configuring the network.

A System Architecture for Software-Defined Industrial Internet of Things

Abstract: Wireless sensor networks have been a driving force of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) advancement in the process control and manufacturing industry. The emergence of IIoT opens great potential for the ubiquitous field device connectivity and manageability with an integrated and standardized architecture from low- level device operations to high-level data-centric application interactions. This technological development requires software definability in the key architectural elements of IIoT, including wireless field devices, IIoT gateways, network infrastructure, and IIoT sensor cloud services. In this paper, a novel software-defined IIoT (SD- IIoT) is proposed in order to solve essential challenges in a holistic IIoT system, such as reliability, security, timeliness scalability, and quality of service (QoS). A new IIoT system architecture is proposed based on the latest networking technologies such as WirelessHART, WebSocket, IETF constrained application protocol (CoAP) and software-defined networking (SDN). A new scheme based on CoAP and SDN is proposed to solve the QoS issues. Computer experiments in a case study are implemented to show the effectiveness of the proposed system architecture.

Survey of Large-Scale Data Management Systems for Big Data Applications

Abstract: Today, data is flowing into various organizations at an unprecedented scale. The ability to scale out for processing an enhanced workload has become an important factor for the proliferation and popularization of database systems. Big data applications demand and consequently lead to the developments of diverse large-scale data management systems in different organizations, ranging from traditional database vendors to new emerging Internet-based enterprises. In this survey, we investigate, characterize, and analyze the large-scale data management systems in depth and develop comprehensive taxonomies for various critical aspects covering the data model, the system architecture, and the consistency model. We map the prevailing highly scalable data management systems to the proposed taxonomies, not only to classify the common techniques but also to provide a basis for analyzing current system scalability limitations. To overcome these limitations, we predicate and highlight the possible principles that future efforts need to be undertaken for the next generation large-scale data management systems.

An Automated Electric Vehicle Prototype Showing New Trends in Automotive Architectures

Abstract: The automotive domain is challenged by the increasing importance of Information Technology (IT) based functions. To show the possibilities of modern IT systems, a demonstrator car was developed in RACE (Robust and Reliant Automotive Computing Environment for Future eCars) based on a completely redesigned E/E architecture, which supports the integration of mixed-criticality components and offers features like PlugaPlay. This paper presents the architecture and components of this vehicle prototype, which is equipped with modern systems such as Steer-by-Wire without mechanical fallback. It was designed to support future driver assistance systems, e.g. to carry out autonomous parking maneuvers onto an inductive charging station, a task, which is hard to achieve accurately enough for a human driver. Therefore, a special emphasis lies on the description of the sensor set for automated operation.

Model-Based System Architecture

Abstract: This book combines the emerging discipline of systems architecting with model-based approaches using SysML. The early chapters of the book provide the fundamentals of systems architecting; discussing what systems architecting entails and how it benefits systems engineering. Model-based systems engineering is then defined, and its capabilities to develop complex systems on time and in a feasible quality are discussed. The remainder of the book covers important topics such as: architecture descriptions; architecture patterns; perspectives, viewpoints, views and their relation to system architecture; the roles of a system architect, their team, and stakeholders; systems architecting processes; agile approaches to systems architecting; variant modeling techniques; architecture frameworks; and architecture assessment. The book's organization allows experts to read the chapters out of sequence. Novices can read the chapters sequentially to gain a systematic introduction to system architecting.

Integrated Power Systems—An Outline of Requirements and Functionalities for Ships

Abstract: Selection of power and propulsion system architecture is one of the most far-reaching and irreversible decisions made by the designer of a modern ship. However, most texts and design handbooks pay little attention to the implications of this design decision nor is sufficient attention paid to the attributes of the various alternatives available to the ship designer/owner. Integrated power systems, made possible over the past three decades by the advances in modern high-power power electronics, provide many benefits to the ship owner, including reduced operating costs, arrangement flexibility, superior reliability and survivability, and support for advanced weapons on sensors warships. This paper will outline the architecture options available to today’s ship designer and will discuss the design implications and pitfalls inherent in the power system architecture selection, paying particular attention to the unique aspects of integrated power systems.