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Embedded Systems Articles

• The role of secure memory in a trusted execution environment (Dec. 20, 2007)
  Many of the attacks on mobile phones are traced to an attacker modifying data/code in the non-volatile memory. Flash memory-based security safeguards against such attacks, which is something other mobile security approaches cannot do. Here's why.
  
  
• Combining C code with assembly code in DSP applications (Dec. 13, 2007)
  Here's how to integrate assembly code into C for maximum performance and programmer productivity. Topics covered include compiler conventions, inlining, intrinsics, register binding, and debugging strategies.
  
  
• Efficient radix-4 FFT on StarCore SC3000 DSPs (Dec. 03, 2007)
  Here's how to implement an efficient radix-4 FFT, using the StarCore SC3000 as an example.
  
  
• Embedded DSP Software Design Using Multicore a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) Architecture: Part 2 (Nov. 29, 2007)
  Software development for SoCs involve partitioning the application among the various processing elements based on the most efficient computational model. This can require a lot of trial and error to establish the proper partitioning.
  
  
• Using the ARM Cortex-R4 for DSP, part 2: Software optimization (Nov. 26, 2007)
  BDTI explains how to work with the Cortex-R4's pipeline, instruction set, and SIMD capabilities to optimize its performance.
  
  
• Embedded DSP Software Design on a Multicore SoC Architecture: Part 1 (Nov. 22, 2007)
  Modern embedded systems are using devices with multiple processing units manufactured on a single chip, creating a sort of multicore system-on-a-chip (SoC) can increase the processing power and throughput of the system while at the same time increasing the battery life and reducing the overall cost.
  
  
• How designers can survive the embedded multiprocessor revolution (Nov. 05, 2007)
  The inevitable switch to multi-processor systems is causing a fundamental shift in the design methodologies and software programming used by MPSoC designers, spawning a new generation of System Design Automation tools
  
  
• Tips to leveraging pre-integrated systems: How to get your application to market in 12 months (Nov. 05, 2007)
  Telecom infrastructure development is moving into a third phase of infrastructure development: the shift to pre-integrated systems that include high availability middleware, protocol stacks, unified management, and hardware platforms. These systems offer a quick path to market since the equipment manufacturer develops only the application that runs on the system.
  
  
• Selecting a Wireless Sensor Development Platform (Oct. 29, 2007)
  Anton Hristozov surveys the various wireless sensor development systems and describes the criteria he used to select a 802.15.4 platform for a network project at the University of Pittsburgh
  
  
• Define the right approach for DRM (Oct. 25, 2007)
  If implemented properly, the hardware-based approach is the toughest to crack.
  
  
• ARM Security Solutions and Intel Authenticated Flash -- How to integrate Intel Authenticated Flash with ARM TrustZone for maximum system protection (Oct. 22, 2007)
  There are many examples of the very significant costs associated with the failure of embedded systems to resist malicious attacks. These span multiple applications and industry segments, and include both direct costs and lost revenue opportunities. The need to improve security has been particularly driven by the ever-increasing spread of wireless systems that encompass data services and payment applications.
  
  
• Multi-chip architectures partition H.264 tasks to achieve high-quality video (Oct. 22, 2007)
  For high-quality video applications, multiple devices are necessary to accomplish the required video tasks. Here are some tips on distributing the tasks among multiple DSPs and complementary FPGAs that offer the necessary computational power at the best price.
  
  
• PRODUCT HOW-TO: Use ARM DBX hardware extensions to accelerate Java in space-constrained embedded apps (Oct. 15, 2007)
  Performance is an issue constantly raised about the Java platform. Java's portability is also a major disadvantage, as bytecode must always undergo some form of conversion to run on the native instruction set of the underlying architecture. The feature-rich demands of next-generation Java applications will quickly outstrip the capabilities of current massmarket Java handsets.
  
  
• Fundamentals of embedded video, part 2 (Oct. 01, 2007)
  Part 2 of this 5-part series discuss color spaces and gamma correction, and explains the basics of digital video.
  
  
• Multi-Core Processors: Driving the Evolution of Automotive Electronics Architectures (Sep. 17, 2007)
  The electronic content of the automobile is expanding dramatically, driven by several concurrent forces, including consumer demand for entertainment systems and convenience functions, the addition of enhanced safety features, and government emission control regulations.
  
  
• DDR2 Signal Integrity (Sep. 13, 2007)
  This paper highlights a typical design approach that can be adopted for an embedded PC (X86 based) board memory subsystem using a VIA VX700 system controller DDR2 interface. Boards with this chipset can feature either an Intel Pentium processor or VIA processor on front side bus (FSB).
  
  
• Overcoming Latency in PCIe Systems (Sep. 13, 2007)
  Overcoming PCI Express (PCIe) latency isn't simply a matter of choosing the lowest-latency components
  
  
• Hardware emulator debugs Linux driver (Sep. 10, 2007)
  Implementing electronics design functionality using a combination of hardware blocks and software modules based on advanced, multiprocessor platforms is now commonplace.
  
  
• H.264 "zero" latency video encoding and decoding for time-critical applications (Sep. 10, 2007)
  Taos deploys a cut-through mechanism at the pixel level, so the encoder does not need to wait for an entire frame to be present before it starts coding.
  
  
• Locking Down Intellectual Property in Embedded Systems (Aug. 23, 2007)
  This article focuses on methods of securing IP in embedded systems. We will examine past and current approaches and look ahead to new embedded processing solutions that offer new options for developers wanting to protect their IP.
  
  
• Embedded developers should embrace FPGAs (Aug. 09, 2007)
  Today embedded software developers are the prime movers in defining the function and behavior of electronic products and ultimately make hardware come to life. A driving factor in the success of this approach is the resulting reduction in hardware complexity and the open-ended flexibility that comes from transferring the controlling elements of a design into programmable space.
  
  
• Embedded test offers unique value for serial I/O (Aug. 06, 2007)
  Today, most microprocessors incorporate on-chip debug resources that enable the use of a low-cost hardware interface for development and testing. This type of debugging, called embedded test, is significantly aiding the growth of embedded systems and will make designing systems with high-speed serial I/O more efficient.
  
  
• Facilitating technology insertion in advanced wireless systems (Aug. 02, 2007)
  The baseband or modem processing engines in many advanced wireless systems often include a variety of programmable "off-the-shelf" signal processing devices such as digital signal processors (DSPs) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).
  
  
• Preventing IP theft with the MSC8144EC DSP (Jul. 30, 2007)
  DSP systems often leave valuable IP in the open, where it can be stolen. Here's how to protect your code with the MSC8144EC DSP.
  
  
• Achieving Optimized DSP Encoding for Video Applications (Jul. 26, 2007)
  As digital video continues to extend visual communication to an ever-larger range of applications, more developers are becoming involved in creating new video systems or enhancing the capabilities of existing ones.
  
  
• Multicore microprocessors and embedded multicore SOCs have very different needs (Jul. 19, 2007)
  The term "multicore" seems to be getting a lot of use these days. For example, there's an industry association dedicated to the idea and the IEEE Computer Society's Computer [1,2] magazine recently devoted two cover stories to the concept. Like the poem about the blind men and the elephant [3], the term appears to mean many different things to different people depending on the context.
  
  
• Building Bare-Metal ARM Systems with GNU: Part 2 (Jul. 05, 2007)
  In this part I start digging into the code discussed earlier in Part 1 and which is available online at the Embedded.com Download Code page. The code contains C and C++ versions of the example application called "Blinky", because it blinks the 4 user LEDs of the Atmel AT91SAM7S-EK evaluation board.
  
  
• Tested and effective methods for speeding up DSP algorithms (Jun. 11, 2007)
  This article describes the optimization process basics and various practical 'C' level skills needed to accelerate an algorithm. Processor and complier specific options are excluded as they are typically found in the respective vendor documents.
  
  
• Embedded-system validation spans inception to signoff (May. 28, 2007)
  The successful development of embedded systems requires the continuous integration of hardware and firmware throughout all stages of the project. Transaction-level simulation aids in architecture development and refinement, but lacks the detail necessary to confirm that the memory subsystem can support the reset and boot-up process.
  
  
• Implement PCI Express 1.1 in your latest design (May. 24, 2007)
  Don't be scared off by the latest changes to the specification. By following a few straightforward steps, you're sure to comply.