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Electronics
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Applications of Embedded Systems
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Applications of Embedded Systems

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Computer Science & Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 36260

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Tullio Facchinetti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
Interests: real-time operating systems; embedded systems; energy efficiency; building automation; cyber-physical systems; autonomous robot navigation; Internet of Things; machine learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Miniaturization and cost reduction have brought embedded systems to the core of the modern technological society, making them ubiquitous in almost every domain. The design, engineering, programming, deployment, and management of applications based on embedded systems require a broad range of approaches, methodologies, and techniques, which are often characteristics of each specific application domain. Embedded system applications are required to cope with limited resources (processing power, memory, energy), communication, and networking, both wired and wireless, interfacing with sensors and actuators, specific programming paradigms, and methodologies, which makes the development of an embedded application a challenging task.

The scope of this Special Issue encompasses the full stack of technologies behind modern embedded applications: design of embedded devices, development of software, integration within a larger system, deployment, and management.

This Special Issue welcomes contributions on novel and inspiring applications of embedded systems, including, but not limited to, the following domains:

- Industrial Automation, Manufacturing

- Robotics

- Automotive

- Appliance Automation (Household, Entertainment)

- Healthcare

- Wearable Systems

- Energy Systems, Smart Grid, Home and Building Automation

- Security, Surveillance

- Smart Cities

Dr. Tullio Facchinetti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Electronics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Embedded Systems
  • Design
  • Internet of Things
  • Distributed Systems
  • Protocols
  • Power-Aware Computing
  • Embedded Operating Systems
  • Real-Time Systems
  • Cyber-Physical Systems
  • Wireless Sensor Networks
  • Smart Monitoring
  • Mobile Embedded Systems
  • Networked Embedded Systems
  • Human–Machine Interfaces
  • Human–System Interaction
  • Digital Signal Processing
  • Fog/Edge Computing

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 1238 KiB  
Article
Distributed Genetic Algorithms for Low-Power, Low-Cost and Small-Sized Memory Devices
by Denis R. da S. Medeiros and Marcelo A. C. Fernandes
Electronics 2020, 9(11), 1891; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9111891 - 11 Nov 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2137
Abstract
This work presents a strategy to implement a distributed form of genetic algorithm (GA) on low power, low cost, and small-sized memory aiming for increased performance and reduction of energy consumption when compared to standalone GAs. This strategy focuses on making a distributed [...] Read more.
This work presents a strategy to implement a distributed form of genetic algorithm (GA) on low power, low cost, and small-sized memory aiming for increased performance and reduction of energy consumption when compared to standalone GAs. This strategy focuses on making a distributed version of GA feasible to run as a low cost and a low power consumption embedded system utilizing devices such as 8-bit microcontrollers (µCs) and Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) for data transmission between those devices. Details about how the distributed GA was designed from a previous standalone implementation made by the authors and how the project is structured are presented. Furthermore, this work investigates the implementation limitations and shows results about its proper operation, most of them collected with the Hardware-In-Loop (HIL) technique, and resource consumption such as memory and processing time. Finally, some scenarios are analyzed to identify where this distributed version can be utilized and how it is compared to the single-node standalone implementation in terms of performance and energy consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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20 pages, 2943 KiB  
Article
Real-time Neural Networks Implementation Proposal for Microcontrollers
by Caio José B. V. Guimarães and Marcelo A. C. Fernandes
Electronics 2020, 9(10), 1597; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9101597 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2916
Abstract
The adoption of intelligent systems with Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) embedded in hardware for real-time applications currently faces a growing demand in fields such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine to Machine (M2M). However, the application of ANNs in this type [...] Read more.
The adoption of intelligent systems with Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) embedded in hardware for real-time applications currently faces a growing demand in fields such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine to Machine (M2M). However, the application of ANNs in this type of system poses a significant challenge due to the high computational power required to process its basic operations. This paper aims to show an implementation strategy of a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP)-type neural network, in a microcontroller (a low-cost, low-power platform). A modular matrix-based MLP with the full classification process was implemented as was the backpropagation training in the microcontroller. The testing and validation were performed through Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) of the Mean Squared Error (MSE) of the training process, classification results, and the processing time of each implementation module. The results revealed a linear relationship between the values of the hyperparameters and the processing time required for classification, also the processing time concurs with the required time for many applications in the fields mentioned above. These findings show that this implementation strategy and this platform can be applied successfully in real-time applications that require the capabilities of ANNs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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21 pages, 1034 KiB  
Article
A Model-Based Approach to Optimizing Partition Scheduling of Integrated Modular Avionics Systems
by Pujie Han, Zhengjun Zhai and Lei Zhang
Electronics 2020, 9(8), 1281; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9081281 - 9 Aug 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3063
Abstract
The architecture of Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) provides airborne software with a robust temporal partitioning mechanism, which achieves the reliable fault containment between avionics applications. However, the partition scheduling of an IMA system is a complex nonlinear non-convex optimization problem, making it difficult [...] Read more.
The architecture of Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) provides airborne software with a robust temporal partitioning mechanism, which achieves the reliable fault containment between avionics applications. However, the partition scheduling of an IMA system is a complex nonlinear non-convex optimization problem, making it difficult to solve the optimal temporal allocation for partitions using traditional analytical methods. This paper presents a model-based approach to optimizing the partition scheduling of IMA systems, whose temporal behavior is modeled as a network of timed automata. Given a system model, the optimizer employs a parallel genetic algorithm to search for the optimal partition resource parameters with respect to minimum processor occupancy. For each promising parameter combination, the schedulability constraints and processor occupancy of the system are precisely evaluated by Classical and Statistical Model Checking (i.e., CMC and SMC), respectively. We also apply SMC hypothesis testing to the fast falsification of non-schedulable solutions, thereby speeding up the schedulability verification based on CMC. Two case studies demonstrate that our proposed approach outperforms classical analytical methods on the processor occupancy of typical IMA systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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20 pages, 1855 KiB  
Article
BlocklyAR: A Visual Programming Interface for Creating Augmented Reality Experiences
by Vinh T. Nguyen, Kwanghee Jung and Tommy Dang
Electronics 2020, 9(8), 1205; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9081205 - 27 Jul 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5681
Abstract
State-of-the-art tools for creating augmented reality (AR) applications often depend on a specific programming language and the deployed target devices. The typing syntax of a program is error-prone, and device dependency makes it difficult to share newly created AR applications. This paper presents [...] Read more.
State-of-the-art tools for creating augmented reality (AR) applications often depend on a specific programming language and the deployed target devices. The typing syntax of a program is error-prone, and device dependency makes it difficult to share newly created AR applications. This paper presents BlocklyAR, a novel web-based visual programming interface for creating and generating an AR application. This tool is intended for non-programmers (young learners and enthusiasts) who are interested in making an AR application. The goals of this tool are: (1) to help young learners and enthusiasts express their programming ideas without memorizing syntax, (2) to enable users to perceive their expressions, (3) to enable learners to generate an AR application with minimal effort, and (4) to support users by allowing them to share newly created AR applications with others. BlocklyAR uses Blockly for creating a palette of commands and AR.js for transcribing commands into AR experience. The applicability of BlocklyAR was demonstrated through a use case where an existing AR application was recreated by using our tool. The result showed that our tool could yield an equivalent product. We evaluated the visual tool with the help of 66 users to gather perspectives on the specific benefits of employing BlocklyAR in producing an AR application. The technology acceptance model was adapted to assess an individual’s acceptance of information technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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18 pages, 1268 KiB  
Article
MiniTEE—A Lightweight TrustZone-Assisted TEE for Real-Time Systems
by Songran Liu, Nan Guan, Zhishan Guo and Wang Yi
Electronics 2020, 9(7), 1130; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9071130 - 11 Jul 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4866
Abstract
While trusted execution environments (TEEs) provide industry standard security and isolation, TEE requests through secure monitor calls (SMCs) attribute to large time overhead and weakened temporal predictability. Moreover, as current available TEE solutions are designed for Linux and/or Android initially, it will encounter [...] Read more.
While trusted execution environments (TEEs) provide industry standard security and isolation, TEE requests through secure monitor calls (SMCs) attribute to large time overhead and weakened temporal predictability. Moreover, as current available TEE solutions are designed for Linux and/or Android initially, it will encounter many constraints (e.g., driver libraries incompatible, large memory footprint, etc.) when integrating with low-end Real-Time Operating Systems, RTOSs. In this paper, we present MiniTEE to understand, evaluate and discuss the benefits and limitations when integrating TrustZone-assisted TEEs with RTOSs. We demonstrate how MiniTEE can be adequately exploited for meeting the real-time needs, while presenting a low performance overhead to the rich OSs (i.e., low-end RTOSs). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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29 pages, 2734 KiB  
Article
Building an Energy-Efficient Ad-Hoc Network for Wildlife Observation
by Luis Camal and Baris Aksanli
Electronics 2020, 9(6), 984; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9060984 - 12 Jun 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2486
Abstract
This study evaluated the design of an energy-efficient ad-hoc network used for wildlife observations, particularly in order to understand the social relationships in an animal group, where the distance between individuals, i.e., proximity, can be used to measure a relationship. Our proposed network [...] Read more.
This study evaluated the design of an energy-efficient ad-hoc network used for wildlife observations, particularly in order to understand the social relationships in an animal group, where the distance between individuals, i.e., proximity, can be used to measure a relationship. Our proposed network consists of a full mesh topology and contains nodes that communicate via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) in advertisement mode. The initial hardware configuration and software algorithm duty cycles the BLE communication to on and off states using a parameter called the BLE active triggering interval. The algorithm is improved by placing the BLE subsystem and CPU in deep sleep when there are no BLE or CPU tasks to process. This improves the power performance by up to 94.48%. To scale up power optimization and track the trade-off between power and throughput, we created a simulator that modeled our network with dynamic wireless sensor nodes. The simulator verified the base case hardware results. It also showed a median power performance increase of 97.79% in comparison to the base case, yet throughput decreased by 66.65%. The highest power performance increased by 98.89% when a wireless sensor node was configured with a BLE active triggering interval of 50 s and its CPU was set to 14 MHz; however, the simulator showed a throughput drop of 79.97%. Depending on the application, a design may tolerate the decline in throughput to achieve higher power performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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16 pages, 5171 KiB  
Article
Test Case Generation Method for Increasing Software Reliability in Safety-Critical Embedded Systems
by Bongjoo Koo, Jungho Bae, Seogbong Kim, Kangmin Park and Hyungshin Kim
Electronics 2020, 9(5), 797; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9050797 - 12 May 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3016
Abstract
Finite-state machines (FSMs) and the W method have been widely used in software testing. However, the W method fails to detect post-processing errors in the implementation under test (IUT) because it ends testing when it encounters a previously visited state. To alleviate this [...] Read more.
Finite-state machines (FSMs) and the W method have been widely used in software testing. However, the W method fails to detect post-processing errors in the implementation under test (IUT) because it ends testing when it encounters a previously visited state. To alleviate this issue, we propose an enhanced fault-detection W method. The proposed method does not stop the test, even if it has reached a previously visited state; it continues to test and check the points that the W method misses. Through various case studies, we demonstrated software testing using the W method and the proposed method. From the results, it can be inferred that the proposed method can more explicitly determine the consistency between design and implementation, and it is a better option for testing larger software. Unfortunately, the testing time of the proposed method is approximately 1.4 times longer than that of the W method because of the added paths. However, our method is more appropriate than the W method for software testing in safety-critical systems, even if this method is time consuming. This is because the error-free characteristics of a safety-critical system are more important than anything else. As a result, our method can be used to increase software reliability in safety-critical embedded systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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19 pages, 12023 KiB  
Article
Development and Validation of a LiDAR Scanner for 3D Evaluation of Soil Vegetal Coverage
by Matías Micheletto, Luciano Zubiaga, Rodrigo Santos, Juan Galantini, Miguel Cantamutto and Javier Orozco
Electronics 2020, 9(1), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9010109 - 7 Jan 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2777
Abstract
Water and wind erosion are serious problems due to the loss of soil productivity. The coverage of soil, by means of cover crops or crops residues, is an effective tool to prevent wind and water erosion. The soil coverage could curb wind on [...] Read more.
Water and wind erosion are serious problems due to the loss of soil productivity. The coverage of soil, by means of cover crops or crops residues, is an effective tool to prevent wind and water erosion. The soil coverage could curb wind on the surface, avoid water runoff and reduce direct soil evaporation. Residue spatial distribution is the main factor to successful soil protection. The current work presents details of a prototype, design and validation as a measuring instrument to sense the height of vegetal crop residues based on a short-ranged laser distance sensor (LiDAR) and a computer numerical control (CNC) mechanism. The results obtained in this work showed a high level of confidence to estimate the height and composition of soil vegetal coverage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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13 pages, 2366 KiB  
Article
A High Capacity Watermarking Technique for the Printed Document
by Kai Huang, Xiaobo Tian, Hongzhou Yu, Min Yu and Aiguo Yin
Electronics 2019, 8(12), 1403; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics8121403 - 25 Nov 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2934
Abstract
Digital watermarking technology is an effective method for copyright protection of digital information, such as images, documents, etc. In this paper, we propose a high capacity text image watermarking technique against printing and scanning processes. Firstly, this method obtains the invariant in the [...] Read more.
Digital watermarking technology is an effective method for copyright protection of digital information, such as images, documents, etc. In this paper, we propose a high capacity text image watermarking technique against printing and scanning processes. Firstly, this method obtains the invariant in the process of printing and scanning under the mathematical hypothesis model of print-scan transformation. Then based on the print-scan invariant, the Fourier descriptor is used to flip the trivial pixel points with high frequency information on the character boundary. Next, considering the resolution of the print-scan equipment and its influence on the print-scan invariant, a quadratic quantization function is proposed to embed watermark information of multiple bits for a single character. Finally, the QR code (Quick Response code) is researched, which has large information capacity, robust error correction ability and high decoding reliability. By using the QR code as the watermark information, we can reduce the impact of bit error rate during watermark extraction, and the robustness of the watermark information can be improved. The experimental results show that the proposed text watermarking algorithm has the advantages of anti-print scanning, anti-scaling, large capacity and good visual effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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13 pages, 867 KiB  
Article
Development of a Piezoelectric-Based Odor Reproduction System
by Tengteng Wen, Dehan Luo, Yongjie Ji and Pingzhong Zhong
Electronics 2019, 8(8), 870; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics8080870 - 6 Aug 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4068
Abstract
Odor reproduction, a branch of machine olfaction, is a technology through which a machine represents various odors by blending several odor sources in different proportions and releases them. In this paper, an odor reproduction system is proposed. The system includes an atomization-based odor [...] Read more.
Odor reproduction, a branch of machine olfaction, is a technology through which a machine represents various odors by blending several odor sources in different proportions and releases them. In this paper, an odor reproduction system is proposed. The system includes an atomization-based odor dispenser using 16 micro-porous piezoelectric transducers. The authors propose the use of an electronic nose combined with a Principal Component Analysis–Linear Discriminant Analysis (PCA–LDA) model to evaluate the effectiveness of the system. The results indicate that the model can be used to evaluate the system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Embedded Systems)
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