Multicast deflector

Technological evolution is leading telecommunications toward all-IP scenarios, where multiple services are transported as IP packets. Among these services is the broadcast of video. A possible mechanism for broadcasting multiple video channels over IP is to use IP multicast, and let each client decide about the reception of a channel. The secure IP multicast specified by the IETF MSEC working group is a candidate solution for securing these broadcast services. In this paper we propose a new solution for supporting the broadcast of multiple video channels which can be accessed only by authorized users; besides, when a video channel is not visualized in the last mile its transmission is temporarily suspended, so that the cable can be used for other services such as standard Internet access.     

Design and Test of a Certifiable ASIC for a Safety-Critical Gas Burner Control System

The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology and tools for the design and test of an EN298 compliant ASIC chip for a safety-critical gas burner control system. Safe operation, as far as the critical variable is concerned, is guaranteed in the presence of two simultaneous faults. Emphasis is put on circumventing methodology, EDA (Electronic Design Automation) and foundry limitations and on product certification requirements.     

透视全球自动化

这篇文章是我在印度帮加罗尔的时候写的。最开始,我在澳大利亚呆了一段时间,接着又在英格兰呆了两个星期,再是南非,现在是印度,看样子,在回圣地亚哥前我会在印度过新年。或许,这对于我的全球观会有所帮助,而且我也很乐于在远方与你们共同分享我的观点。     

Constant-frequency sliding-mode and PI linear controllers for powerrectifiers: a comparison

Constant-frequency sliding-mode and linear proportional integral (PI) cascaded controllers (internal current loop and external output voltage control loop) for 12-pulse thyristor rectifiers are designed, using new models and convenient assumptions, and their performances compared. The use of sliding-mode control on line-commutated power converters implies the use of fixed-frequency sliding-mode design, originating steady-state errors. These are eliminated using a higher order switching function, with fourth-order Bessel polynomial coefficients, to minimize the response time and to eliminate the overshoot in the reaching mode. Comparisons are made using simulations (MATLAB/SIMULINK blocks) and experimental results. The sliding-mode controllers, as well as the PI controllers, need almost the same hardware and present no steady-state errors and no output voltage overshoots. Besides allowing a faster dynamics than the PI controllers, the proposed sliding-mode approach provides a new, nonlinear theoretical frame for solving the control problem of power rectifiers with output filters     

Vectorcardiographic loop alignment and the measurement of morphologic beat-to-beat variability in noisy signals

The measurement of subtle morphologic beat-to-beat variability in the electrocardiogram (ECG)/vectorcardiogram (VCG) is complicated by the presence of noise which is caused by, e.g., respiration and muscular activity. A method was recently presented which reduces the influence of such noise by performing spatial and temporal alignment of VCG loops. The alignment is performed in terms of scaling, rotation and time synchronization of the loops. Using an ECG simulation model based on propagation of action potentials in cardiac tissue, the ability of the method to separate morphologic variability of physiological origin from respiratory activity was studied. Morphologic variability was created by introducing a random variation in action potential propagation between different compartments. The results indicate that the separation of these two activities can be done accurately at low to moderate noise levels (less than 10 microV). At high noise levels, the estimation of the rotation angles was found to break down in an abrupt manner. It was also shown that the breakdown noise level is strongly dependent on loop morphology; a planar loop corresponds to a lower breakdown noise level than does a nonplanar loop.     

Planar Thermoelectric Microgenerators Based on Silicon Nanowires

Silicon nanowires have been implemented in microfabricated structures to develop planar thermoelectric microgenerators (??TEGs) monolithically integrated in silicon to convert heat flow from thermal gradients naturally present in the environment into electrical energy. The compatibility of typical microfabrication technologies and the vapor?Cliquid?Csolid (VLS) mechanism employed for silicon nanowire growth has been evaluated. Low-thermal-mass suspended structures have been designed, simulated, and microfabricated on silicon-on-insulator substrates to passively generate thermal gradients and operate as microgenerators using silicon nanowires as thermoelectric material. Both electrical measurements to evaluate the connectivity of the nanowires and thermoreflectance imaging to determine the heat transfer along the device have been employed.     

Bandwidth Aspects in Second Generation Current Conveyors

This paper discusses bandwidth problems associated with second-generation current conveyors (CCII). In particular, our work is centered in high-capacitance applications, and has been oriented for wireless optical links and applied physics. We discuss techniques for improving bandwidth in these CCIIs, and develop a new CCII structure with larger bandwidth than traditional circuits. These circuits are then compared in terms of their noise and dynamic range characteristics. A test circuit was developed to verify these different bandwidth behaviors.     

Analysis of delay mean and variance of collision-free WDM rings with segment recirculation of blocked traffic

In Tunable-Transmitter Fixed-Receiver (TT-FR)-based Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) ring topologies, each node is provided with a dedicated wavelength (home channel) for reception, which must be shared by the upstream nodes willing to communicate with it. Thus, to avoid channel collisions, it is necessary to define a Medium Access Control (MAC) mechanism that arbitrates access to a given destination wavelength. This work proposes and analyses a simple MAC mechanism that avoids channel collisions by recirculating traffic on the upstream ring segment where congestion was detected. Essentially, whenever a given node has got any traffic to transmit, it must first block access to in-transit traffic, which is reflected back to the upstream node over a second optical fibre. Such blocked traffic is given a second chance to pass through the congested node after a round segment delay, thus making use of the ring topology as buffering units. This work analyses the performance operation of such a MAC protocol under two policies applied to recirculated traffic: (1) recirculation bypass and (2) recirculation store-and-forward.     

Identity-based key management in mobile ad hoc networks: techniques and applications [dependability in the ubiquitous wireless access]

Security is one of the major issues in MANETs. Their natural characteristics make them vulnerable to numerous severe attacks. It is widely acknowledged that cryptography provides a set of strong techniques against most vulnerabilities. Several cryptographic mechanisms for MANETs can be found in the literature. Among them, identity-based cryptographic mechanisms and key management schemes are proposed to simplify key management and to reduce the memory storage cost. This article presents the most important ID-based key management schemes, discussing their approaches, strengths, and weaknesses, and comparing their main features. It also presents the main IDbased key management application fields on MANETs. In this way it can be useful for users and researchers as a starting point on ID-based key management and its possible uses in MANETs.     

MESFET DC model parameter extraction using Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization

This paper presents two techniques for DC model parameter extraction for a Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) based MEtal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MESFET) device. The proposed methods uses Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSO) methods for optimizing the difference between measured data and simulated data. Simulated data are obtained by using four different popular DC models. These techniques avoid complex computational steps involved in traditional parameter extraction techniques. The performance comparison in terms of quality of solution and execution time of classical PSO and QPSO to extract the model parameters are presented. The validity of this approach is verified by comparing the simulated and measured results of a fabricated GaAs MESFET device with gate length of 0.7 μm and gate width of 600 μm (4 × 150). Simulation results indicate that both the technique based on PSO and QPSO accurately extracts the model parameters of MESFET.