Smashing through the Roadblocks

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Smashing through the Roadblocks on the Digital
Highway Dr Charles J Gillan
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Analogue Communications

• Analogue communications use a continuously
  varying signal.
• Example is broadcast radio

Conversion to an analogous electromagnetic wavefor
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Digital Communications

• Digital communications replaces any continuous
  signal by a discrete
• signal in binary form and we can also handle
  data that is already in
• binary form such as computer data.

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t1
t2
t3
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Generic Digital Scheme
Analogue signals
Sampling and Digitizing Compression
Remove redundancy in data thereby transmitting
fewer bits
Digital Data
Re-organize the bitstreams, add overhead bits to
enable error detection/recovery at far end
Channel Coding
Line Coding and Modulation
Adapt the digital message to a form suitable for
transmission medium
Rx Tx
The transmitted form is a function not analogous!
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Roadblocks

• Faster, Better, Cheaper
• gt More data and faster!
• Environmentally friendly processing
• gt Power Aware, Real Estate
• Summary Lean, green and mean!

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Digital Communications Cluster

• There are several sub-groups within the cluster,
  each focusing on a
• different aspect of the communications problem
• Advanced Networks Professor A Marshall
• DSP and Communications Professor C Cowan
• Programmable Systems Professor Roger Woods
• and Networks
• Telecommunications software Dr Ivor Spence
• Radio Communication Dr William Scanlon
• Wireless Networking Dr Emi Garcia

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Structure
Government
Industry
ECIT Engineers
Academics, RAs, PhDs
EPSRC
DTI
EU FW6,7
InvestNI
Society
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Roadblock 1

• How do I send more data, using wireless, between
  two devices ?
• gt Use multiple antennae on Tx and Rx (MIMO)
• Wireless MIMO communication exploits phenomena
  such as
• multipath propagation to increase data throughput
  and range,
• or reduce bit error rates, rather than attempting
  to eliminate
• effects of multipath propagation as traditional
  SISO (Single-Input
• Single-Output) communication systems seek to do.

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MIMO communication systems

• Multiple-antenna techniques have become a
  pervasive idea that promises extremely high
  spectral efficiency for wireless communications.

Receive Nr
Transmit Nt

• Multiple-Antenna System not only mitigates
  fading,
• but also increases spectral efficiency

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MIMO communication system

• Two issues of concern here are
• The information-theoretic aspects of data
  transmission using MIMO techniques with emphasis
  on spectral efficiency and information capacity
• The practical feasibility of these techniques,
  aimed at the realization of a significant portion
  of the capacity promised by information theory

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Roadblock 2

• How do I produce
• more software releases for my products,
• or more software products for my domain
• faster and more cheaply ?
• gt Consider software product line engineering

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Software Product Lines

• Define feature set (and behaviour!) for all of
  the product family
• Derive a feature/behaviour guided architecture
  (ECIT)
• Implement component based software
• Develop production plans
• How? Toolsets, generative programming, source
  code mgmt.
• Solution offerings
• Commercial GEARS, pureVariants, MDE
• Academic Fraunhofer ISE, Texas AM, ECIT

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SPL in practice
Product Plans
Product A
Domain Engineering
Product B
Software Factory
Application Engineering
Product C
Core Assets with variation points
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ECIT PFE Toolset
XML backbone! HTML, PDF, . outputs
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SPL Motivation
Product centred No SPL
Cost in
ROI
Pioneering SPL e.g. Cummins
Upfront costs too high to permit adoption of SPL
New SPL e.g. Engenio Inc.
Low entry costs with INCREMENTAL ROI
Number of products
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Success stories

• MARKET MAKER
• HP Printers
• Salion
• Philips Medical Systems
• Engenio Information Technologies
• See http//www.softwareproductlines.com for more
• details and case studies.

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Roadblock 3

• How do I assist the elderly live a better life ?
• gt Deploy a SMART SPACE environment in their
  home!

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Smart Spaces Facility

• A prototyping facility for Smart Environments
  Smart Devices
• A Customisable Environment
• Equipment specialised furniture
• Configurable fixtures fittings
• RFID tags readers in furniture
• Wireless networks
• Wireless Sensor overlay network provides accurate
  location tracking
• WLAN interfaces to personal devices
• Low power, short range wireless systems Zigbee,
  Bluetooth, RFID UWB
• Multimodal interfaces
• Interactive display walls
• Haptic interfaces devices
• Tactile interfaces displays
• VR headsets
• Auto stereoscopic and 3D displays
• Streaming video
• Audio environment
• External network link
• Connections to other smart spaces

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Smart Spaces Facility

• Current Application Projects
• ENABLED
• EU project, 14 partners, 3.8M
• Enhanced Web access for Blind Visually Impaired
• Indoor location tracking
• intelligent assistance (smart maps, route
  planning etc)
• Distributed Haptic Virtual Environments
• Architectures Algorithms for DHVEs
• Collaborative design manufacture
• Augmented Reality
• Grid storage approach
• 3D videoconferencing
• Rapid Deployment of Smart Spaces
• In hazardous environments (e.g. in-building
  fires)
• Ambient Assistance for the Elderly
• intrinsic and extrinsic sensory systems,
  behaviour tracking

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More details ?

• Contact the following engineers for more
  information
• MIMO - Dr Tharom Ratnarajah
• SPL - Dr Charles J Gillan
• SMART - Dr Bosheng Zhou
• SPACES

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• End

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• Backup

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Smashing through the Roadblocks on the Digital
Highway Dr Charles J Gillan The Institute of
Electronics, Communications and Information
Technology
Overview September 2004