The embedded Award 2008 was presented again this year for pioneering products and developments in the three categories hardware, software and tools. The winners 2008 are F&S Elektronik Systeme – category software, Atmel – category hardware and Hitex – category tools
F3S, Transaction-Based, Power-Fail-Safe File System for Windows CE
The Fail-Safe Flash File System (F3S) developed by F&S Elektronik increases data security when flash memories are used. The file system operates with transactions, i.e. the allocation table is not changed until the change of file contents has been fully completed. The allocation table indicates the location of the file in a memory. If a power failure occurs, it is possible to simply carry on working with the old data. The file system also specifically uses the characteristics of NAND flash memories to increase the data transfer rate and evenly distribute the load on the memory cells. The dreaded ageing effects of flash memories then occur later. Its modular design means F3S can also be ported to other operating systems.
AT32UC3B 32-bit Flash Microcontroller
The AVR32 UC core is the first 32-bit microprocessor core in the industry to integrate single-cycle read/write SRAM with a direct interface to the pipeline that bypasses the system bus to achieve faster execution, better deterministic behaviour and lower power consumption. The core can deliver up to 1.38 Dhrystone MIPS/MHz, running from on-chip flash memory. The AVR32 UC core is based on a 3-stage pipeline Harvard architecture and includes advanced features such as DSP arithmetic, single-cycle multiply and accumulate instructions and atomic bit or word read-modify-write instructions. The key benefits are high computational throughput, deterministic and real-time control, low power, low system cost, high reliability and easy to use. High performance and code density allows software designers to use high level programming methodologies without execution speed or cost penalty.
STM32-PerformanceStick
“Show how it works” is the idea behind this new concept. Whereas starter kits only show the technical functions, the STM32-PerformanceStick focuses on the application into which the microprocessor is integrated. Developers can easily gain in-depth insights into complicated applications, especially in view of the challenge of increasing complexity and pressure of time. A variety of example applications with source code demonstrates the implementation: for example, of a web server or a spectrum analyser. The development environment supplied with the STM32-PerformanceStick permits benchmarking and direct comparison of major features (like power consumption, interrupt handling) between STM32 (Cortex M3) and a standard ARM7-TDMI on a USB stick. The access to the complete processor peripherals via an 80-pin connector makes the STM32-PerformanceStick perfectly suitable as a fast prototyping platform.
university AWARD
The university AWARD is presented to an outstanding thesis on embedded technologies. This award pays tribute to especially innovative diploma, master or bachelor theses that are unique and future-orientated. The university AWARD 2008 has been presented to the following thesis: “6D Sensor Platform for Inertia- and GPS-aided Navigation” by Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Volker Wunsch, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences. The award winner designed a hardware set-up for an integrated, inertial and satellite-aided navigation system as part of a research project on the feasibility of highly integrated navigation systems.
The innovative problem in view of new applications in the field of location-based services in buildings, satellite-independent navigation systems in vehicles and industrial applications make this work highly topical. Wunsch found creative solutions for it: The use of the latest Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) makes it possible to implement an integrated, self-supporting navigation system in a very small space for the first time. It was necessary to use several new sensors and components in the thesis, some of which were only available as prototypes during the work. Besides the hardware concept and hardware simulation, the work included taking all modules into operation, including an evaluation board.
