ECE3140 / CS3420

Embedded Systems

Lecture 1. Introduction

Professor G. Edward Suh

Instructor
 Professor G. Edward Suh
 Research area: computer architecture, security
 Contact Information
 338 Rhodes Hall
 ece3140-instructor@csl.cornell.edu
 (607) 255-6856
 Office Hours: Tu 3-4:30pm and by appointment
 If my door is closed, then knock!
 Teaching
 ECE 3140/CS 3420: Embedded Systems
 ECE 5770: Resilient Computing Systems

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 Teaching Assistants
 Graduate TAs
 Mohamed Ismail (PhD, Head TA)
 Amardeep Manak (MEng)
 Mahantesh Salimath (Meng)
 Ian Thompson (MEng)
 Undergraduate TAs
 Andrew Daley
 Rohan Ghosh
 Raghava Kumar
 Han Li
 Shaurya Luthra
 Patrick Wang
 Jeffrey Witz
 Mark Zhao
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Today’s Computing Landscape

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 What is an Embedded System
 A computer system: Hardware + Software
 Embedded in the physical world
 Often has:
 Real-time constraints
 Fixed/limited functionality
 Resource constraints

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

bird tags
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Challenge: Cost

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ECE 3140 / CS 3420 – Embedded Systems, Spring 2017. Unauthorized distribution prohibited. L1 – Introduction 7

Internet of Things

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 Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS)

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Hardware-Software Integration

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 Hardware-Software Integration

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ECE 3140 / CS 3420

 Embedded systems are everywhere
 Electronics: smartphones, eBooks, cameras, . . .
 Cars
 Heating controls
 Home appliances
 Smart homes

 ECE 3140 questions:

 How does hardware and software work together?
 How does hardware and software interact with the
physical world?
 How do you handle real-time constraints?

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 Computer Engineering Curriculum
 ENGRD 2300: Digital Logic and Computer
Organization
 ENGRD 2300 is a prerequisite for this course

 ECE 3140/CS 3420: Embedded Systems

 CS 4410: Operating Systems

 ECE 4750/CS 4420: Computer Architecture

 ECE 4760: Designing with Microcontrollers

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Course Context
higher levels of abstraction

Programming languages

Systems software (compilers, OS)

VLSI circuits Computer organization

Digital design

Fundamental circuits

Solid state devices

Physics of the atom

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 How Do You Build Systems with >1G
Components?

Computer: Circuit Board: Integrated Circuit:

Hardware & Software 8 / system 8-16 / PCB Module:
1-2G devices .25M-16M devices 8-16 / IC
100K devices

MOSFET

Scheme for Cell:

representing 1K-10K / Module
information Gate: 16-64 devices
2-16 / Cell
8 devices
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What Do We See?
• Structure
– hierarchical design:
– limited complexity at each level
– reusable building blocks
• Interfaces Wait! I think
– Key elements of system engineering; I see a bug in
the DIV logic.
typically outlive the technologies they Got that
one off
interface the web.
Sure hope
– Isolate technologies, allow evolution it works.

– Major abstraction mechanism

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 ECE 2300 – Programmable Processor
Adder L1
+2 F m … F0 Data
M Cache
RF U M (KB)
M LD X

Decoder
U
P L1
SA X M
U Inst
M ALU
X C Cache SB
M
U U
(KB) DR X D_IN
U
X
M
U
X
PCJ X MB
D_in MD
PCL
SE

IF/ID ID/EX EX/MEM MEM/WB

L2 Cache (MB)

Main Memory (GB)

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Instruction Set Architecture

 The ISA describes a set of instructions supported
by a family of machines

 Examples: x86, ARM, MIPS, PowerPC

 The ISA specification tells hardware and software

(compiler and operating system) developers
 Instruction formats
 Operation of each instruction
 Ways to form memory addresses
 Data formats
 Lots of other stuff

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 Hardware for This Class

Freescale FRDM-K64F

Image from NXP, formerly Freescale Semiconductors

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Topics
 Assembly language programming
 Link to a high-level programming language: C
 Interrupts and I/O
 Managing interrupts: Concurrency
 Concurrency models
 Tasks/threads
 Synchronization
 Real-time constraints and scheduling
 Communication
 Data conversion
 Case studies
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 Why Assembly and C?

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Python Overhead: Language Features

 Name resolution and function setup and cleanup
are largest contributors
 Existing name resolution optimizations target JIT

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 Python Overhead: Interpreter Ops
 C function calls and dispatch are largest contributors
 C function calls are not considered in previous work

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Popularity

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 Course Outcomes
Students will:
 Understand role of assembly language
 Comprehend how microprocessors communicate
with the external world
 Reason about and apply concurrency techniques
 Understand process scheduling, including real-time
 Use some agile team programming techniques
 Articulate one’s technical reasoning
 Seek, appreciate, and incorporate everyone’s POV
 Provide and receive constructive feedback

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Class Overview
 Lectures
 TR 1:25-2:40pm in 101 Phillips
 Sections
 Help with material, lab
 Supplementary material
 Labs
 Implementation of concepts covered in class
 Problem sets
 Review material, preparation for prelims
 In-class quizzes
 See if you are keeping up with the class

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 CMS and Grading
 Resources: Everything through CMS
 Office hours, announcements, errata, resources, etc.
 Lecture notes (will be helpful to bring to lectures)
 You are responsible for keeping up with it
 Contact the staff if you do not have access

 Grading
 5%: Problem sets
 5%: Instructor’s discretion
 15%: Quizzes (25% participation, 75% performance)
 35%: Two prelims (15%, 20%)
 40%: Labs (5%, 5%, 7%, 7%, 6%, 10%), groups of two
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Exams

 Prelims
 Prelim 1 (15%) - March 21st
 Prelim 2 (20%) - May 2nd
 Closed everything

 No Final Exam

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 Problem Sets (Homework)
 Assigned roughly every two weeks
 Due Fridays @ 5pm
 Checked for completeness, but not graded

 Quizzes
 Covers previous week’s lectures + problem sets
 In-class (5-10 mins)
 Use i-clicker
 25% participation, 75% performance

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Labs
 Six labs: 5 fixed assignments and 1 project
 We will suggest topics
 Whatever you want (within reason)

 All lab assignments are done as a group of two

 No scheduled lab sessions

 You can do them at home
 Open lab hours to provide help

 Software required can be installed on Windows

 Mac/Linux: VirtualBox (free), Parallels, VMware
 Instructions will be released on CMS
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 Submission Rules
 Late Policy
 CMS marks submissions late the instant they are due
 Late submissions = 0 points
 But, you can submit up to two assignments up to 48 hours after
the deadline without penalty
 No single assignment is heavily weighted
 Lifelines cover minor illnesses or “crunch time”
 If you have a serious illness or family emergency, contact me

 Regrade Policy
 Submit a regrade request on CMS if you feel a grading
mistake has been made
 The regrade request must be received within one week
after a grade is released
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Getting Help
 Discussion board: Piazza
 Use for material-related questions
 Self-enroll (link on CMS)
 Look up answers before posting a question

 Email: @csl.cornell.edu
 ece3140-staff or cs3420-staff
 Things that could be inappropriate to post
 ece3140-instructor or cs3420-instructor
 Stuff that you’d rather not share with TAs
 Do not send email if posting is appropriate
 Do not use staff’s individual email addresses

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 Course Expectations
 Engineering solves world problems by using technology
creatively. I invite and expect every student to contribute
creatively as part of their learning process.

 Success in engineering depends critically on teamwork. I

invite and expect every student to engage in constructive
discourse, to bring their perspective, and to be
accepting of others’.

 Degrading, abusing, harassing, silencing, or dismissing

others in the process is not acceptable behavior. It is also
bad engineering.

 I invite and expect every student to maintain the highest

ethical standards.
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Academic Integrity
 Search for “Cornell AIC”
 http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/AIC.html

 You must read Cornell’s AIC carefully

 Discussions are encouraged
 Sharing solutions is not permitted
 Not submitting far better than cheating
 In case of doubt, refrain and ask

 Use discussion boards consistently with the AIC!

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 Acknowledgements

 Professors Rajit Manohar, Jose Martinez, and

others

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