Exam1 Flashcards
Internet of Things definition and what it enables
Network of physical objects, embedded with sensors, electronics, software, and network connectivity. Enables objects to collect and exchange data, and receive control commands and react accordingly
What is the data path
Data acquisition -> local data processing -> data communication-> data streaming -> data storage and cloud -> data analytics
What is data acquisition (DAQ)
Process of sampling signals that measure real world physical conditions, and converting the samples into digital numeric values that can be manipulated by a processor
What are DAQ systems integrated by
Sensors, to convert physical parameters to electrical signals
Signal conditioning circuitry, to convert sensor signals into a form that can be converted to digital values
Analog to digital converters, to convert conditioned sensor signals to digital values
What is a sensor
A device that responds to a stimulus or input quality by generating processable outputs
What is a transducer
A device that converts energy from one form to another (sensors are types of transducers)
What is the objective of a sensor
To achieve accurate and stable monitoring of target measurands
What rules to sensors try to follow
It is sensitive to the measurand property
It is insensitive to other properties it encounters
It does not influence the measured property
What is nanotechnology
Enables the development of miniature sensors that can measure events at a nanoscale. Smaller sensors and can measure magnitudes with extreme accuracy
What is signal conditioning
The manipulation of the analog signal in a way that it meets the requirements of the next stage. Examples of this is filtering (noise reduction and interference reduction) and amplification/attenuation (increase/decrease waves)
Analog vs digital signals
analog is based on circuit elements, digital is based on digital signal processors, A relies on analog systems to solve differential equations and B relies on numerical calculations applied to digital signal values, A is real time operations and B might not be real time, A is single purposeand B is flexible, A can have fluctuation in results based on system status (eg temperature) and B is repeatable
Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)
Samples signals in time - sampling frequency
Quantizes the sample amplitude - resolution
ADC is a big bottleneck for high speed digital signal processing/communications bc they are relatively slow
What are sensor interconnects
They enable the communication between the sensing unit with the processing unit. Some classification examples: analog vs digital, serial vs parallel, wired vs wireless
Tell me about serial communications
Send data one bit at a time. Some examples are CAN, I2C, USB
Tell me about parallel communicaions
Multiple bits are transmittable simultaneously. Some examples are CAMAC, PC Cards, ISA
Tell me about SPi
Synchronous serial interface, full-duplex, master-slave architecture with one master, rate is usually above 10Mbps. Uses 4 unidirectional lines. Basically, the master sets the clock and selects a slave device, then a master sends a bit over MOSI and slave sends a bit over MISO at the same time. This continues until data is done being sent and the master stops toggling the clock and deselects the slave.
Pros: faster than async, supports multiple slaves
Cons: needs more wires, master controls all communication (slaves cant talk to each other), and needs a separate line/wire for each slave
Tell me about I2C
Synchronous serial interface, packet switched, half-duplex, multi-master multi-slave, rates from 0.1 to max of 3.4 Mbps, only 2 lines/wires. Basically, the master sends a start bit with a 7 bit register address, and a bit for read/write. Then the slave with the register address sends back an ACK bit so then the data can start being transmitted (either slave sending or master sending). At the end of the data, the master sends back with a stop bit. Start bit is SDA high to low with SCL high, stop bit is SDA low to high with SCL high, everything else sent with SCL low.
Pros: only two lines, multiple masters and multiple slaves
Cons: slow, complex
Tell me about UART
Asynchronous serial interface (don’t synchronize with clock), full-duplex, minimal implementation is 2 lines, rates are from 9600 to 115200 bps. Basically, UART takes bytes of data and sends each bit in sequential fashion. A second UART reassembles the bits into bytes. idle state is high voltage. start bit is low. 5-9 bits are sent for one character.
Pros: simple, only two lines
Cons: can only communicate between 2 nodes, very slow
What are Computing Architectures
A set of rules and methods that describe the functionality, organization, and implementation of computer systems. Components are Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), Microarchitecture, and system design
What is Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)
Defines the machine code that the processor reads and actus upon, as well as word size, memory address modes, processor register, data types…
What is Microarchitecture
Describes how a particular processor will implement the ISA
What is System Design
includes all the other hardware components within a computing system
what is Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC)
Architecture in which single instructions can execute several low-level operations (load from memory, arithmetic operations, memory store) or are capable of multi-step operations or addressing modes within single instructions. Examples are Intel x86,Intel 805 I, Motorola 68000
What is Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC)
Architecture that has a small set of simple and general instructions, rather than a large set of complex and specialized instructions. Usually, where memory is only accessed through specific instruction rather than a common part of most instructions. Examples are ARM, Atmel AVR, MIPS…
Tradeoffs of computer architectures
Performance with speed, latency and throughput, power requirements and energy consumption, memory capacity, size and weight, cost
What is a transistor
A transistor is an on/off switch that allows or prevents current from flowing through
Tell me some trends in microprocessor data
Transistors have increased steadily, single thread performance, frequency, and wattage had increased steadily but have recently plateaued, logical cores were usually pretty much the same, but then have been increasing in the last decade
What does processing speed depend on
The clock frequency (underlying transistor technology), data unit size, type of instructions and their execution order
What does energy consumption/power depend on
cost per instruction (set by word size and underlying technology), number of instructions to complete an operation, instructions per second, set by the clock frequency, instruction set and their implementation.
Nanoprocessors
Silicon based CMOS technology, operation frequency is a few GHz, transistors are super small - based on graphene. Nanomaterials will give unprecedented electrical and optical properties
What are target metrics for embedded systems/things?
Compact - ideally nonintrusive
Energy Efficient - ideally perpetual operation
Speed - fast but doesnt need to be too fast
Other aspects: heat dissipation, reliability, hardware security
What is a microprocessor
An integrated circuit (IC) that contains only a central processing unit (CPU). doesnt have memory or input/output pins. connected to a shared bus where you can connect devices for I/O or memory. Advantage: general purpose and can create your own system with only what you need