This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th Latin American Robotics Symposium and Third Brazilian Symposium on Robotics, LARS 2015 / SBR 2015, held in Uberlandia, Brazil, in October/November 2015. The 17 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 80 submissions. The selected papers present a complete and solid reference of the state-of-the-art of intelligent robotics and automation research, covering the following areas: autonomous mobile robots, tele-operated and telepresence robots, human-robot interaction, trajectory control for mobile robots, autonomous vehicles, service-oriented robotic systems, semantic mapping, environment mapping, visual odometry, applications of RGB-D sensors, humanoid and biped robots, Robocup soccer robots, robot control, path planning, multiple vehicles and teams of robots.

This work covers field programmable gate array (FPGA)-specific optimizations of circuits computing the multiplication of a variable by several constants, commonly denoted as multiple constant multiplication (MCM). These optimizations focus on low resource usage but high performance. They comprise the use of fast carry-chains in adder-based constant multiplications including ternary (3-input) adders as well as the integration of look-up table-based constant multipliers and embedded multipliers to get the optimal mapping to modern FPGAs. The proposed methods can be used for the efficient implementation of digital filters, discrete transforms and many other circuits in the domain of digital signal processing, communication and image processing.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems, CHES 2016, held in Santa Barbara, CA, USA, in August 2016. The 30 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 148 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: side channel analysis; automotive security; invasive attacks; side channel countermeasures; new directions; software implementations; cache attacks; physical unclonable functions; hardware implementations; and fault attacks.

In his master thesis, Vladimir Herdt presents a novel approach, called complete symbolic simulation, for a more efficient verification of much larger (non-terminating) SystemC programs. The approach combines symbolic simulation with stateful model checking and allows to verify safety properties in (cyclic) finite state spaces, by exhaustive exploration of all possible inputs and process schedulings. The state explosion problem is alleviated by integrating two complementary reduction techniques. Compared to existing approaches, the complete symbolic simulation works more efficiently, and therefore can provide correctness proofs for larger systems, which is one of the most challenging tasks, due to the ever increasing complexity.

"Models of Computation for Heterogeneous Embedded Systems" presents a model of computation for heterogeneous embedded systems called DFCharts. It targets heterogeneous systems by combining finite state machines (FSM) with synchronous dataflow graphs (SDFG). FSMs are connected in the same way as in Argos (a Statecharts variant with purely synchronous semantics) using three operators: synchronous parallel, refinement and hiding. The fourth operator, called asynchronous parallel, is introduced in DFCharts to connect FSMs with SDFGs. In the formal semantics of DFCharts, the operation of an SDFG is represented as an FSM. Using this representation, SDFGs are merged with FSMs so that the behaviour of a complete DFCharts specification can be expressed as a single, flat FSM. This allows system properties to be verified globally. The practical application of DFCharts has been demonstrated by linking it to widely used system-level languages Java, Esterel and SystemC.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to embedded systems for smart appliances and energy management, bringing together for the first time a multidisciplinary blend of topics from embedded systems, information technology and power engineering. Coverage includes challenges for future resource distribution grids, energy management in smart appliances, micro energy generation, demand response management, ultra-low power stand by, smart standby and communication networks in home and building automation.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the Second Latin American Conference on High Performance Computing, CARLA 2015, a joint conference of the High-Performance Computing Latin America Community, HPCLATAM, and the Conferencia Latino Americana de Computacion de Alto Rendimiento, CLCAR, held in Petropolis, Brazil, in August 2015. The 11 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 17 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: grid and cloud computing; GPU & MIC Computing: methods, libraries and applications; and scientific computing applications.

Thomas Feller sheds some light on trust anchor architectures for trustworthy reconfigurable systems. He is presenting novel concepts enhancing the security capabilities of reconfigurable hardware. Almost invisible to the user, many computer systems are embedded into everyday artifacts, such as cars, ATMs, and pacemakers. The significant growth of this market segment within the recent years enforced a rethinking with respect to the security properties and the trustworthiness of these systems. The trustworthiness of a system in general equates to the integrity of its system components. Hardware-based trust anchors provide measures to compare the system configuration to reference measurements. Reconfigurable architectures represent a special case in this regard, as in addition to the software implementation, the underlying hardware architecture may be exchanged, even during runtime.

This book provides a literature review of various wireless MAC protocols and techniques for achieving real-time and reliable communications in the context of cyber-physical systems (CPS). The evaluation analysis of IEEE 802.15.4 for CPS therein will give insights into configuration and optimization of critical design parameters of MAC protocols. In addition, this book also presents the design and evaluation of an adaptive MAC protocol for medical CPS, which exemplifies how to facilitate real-time and reliable communications in CPS by exploiting IEEE 802.15.4 based MAC protocols. This book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and students to better understand the QoS requirements of CPS, especially for healthcare applications.

The Verilog hardware description language (HDL) provides the ability to describe digital and analog systems. This ability spans the range from descriptions that express conceptual and architectural design to detailed descriptions of implementations in gates and transistors. Verilog was developed originally at Gateway Design Automation Corporation during the mid-eighties. Tools to verify designs expressed in Verilog were implemented at the same time and marketed. Now Verilog is an open standard of IEEE with the number 1364. Verilog HDL is now used universally for digital designs in ASIC, FPGA, microprocessor, DSP and many other kinds of design-centers and is supported by most of the EDA companies. The research and education that is conducted in many universities is also using Verilog. This book introduces the Verilog hardware description language and describes it in a comprehensive manner. Verilog HDL was originally developed and specified with the intent of use with a simulator. Semantics of the language had not been fully described until now. In this book, each feature of the language is described using semantic introduction, syntax and examples. Chapter 4 leads to the full semantics of the language by providing definitions of terms, and explaining data structures and algorithms. The book is written with the approach that Verilog is not only a simulation or synthesis language, or a formal method of describing design, but a complete language addressing all of these aspects. This book covers many aspects of Verilog HDL that are essential parts of any design process.

The basic concepts and building blocks for the design of Fine- (or FPGA) and Coarse-Grain Reconfigurable Architectures are discussed in this book. Recently-developed integrated architecture design and software-supported design flow of FPGA and coarse-grain reconfigurable architecture are also described.

Embedded Software Development: The Open-Source Approach delivers a practical introduction to embedded software development, with a focus on open-source components. This programmer-centric book is written in a way that enables even novice practitioners to grasp the development process as a whole. Incorporating real code fragments and explicit, real-world open-source operating system references (in particular, FreeRTOS) throughout, the text: Defines the role and purpose of embedded systems, describing their internal structure and interfacing with software development tools Examines the inner workings of the GNU compiler collection (GCC)-based software development system or, in other words, toolchain Presents software execution models that can be adopted profitably to model and express concurrency Addresses the basic nomenclature, models, and concepts related to task-based scheduling algorithms Shows how an open-source protocol stack can be integrated in an embedded system and interfaced with other software components Analyzes the main components of the FreeRTOS Application Programming Interface (API), detailing the implementation of key operating system concepts Discusses advanced topics such as formal verification, model checking, runtime checks, memory corruption, security, and dependability Embedded Software Development: The Open-Source Approach capitalizes on the authors' extensive research on real-time operating systems and communications used in embedded applications, often carried out in strict cooperation with industry. Thus, the book serves as a springboard for further research.

The original motivation for the development of digital computers was to make it possible to perform calculations that were too large to be attempted by a human being without serious likelihood of error. Once the users found that they could achieve their initial aims, they then wanted to go into greater detail, and to solve still bigger problems, so that the demand for extra computing power has continued unabated, and shows no sign of slackening. This book is an attempt to describe some of the more important techniques used today, or likely to be used in the near future, to perform arithmetic within the computing machine. There are, at present, few books in this field. Most books on computer design cover the more elementary methods, and some go into detail on one or two more ambitious units. Space does not allow more. In this text the aim has been to fill this gap in the literature. In selecting the topics to be covered, there have been two main aims: first, to deal with the basic procedures of arithmetic, and then to carry on to the design of more powerful units; second, to maintain a strictly practical approach. The number of mathematical formulae has been kept to a minimum, and the more complex ones have been eliminated, since they merely serve to obscure the essential principles.

Ever since television became practical in the early 1950s, closed-circuit television (CCTV) in conjunction with the light microscope has provided large screen display, raised image contrast, and made the images formed by ultraviolet and infrared rays visible. With the introduction of large-scale integrated circuits in the last decade, TV equipment has improved by leaps and bounds, as has its application in microscopy. With modem CCTV, sometimes with the help of digital computers, we can distill the image from a scene that appears to be nothing but noise; capture fluorescence too dim to be seen; visualize structures far below the limit of resolution; crispen images hidden in fog; measure, count, and sort objects; and record in time-lapsed and high-speed sequences through the light microscope without great difficulty. In fact, video is becoming indispensable for harnessing the fullest capacity of the light microscope, a capacity that itself is much greater than could have been envisioned just a few years ago. The time seemed ripe then to review the basics of video, and of microscopy, and to examine how the two could best be combined to accomplish these tasks. The Marine Biological Laboratory short courses on Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy in Biology, Medicine, and the Materials Sciences, and the many inquiries I received on video microscopy, supported such an effort, and Kirk Jensen of Plenum Press persuaded me of its worth.

The assembly of electronic circuit boards has emerged as one of the most significant growth areas for robotics and automated assembly. This comprehensive volume, which is an edited collection of material mostly published in "Assembly Engineering" and "Electronic Packaging and Production," will provide an essential reference for engineers working in this field, including material on Multi Layer Boards, Chip-on-board and numerous case studies. Frank J. Riley is senior vice-president of the Bodine Corporation and a world authority on assembly automation.

Sponsored by the International Society for Computational Methods in Engineering

In 1981 Robotics Bibliography was published containing over 1,800 references on industrial robot research and development, culled from the scientific literature over the previous 12 years. It was felt that sensors for use with industrial robots merited a section and accordingly just over 200 papers were included. It is a sign of the increased research into sensors in production engineering that this bibliography on both the contact and non-contact forms has appeared less than three years after that first comprehensive collection of references appeared. In a reviell''; in 1975 Professor Warnecke of IPA, Stuttgart drew attention to the lack of sensors for touch and vision. Since then research workers in various companies, universities and national laboratories in the USA, the UK, Italy, Germany and Japan have concentrated on improving sensor capabilities, particularly utilising vision, artificial intelligence and pattern recognition principles. As a result many research projects are on the brink of commercial exploitation and development. This biblio graphy brings together the documentation on that research and development, highlighting the advances made in vision systems, but not neglecting the development of tactile sensors of various types. No bibliography can ever be comprehensive, but significant contributions from research workers and production engineers from the major industrialised countries over the last 12 years have been included."

No other area of biology has grown as fast and become as relevant over the last decade as virology. It is with no little amount of amaze ment, that the more we learn about fundamental biological questions and mechanisms of diseases, the more obvious it becomes that viruses perme ate all facets of our lives. While on one hand viruses are known to cause acute and chronic, mild and fatal, focal and generalized diseases, on the other hand, they are used as tools for gaining an understanding of the structure and function of higher organisms, and as vehicles for carrying protective or curative therapies. The wide scope of approaches to different biological and medical virological questions was well rep resented by the speakers that participated in this year's Symposium. While the epidemic by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 continues to spread without hope for much relief in sight, intriguing questions and answers in the area of diagnostics, clinical manifestations and therapeutical approaches to viral infections are unveiled daily. Let us hope, that with the increasing awareness by our society of the role played by viruses, not only as causative agents of diseases, but also as models for better understanding basic biological principles, more efforts and resources are placed into their study. Luis M. de la Maza Irvine, California Ellena M."

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Nonlinear Dynamics of Electronic Systems, NDES 2014, held in Albena, Bulgaria, in July 2014. The 47 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 65 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on nonlinear oscillators, circuits and electronic systems; networks and nonlinear dynamics and nonlinear phenomena in biological and physiological systems.

Contemporary distributed file systems are monolithic and only support single file abstractions. Nowadays, as Sai-Lai Lo explains, network storage devices have to accommodate new information media such as digital audio and video, with data radically different from the traditional text and binary code that contemporary file systems are optimized for. In this book, the author shows how, by combining new and traditional media, information can be recorded and presented in the most suitable way, and the value of a piece of information can be further enhanced by linking together related pieces. However, composite data and cross-reference between data items raise a number of system issues that have not been addressed properly before. Lo defines a new multiservice storage architecture that meets the needs of existing and emerging applications and can support multiple file abstractions. He also explores a number of related design issues. Researchers in the areas of distributed systems, network multimedia and network storage services will enjoy this book.

The Verilog Hardware Description Language (Verilog-HDL) has long been the most popular language for describing complex digital hardware. It started life as a prop- etary language but was donated by Cadence Design Systems to the design community to serve as the basis of an open standard. That standard was formalized in 1995 by the IEEE in standard 1364-1995. About that same time a group named Analog Verilog International formed with the intent of proposing extensions to Verilog to support analog and mixed-signal simulation. The first fruits of the labor of that group became available in 1996 when the language definition of Verilog-A was released. Verilog-A was not intended to work directly with Verilog-HDL. Rather it was a language with Similar syntax and related semantics that was intended to model analog systems and be compatible with SPICE-class circuit simulation engines. The first implementation of Verilog-A soon followed: a version from Cadence that ran on their Spectre circuit simulator. As more implementations of Verilog-A became available, the group defining the a- log and mixed-signal extensions to Verilog continued their work, releasing the defi- tion of Verilog-AMS in 2000. Verilog-AMS combines both Verilog-HDL and Verilog-A, and adds additional mixed-signal constructs, providing a hardware description language suitable for analog, digital, and mixed-signal systems. Again, Cadence was first to release an implementation of this new language, in a product named AMS Designer that combines their Verilog and Spectre simulation engines.

Principles of Verifiable RTL Design: A Functional Coding Style Supporting Verification Processes in Verilog explains how you can write Verilog to describe chip designs at the RT-level in a manner that cooperates with verification processes. This cooperation can return an order of magnitude improvement in performance and capacity from tools such as simulation and equivalence checkers. It reduces the labor costs of coverage and formal model checking by facilitating communication between the design engineer and the verification engineer. It also orients the RTL style to provide more useful results from the overall verification process. The intended audience for Principles of Verifiable RTL Design: A Functional Coding Style Supporting Verification Processes in Verilog is engineers and students who need an introduction to various design verification processes and a supporting functional Verilog RTL coding style. A second intended audience is engineers who have been through introductory training in Verilog and now want to develop good RTL writing practices for verification. A third audience is Verilog language instructors who are using a general text on Verilog as the course textbook but want to enrich their lectures with an emphasis on verification. A fourth audience is engineers with substantial Verilog experience who want to improve their Verilog practice to work better with RTL Verilog verification tools. A fifth audience is design consultants searching for proven verification-centric methodologies. A sixth audience is EDA verification tool implementers who want some suggestions about a minimal Verilog verification subset. Principles of Verifiable RTL Design: A Functional Coding Style Supporting Verification Processes in Verilog is based on the reality that comes from actual large-scale product design process and tool experience.

Control system design is a challenging task for practicing engineers. It requires knowledge of different engineering fields, a good understanding of technical specifications and good communication skills. The current book introduces the reader into practical control system design, bridging the gap between theory and practice. The control design techniques presented in the book are all model based., considering the needs and possibilities of practicing engineers. Classical control design techniques are reviewed and methods are presented how to verify the robustness of the design. It is how the designed control algorithm can be implemented in real-time and tested, fulfilling different safety requirements. Good design practices and the systematic software development process are emphasized in the book according to the generic standard IEC61508. The book is mainly addressed to practicing control and embedded software engineers - working in research and development - as well as graduate students who are faced with the challenge to design control systems and implement them in real-time.