Networked embedded control systems
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Kungliga tekniska högskolan - Skolan för elektro- och systemteknik |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 10 256 000 |
| Project duration | January 2008 - December 2011 |
| Status | Completed |
Purpose and goal
The revolutionary developments in microelectronics over the past decades have led to inexpensive yet powerful devices that can communicate with one another, sense and act on their environment. Such devices and the networks they form bring together communication, computation, sensing and control and enable monitoring and automation applications at an unprecedented scale. To take full advantage of this new technology in Swedish systems industry, novel design methods are necessary that transcend the traditional borders between disciplines. The objective of the NECS (Networked Embedded Control Systems) project is to generate precisely such a co-design framework, to integrate architectural constraints and performance tradeoffs from control and communication, while taking into account platform restrictions on complexity and energy management. This will allow the development of more efficient, robust and affordable networked control technologies that scale and adapt with changing application demands. To demonstrate and evaluate this framework, we will apply it on an experimental test-bed and in collaboration with industry on wireless automation test cases.
Results and expected effects
The NECS project focuses on embedded systems that are interconnected through wireless communication networks. The project will focus on developing rigorous methodologies for the design of networked embedded control systems and will thus result in fundamental principles and computational tools. The outcome of the project should contribute to new design paradigms that will help the application programmer and system developer to deal with the higher system complexity of wirelessly networked systems. Wireless technology has a great potential in many applications for embedded systems. Important domains for networked embedded control of particular relevance to Swedish industry are found in industrial automation, process control, automotive industry, security and telecommunication. The fundamental results of NECS will be applicable to all these areas. The experimental test-bed and target application of the project will be in wireless automation, i.e., the use of wireless technology in industrial automation and control; a major Swedish export industry.
Approach and implementation
The project is organized into the following work-packages: WP1 Scenarios and design assumptions WP2 Networked control WP3 Networking for control WP4 Transmission for control WP5 Co-design WP6 Exploitation and dissemination WP7 Test-bed