Reconfigurable Electronics Appl ication in Intelligent Space [626716]

Reconfigurable Electronics Appl ication in Intelligent Space
Developments

SZÁSZ Csaba

Technical University of Cluj, Romania,
Department of Electrical Machines and Drives, Faculty of Electrical Engineering,
Memorandumului Str, No 28, 400114, Cl uj-Napoca, [anonimizat]

Abstract – Reconfigurable electronics technology
represents a challenging implementation paradigm of actual stage microelectronics. This paper presents the
advantages of using hardware reconfigurable
microelectronics technology in intelligent spaces development and implementation. An original
approach it is unfolded which emphasize the versatility
of reconfigurable electronic circuit’s-topology based configurations in a wide range of intelligent
environment applications. The introduced theoretical
approaches have been validated then by a real-time intelligent space implementation example. There have been exploited the huge re-routing abilities of reconfigurable electronics associated with its fine-
grained operating behaviors. The final result of the
theoretical and experimental research efforts is a well-fitted and practical solution for a wide range of
intelligent space applications development and
implementation.

Keywords:
reconfigurable electronics, FPGA circuit,
intelligent space, graphical programming; sensors;

I. INTRODUCTION

Scientists defines the intelligent space (iSpace) as
location (or space) equipped with electronic devices and networks that provides the considered environment with intelligent behaviors capable to perceive and react events around them and to act as function of the received
stimulus. By enabling the spaces to perceive what
happens inside them addition features can be exploited that have been impossible to be used before. Since its first formulation in 1995, many types of iSpace approaches have been defined and developed [1, 2]. Without the claim to perform an exhaustive survey of the
entire topic (this is also not a main scope of this paper)
there it is mentioned only that basically two main types of iSpaces might be identified in the international references. The first type covers the iSpace where all the electronic devices and circuits (electronic sensors, networks, wireless devices, hardware, pads,
smartphones, etc.) are physically interconnected in the
same space or location. Another widely accepted definition refers to the iSpace built-up upon communication networks where the electronic devices
and sensors are placed in one location and their control
and supervision system is located in another physical space [3, 4]. In the related scientific literature such configurations are named as virtual iSpaces. Obviously, the iSpace concept can be extended to a virtual one being not limited at all to a given physical space. However,
enhanced with a wide range of additional abilities,
behaviors, features or services, the iSpaces fulfills the role of complex platforms designed with the main scope to make human life more comfortable and convenient [5, 2].

II. THE INTELLIGENT SPACE FRAMEWORK

It is well known that modern residential or
commercial buildings often embeds a wide range of
additional behaviors and abilities that has been
implemented to accommodate and react to the
surrounding environment permanent challenges. Such
buildings are capable to perceive events, exhibits
learning skills, or possess adjusting behaviors in order to
ensure the highest convenience and services for
inhabitants. Therefore, they integrate in the same way
distributed sensor networks, information technologies,
cameras, communication systems, or control systems.
In order express the main ideas within this paper, let
is consider the iSpace framework, as shown in Fig. 1.
This picture expresses a space (room or location)
endowed with intelligent behaviors and abilities.
The events within this iSpace are continuously
monitored by using distributed sensor networks (for
example: windows, doors, lighting or heating elements
open/closed state monitoring) and a video camera
network. Information is non-stop captured about events
or any change occurred inside this environment.
The acquired information is transmitted via wireless
network and real-time processed by dedicated
computers. This means that any event or modification of
monitored parameters inside the space is carefully
analyzed and processed. Then the adequate decisions
will be taken by the control system in order to handle
these challenges and provocations. Any relevant
information might be long-term stored by an adequate
database server, as shown in the figure.

Fig. 1. The considered iSpace framework

Of course, according to this approach the number of
disposed sensors, cameras, communication networks,
computers, or other electronic devices will be chosen as
function of the specific room or location configuration,
as well as the expressed specific user needs.

II. SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
INTELLIGENT SPACE FRAMEWORK

The theoretical remarks regarding the iSpace
framework adopted in the previous paragraph might be
validated via a concrete application. Therefore, let is
consider an arbitrary chosen iSpace equipped with a
distributed sensor network and communication network
as is presented in the block diagram given in Fig.2.

Fig. 2. Block diagram of the considered iSpace environment

The considered sensor network includes various
individual devices including light intensity sensors, fire
sources detection sensors, heat source sensors, motion
sensors and windows/doors open/closed state indication sensors. They are randomly distributed inside the
considered 3D space. Toward, all they are able to
transmit real-time informat ion about their state via
wireless or wire-communication networks.
The generated information packages about the current
state of the environment it is captured by a
reconfigurable electronics-topology central processing
unit. The number of the connected sensors is not limited
at all by assuming that an arbitrary number of such
electronic devices can be interfaced to the control unit.
A more concrete approach might be developed by
considering a given cadastral plan that clearly indicates
the building rooms and their arrangement, the location
of doors and windows, respectively the placement of
distributed sensor networks in the iSpace. For this
reason in Fig. 3 is presented the LabView front panel of
a specially conceived Vi rtual Instrument (VI).

Fig. 3. The LabView VI front panel of the iSpace environment
This VI developed in the LabView graphical
programming environment plots on the Front Panel
window’s left side the interconnected sensor types in the

iSpace. They are arranged according to the cadastral
plan shown on right side of the figure. There the motion
sensor is marked with a green square, the windows with
blue, the lighting elements with yellow, the heating
elements with light red, respectively the doors with light
brown squares. All the interconnected sensors generate feedback signals to the reconfigurable electronic system.
A piece of the LabView block diagram corresponding to the above described configuration is given next in Fig. 4. In this figure the concrete implementation strategy of the monitoring and supervising system can be followed.

Fig. 4. A piece of the labView block diagram of the iSpace monitoring and supervising system

This real-time program also contains timing and event
counter units, respectively implemented alarm system, if necessary. To each event mandatorily it is attached the adequate text message providing additional information to the system user.

III. HARDWARE IMP LEMENTATION RESULTS
AND DISCUSSION

The reconfigurable electronics based monitoring and
supervising system’s central unit is based on main frame of the Genesys Virtex-5 FPGA-based development board [6]. This is a high performance ready-to-use
module manufactured by the Digilent Co, provided with
rich hardware resources as follow: Xilinx Virtex-5 LX50T FPGA processor, 112 FPGA digital I/O lines, 8 LEDs, two-axis navigation switch, 8 slide switches and a 16×2 character LCD display, 256Mbyte DDR2 memory, RS232 port, 32Mbyt e Numonyx StrataFlash,
and multiple USB2 ports. The 112 digital input/output
lines of the development board are well suited to receive information from a high number of distributed sensors ldisposed in the iSpace. Additionally, they are full enabled to send information to the FPGA processor using its available serial, USB, or Ethernet ports.
The Genesys Virtex-5 development board is well
suited to the MicroBlaze technology implementation embedded in the Xilinx Platform Studio EDK (Embedded Development Kit) software toolkit [6]. This platform allows the implementation of a single or a two processor-based system in MicroBlaze technology.
The MicroBlaze technology means the use of a full-featured FPGA optimized RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) soft processor, the latter one being easy to be programmed in C/C++ language environment.
In Fig. 5, the block diagram of the implemented
hardware system in Xili nx Platform Studio EDK
environment is displayed. See below the mapped software configured MicroBlaze processor and the connected I/O ports, respectively the interfacing of the used LCD display. Of course, there the 2×16 character LCD display it is used to print text messages related to
the events that happen in the supervising system.
In Fig. 6 a picture that presents the digital platform
real-time operation mode is given. Here, the laboratory
setup continuously captures events in the iSpace environment and handles it according to the user’s
desired needs. In this particular example, the door
labeled 2 has been opened and this event is indicated via
a text message plotted on the LCD display and the turn-
on state of the adequate LED. Obviously, the
implemented digital control system is quite easy to “learn and adapt to” a specific iSpace environment
configuration or structure. Obviously, the implemented
digital system is quite easy to “learn and adapt to” a specific IBS configuration or structure. Only simple
software operations are required, without the need of
any change in the hardware architecture. Hence, this development system represents a well-fitted hardware solution for a large scale of different complexity iSpace
applications implementation.

Fig. 5. The block diagram of the monitoring and supervising system implemented in Xilinx EDK technology

Fig. 6. The monitoring and supervising system operation
To illustrate the main advantages of the
implementation, a short piece of the implemented program in C++ source code it is presented, as follow:

void gpio_init (void)
{ XGpio_Initialize(&e, XPAR_E_DEVICE_ID); XGpio_Initialize(&rs, XPAR_RS_DEVICE_ID); XGpio_Initialize(&rw, XPAR_RW_DEVICE_ID);
XGpio_Initialize(&lcd_data, XPAR_LCD_DATA_DEVICE_ID);
/*Set the all GPIOs as output*/
XGpio_SetDataDirection(&e,1,0);
XGpio_SetDataDirection(&rs,1,0); XGpio_SetDataDirection(&rw,1,0);
XGpio_SetDataDirection(&lcd_data,1,0) }
Sensors_state = XGpio_DiscreteRead(&Input_ports, 1); XGpio_DiscreteWrite(&Leds, 1, Sensors_state); if (Sensors_state >0)
{ // write string on the LCD display lcd_write( 'Char' )
.
lcd_command(0x02);
The above program lines initialize the used devices and
reads information from the Input_ports that are checked
for event occurrence. In case of a new event, the
adequate LEDs available on the development board are
turned on and a related message is plotted on the
LCD display to the system user. III. CONCLUSIONS

The paper argues for versatility of reconfigurable
electronics technologies application in iSpace
implementations. The most important conclusion of this research is that reconfigurable technology is quite easy to “learn and adapt to” a specific iSpace application,
without the need of any change in the main hardware
configuration. Only software operations are required to adapt the chosen hardware topology to a given
application. Additionally, it is recommended to exploit
the huge re-routing abilities and fine-grained grid-
computing behaviours of this technology.
These behaviours are highlighted during the implementation example presented in the paper. The final result of the development is well fitted,
versatile, and practical solution for a wide range of
different complexity iSpace implementation purposes.

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