Serial Bus Research Articles

Mobile semi‐physical experiment platform using ultra‐compact real‐time simulator Pocket Bench for power electronics courses

AbstractThe potential electrical hazard, the unreal experience, and the time‐space inflexibility of the existing practical learning equipment are the barriers to the development of power electronics courses. To address these, this article introduces a mobile semi‐physical experiment platform using Pocket Bench. The Pocket Bench is an ultra‐compact Hardware‐In‐the‐Loop real‐time simulator, which can emulate the power electronic circuit with a 1.25 μs time step, and provide real‐time response signals to the physical controller. As the dangerous electrical power flow in the power electronic circuit is emulated in real‐time, the electrical hazards are eliminated. In practical learning, the students can implement the semi‐physical experiment system quickly by connecting the physical controller to the simulator. With the physical controller reserved, the students can get hands‐on experiences with the real hardware. More importantly, the palm‐size, lightweight simulator can be put into the pocket, and it can be directly powered by the universal serial bus port. Therefore, the semi‐physical experiment platform using Pocket Bench can be deployed with high time‐space flexibility. The distinctive features and the deployment method for the platform are illustrated. The application cases regarding the direct current (DC)‐DC converter, rectifier, and inverter are also given. A student survey concerning the feasibility, fidelity, and flexibility of the simulator was also conducted. The results show that the Pocket Bench grants the students new capabilities to safely carry out the practical learning of power electronics anytime, anywhere, with high‐fidelity sensory experience.

Design considerations and applications of a biomedical test bench development kit

Abstract Applications and requirements for biomedical test benches are often quite different, but there is always a need to monitor and usually to control processes. Commercially available development systems can be used to build simple laboratory setups up to industrial systems but are limited with respect to high costs and information for required validation. A test bench development kit is presented which ensures high compatibility for prospective developments, adaptations and embedding of sensors and actuators. The development kit is based on a printed circuit board built around the singleboard computer Raspberry PI. Supporting circuitry for power control, logics and special functions are implemented. Several types of peripheral devices can be connected via two serial bus standards (I2C, or RS-485). Current applications demonstrate the achieved level of automation and process control.

On-Orbit Implementation of Discrete Isolation Schemes for Improved Reliability of Serial Communication Buses

Serial communication buses are used in electronic systems to interconnect sensors and other devices, but two of the most widely used protocols, i.e., interintegrated circuit (I2C) and serial peripheral interface (SPI), are vulnerable to bus-wide failure if even one device on the bus malfunctions. For aerospace applications demanding increasingly more distributed processing and sensing capability, the compounding risk to system reliability as device count scales becomes a limiting factor in mission scope, performance, and lifetime. We propose a simple external circuit to be added to each node on a communication bus that automatically isolates the node in the event of device failure. By automatically isolating failed devices, the integrity of the bus is preserved without requiring additional signals or processing overhead from the host controller. In this article, I2C and SPI isolation circuits are simulated, fabricated, and experimentally verified to be effective at preserving bus integrity in the event of peripheral device failure. The isolation circuits were integrated into three spacecraft for the successful NASA V-R3x mission and found to significantly improve system reliability by eliminating single-point failure modes of the I2C and SPI buses. The developed protection schemes are a valuable tool for decoupling system reliability from serial bus device count and can readily be integrated into the existing aerospace systems.

Development Of Fleet Tracking Systems Using Direct CAN Data

The controller area network (CAN) is a highly integrated system using serial bus and communications protocol to connect intelligent devices for real-time control applications.
 Passenger safety, the safety of transported goods and road efficiency of vehicles are important issues for vehicle fleets. Monitoring of these data has an important place in increasing efficiency. Instantly controlling information such as vehicle speed, travel time, tire pressures, and fuel conditions from a single center provides a healthier fleet tracking.
 This study aims to provide maximum efficiency for vehicle fleets by transferring the instant data from the vehicles to a center.
 The introduced system, which has the capability to transfer instant data such as vehicle’s speed, engine’s rpm and temperature etc., makes great contributions, especially to the development of the autonomous transportation system. The results show that important vehicle data can be transferred with great accuracy and monitored remotely.

CO2-measuring dongle

The compact pocketable CO2-measuring device is built on a small printed circuit board (PCB) with the dimensions of ca. 8.5 × 3 cm. It is plugged into the universal serial bus (USB) port of a personal computer (PC) which serves to provide power and for downloading the measurements. The measurements can be viewed on the computer display where they also can be plotted as a graph to recognize trends. As the level of CO2 rises indoors when people are present and the air is not exchanged adequately the device can be employed as a personal device for monitoring indoor air quality. This is of particular interest when airborne pathogens might be present such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. The device utilizes a novel compact CO2 sensor which has only become available commercially recently, and is based on the photoacoustic measuring principle. A graphical user interface on the PC programmed in Python allows easy interaction with the user. A MSP430FR2433 microcontroller on the board controls the sensor and establishes the communication to the software application on the computer. This was facilitated by the choice of Forth as the programming framework for the microcontroller.

Low-Cost MATLAB-Simulink Compatible Data Acquisition Card Hardware and Software Design for Control and Test Applications

This paper presents a general-purpose data acquisition system is designed for control and test applications. In this data acquisition system, the connections of the input-output ports and peripherals are performed by employing the STM32L4 microcontroller with ARM-Cortex M4 architecture. The microcontroller communicates with the MATLAB-Simulink, transmits given commands to peripheral units, and receives data from the environment. The system has four digital input-output, two analog inputs, two analog outputs, four pulse width modulation outputs, an L298 driver, and encoder inputs. The connections of the peripherals with the microcontroller are transferred to the printed circuit board in the Altium Designer program to perform real-world applications and test. Universal Serial Bus (USB) is used to maintain communication between Simulink library and controller. This communication process provides not only the control of input-output, sensors and driver ports but also opportunity of transfer the process of sampled data. The library created in the MATLAB-Simulink environment interprets and observes the system’s data and controls the peripherals. This library contains blocks to control the overall system and each input-output. Proposed system is intended to be low-cost, accurate, reliable, high resolution, and compatible with various environments that may communicate over the USB port.

Implementation of facial mask detection and verification of vaccination certificate using Jetson Xavier kit

Computer Vision (CV) based object detection system is used for locating and recognizing objects of interest in the digital images or videos/live streams. In this work, real-time face mask detection and verification of vaccination certificates are implemented using a Jetson Xavier kit. Initially, live stream video is captured through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) High Definition (HD) video camera. Then, pre-processed using the standard Python CV library to grab a frame for further processing. Using Haar-Cascade Classifier and face encoding, recognition of the face from the frame is performed and labeled appropriately, then a pre-trained Deep Learning (DL) model is used to locate the target class (mask) on the frame. The Quick Response (QR) code embedded in the vaccination certificate is also analyzed from the frame. The beneficiary and vaccination details are obtained from the website of the concerned authority. Finally, the unique QR code with the relevant information is stored in the Jetson Xavier kit for detection and retrieval during the next instance. The system’s performance is verified and found to be good in terms of accuracy compared to other methods considered in this work. The implementation of this work will cater to the local community and help achieve the nation’s sustainable development goal.

Scalable and Characterization Methods and Tools for Remote Monitoring of Off Grid Technologies: Case Study of 3x15mva Power Distribution Injection Substation in Nigeria

Remote control and monitoring of energy resources are vital for the effective management of electricity in rural areas. Access to electricity in rural areas of Nigeria has grown in recent years. Nigeria appears to be growing rapidly in the electrification of both rural and urban areas through the use of distributed energy resources using renewable energy. Nevertheless, there have been challenges in the remote monitoring of the energy resources in the rural area. The challenges include high cost of implementation, available technology, power consumption, system integration, social-Economic challenge, etc. This paper present a cost-effective concept for remote monitoring systems of distributed energy resources (off-grid/mini-grid) and on-grid/main-grid technologies based on free open-source Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) or vison CC software that runs on a server located at the central station and a robust interface panel where the sensors measure system parameters, which are subsequently analyzed by signal processors before being transferred to a central location, where data is stored on the server's hard drive. The remote monitoring system is for monitoring and collection of energy data such as current, voltage, power, and environmental data such as temperature and humidity. The basic remote monitoring system consists of two components: a transmitter located at a remote site (where the mini-grid is installed) and a receiver located at the central station (where the system monitoring process is done). The proposed concept comprises various means of connecting locally with the remote system, with the connection being through Universal Serial Bus (USB), RS232, RS485, or Ethernet, where this data is stored on a central relational database management system, which makes it possible for posterior analysis.

Braille Language Text Conversion using Vibration Sensing Unit

The major goal of this project is to design and construct a Multi-Lingual Braille System Output Device for visually impaired people that will allow them to access and read computer texts. The device collects English texts and displays them with the help of a controller. It can also make a sound that corresponds to the displayed characters. The cells are controlled by a microcontroller called a Programmable Interface Controller (PIC). The Universal Serial Bus is used to communicate between the device and the computer (USB). The program that controls this interaction is written in the VB.net programming language. For the visually impaired to keep up with technology breakthroughs, such devices must be developed on a continuous basis. The inexpensive cost, the added multilingual, and the audio features are the key advantages of this system. Many other features, such as new languages and the Grade 2 Braille System, can be added to meet the demands of the users.

A Cascaded Hybrid Switched-Capacitor DC–DC Converter Capable of Fast Self Startup for USB Power Delivery

Hybrid switched-capacitor (SC) dc–dc converters show promise in applications that require high conversion ratios and small physical size. However, the problem of flying capacitor voltage imbalance, especially during transients, remains a major challenge that limits the adoption of such converters. This article presents a highly integrated hybrid switched-capacitor (SC) converter for universal serial bus (USB) powered applications, featuring fast balancing dynamics. The topology consists of two cascaded stages to increase the conversion ratio. The output voltage regulation and flying capacitor active balance are both achieved by modified ripple injection control (MRIC), with an additional phase skipping technique further improving the transient response during startup. Fabricated in 0.18 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, the converter prototype has a peak efficiency of 96.9% for 5:1.2 V conversion. Safe startup can be achieved with the input voltage rising from 0 to 5 V within 8 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (0.62 V/ <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> slew rate).

Nailfold capillaroscopy: a survey of current UK practice and 'next steps' to increase uptake among rheumatologists.

To identify barriers to the use of nailfold capillaroscopy as a diagnostic tool for patients presenting with Raynaud's phenomenon in UK rheumatology centres and to obtain rheumatologists' views on a proposed internet-based standardized system for clinical reporting of nailfold capillaroscopy images. An online survey was developed using expert opinion from clinicians, scientists and health service researchers. The survey was piloted and sent to UK-based rheumatologists using established electronic mailing lists between October 2020 and March 2021. Survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics. A total of 104 rheumatologists representing rheumatology centres across the UK responded to the survey. Wide variations in terms of workloads and practices were described. Thirty-four (33%) respondents reported using nailfold capillaroscopy only at their own centre, 33 (32%) referred to other centres, 9 (9%) did both and 28 (27%) did not use capillaroscopy at all. Of the 43 respondents using capillaroscopy on site, 25 (58%) used either a dermatoscope or universal serial bus microscope and 9 (21%) used videocapillaroscopy. Among the 61 respondents not undertaking capillaroscopy on site, barriers included lack of equipment (85%), lack of experience in acquiring images (69%) and lack of expertise in interpreting images (67%). Sixty-six respondents (63%) expressed interest in an internet-based, standardized automated system for reporting images. Most UK rheumatologists currently do not perform nailfold capillaroscopy on site. An internet-based nailfold capillaroscopy system for use with low-cost microscopes as well as with videocapillaroscopy could help increase uptake of capillaroscopy and thereby facilitate early diagnosis of SSc across the UK.

A hardware and software system for MRI applications requiring external device data.

Numerous MRI applications require data from external devices. Such devices are often independent of the MRI system, so synchronizing these data with the MRI data is often tedious and limited to offline use. In this work, a hardware and software system is proposed for acquiring data from external devices during MR imaging, for use online (in real-time) or offline. The hardware includes a set of external devices-electrocardiography (ECG) devices, respiration sensors, microphone, electronics of the MR system etc.-using various channels for data transmission (analog, digital, optical fibers), all connected to a server through a universal serial bus (USB) hub. The software is based on a flexible client-server architecture, allowing real-time processing pipelines to be configured and executed. Communication protocols and data formats are proposed, in particular for transferring the external device data to an open-source reconstruction software (Gadgetron), for online image reconstruction using external physiological data. The system performance is evaluated in terms of accuracy of the recorded signals and delays involved in the real-time processing tasks. Its flexibility is shown with various applications. The real-time system had low delays and jitters (on the order of 1 ms). Example MRI applications using external devices included: prospectively gated cardiac cine imaging, multi-modal acquisition of the vocal tract (image, sound, and respiration) and online image reconstruction with nonrigid motion correction. The performance of the system and its versatile architecture make it suitable for a wide range of MRI applications requiring online or offline use of external device data.

A mm-Wave 5G System Architecture With Enhanced-Gain Antenna Solution

A millimeter-wave (mm-wave) system architecture with enhanced-gain antenna solution is proposed for fifth-generation (5G) wireless communications. To enhance the antenna gain, the surface wave currents are converted to constructive far-field radiations through a novel two-stage metallic and dielectric rings. By applying low-profile dielectric ring, the electric near-field distributions of the grounded quarter-wavelength metallic ring are modified to create radiation apertures with appropriate polarization and orientation. The mutual coupling between transmit/receive antennas and cross polarizations is reduced by 7 and 5 dB, respectively, and the gain is enhanced over 4 dB. Low-loss mm-wave transitions are implemented in a standard FR-4 printed circuit board and in an interposer substrate to integrate the active antenna with the rest of the wireless system on a compact universal serial bus (USB)-interface platform. To evaluate the interposer package and define the output power of the embedded 60-GHz RF IC, an evaluation module with a standard WR-15 waveguide interface is designed and implemented. A prototype of the architecture, which is entirely realized using low-cost organic substrates, is presented and evaluated by experiments. Excellent correlations are achieved between simulations and measurements, demonstrating more than 25 dBm of equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) over the unlicensed 60-GHz frequency band.

Evaluation of Cost-Effective Flexible High-Speed Data Exchange Links for Heterogeneously Integrated Multi-Chip Modules and Boards

With increasing complexity and heterogeneity, miniaturized integrated system on both multi-chip module and printed circuit board levels relies more and more on high-speed point-to-point serial signal transmission links as the backbone of inter-chip data signal exchange network, which are inevitably accompanied by signal integrity problems such as loss, reflection, and crosstalk. The difficulties in the physical design phase of interconnect routing for high-speed link on densely occupied package interposers or printed circuit boards and the associated planar area overhead (keep-out zone for the crosstalk prevention and impedance matching, etc.), as well as the relevant cost in manufacturing, performance analysis and actual measurement or evaluation, are also sharply increasing; furthermore, the interconnects implemented on interposer or printed circuit board substrate are physically inflexible, and the corresponding microsystems are not suitable for emerging applications that generally demand good deformability and good conformality to 3-dimensionally shaped mounting surface. How to simultaneously elevate the cost-effectiveness, signal transmission performance and physical flexibility of the high-speed link, while keeping low profile of the whole module, has become one of the major challenges in the evolution of micro/nano system technology. Accordingly, this paper proposes a cable-based point-to-point link method, which adopts physically flexible and widely available off-the-shell cables that can be assembled onto the surface of the interposers or boards as a potential cost-effective solution to the challenge mentioned above. Universal Serial Bus, micro-coaxial cables, and Twinax cables are explored as candidates. The full links for each cable, from one of the paired connectors to another, are physically modeled and validated by an electromagnetic full-wave structural simulation tool, with key components of each type of link taken into considerations. The simulated results and the measured results from vector network analyzers are compared, which verifies the effectiveness of our proposal.

High-Resolution Ex-Vivo Imaging of Retina with a Laptop-Based Portable Endoscope.

Purpose Ophthalmic endoscopy is useful in vitreoretinal surgery with opaque anterior segments or anatomically challenging structures. However, standard ophthalmic endoscopy devices are usually large and costly. Thus, the development of a portable endoscope is necessary. Methods The portable endoscope consisted of a probe, an illumination system, a high-resolution camera module, and a universal serial bus (USB). It was connected to a laptop and applied for intraocular imaging of porcine eyes in vitro. Basic parameters and pictures of the same tissue target were compared with those of the standard Endo Optiks E4 system. Results The retinal images were displayed on the laptop screen, which clearly showed the overall appearance of the central and peripheral retina, and the details of the retinal vasculature and ciliary body. Compared with a standard endoscope, our portable endoscope is smaller and more affordable. It can be taken anywhere for intraocular imaging and vitreoretinal surgery. Conclusion A laptop-based portable endoscope is a promising device in vitreoretinal surgery. It provides high-resolution images of intraocular tissues that should make a noticeable difference in intraocular surgery with disordered anterior segments. With its portability and high-resolution imaging, it may promote the application of endoscopes in ophthalmology.

High Density Resistive Array Readout System for Wearable Electronics.

This work presents a wearable sensing system for high-density resistive array readout. The system comprising readout electronics for a high-density resistive sensor array and a rechargeable battery, was realized in a wristband. The analyzed data with the proposed system can be visualized using a custom graphical user interface (GUI) developed in a personal computer (PC) through a universal serial bus (USB) and using an Android app in smartphones via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), respectively. The readout electronics were implemented on a printed circuit board (PCB) and had a compact dimension of 3 cm × 3 cm. It was designed to measure the resistive sensor with a dynamic range of 1 KΩ–1 MΩ and detect a 0.1% change of the base resistance. The system operated at a 5 V supply voltage, and the overall system power consumption was 95 mW. The readout circuit employed a resistance-to-voltage (R-V) conversion topology using a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), integrated in the Cypress Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC®) 5LP microcontroller. The device behaves as a universal-type sensing system that can be interfaced with a wide variety of resistive sensors, including chemiresistors, piezoresistors, and thermoelectric sensors, whose resistance variations fall in the target measurement range of 1 KΩ–1 MΩ. The system performance was tested with a 60-resistor array and showed a satisfactory accuracy, with a worst-case error rate up to 2.5%. The developed sensing system shows promising results for applications in the field of the Internet of things (IoT), point-of-care testing (PoCT), and low-cost wearable devices.

A Review of PCI Express Protocol-Based Systems in Response to 5G Application Demand

In the Personal Computer (PC) industry, systems with updated configurations, components, and new technologies are introduced to the market each year. Resource arrangement and the prediction of market requirements for products are common challenges in each development phase of these products. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud services influence the PC industry, and product strategies must be examined to fit the requirements of the market. Common designs and market predictions can influence product line resource arrangements, and 5G applications are causing an increasing demand for 5G-enabled products in the market. However, PC systems based on PCI Express, NVMe, USB, and TPM have been introduced into the market with more secure solutions, and common designs and predictable market demand can provide more reliable strategies for navigating these issues. The research reported here is based on the serial bus system, which should simplify protocol transition between PCI Express, CXL, USB 4, and NVMe. Serial bus behavior should also influence performance and power consumption. Product strategies could be based on securing demand with power and performance in AI, the IoT, cloud storage, and high-performance computing. Based on performance and power requirements, application layer devices can use PCIe-based systems to provide secure solutions to extend 5G system reliability.

A novel low cost minimally invasive surgical system allows for the translation of modern pediatric surgical technology to low- and middle-income nations

BackgroundThere is a critical need for pediatric surgical humanitarian care. The role of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in these environments with its reduction in pain and wound care, operative time, length of hospitalization, and morbidity is logical. However, the costs, logistics and feasibility of MIS in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) can be challenging. Our goal was to develop a new low cost rapidly deployable minimally invasive surgical system (RDMIS) for use during remote pediatric general surgical (GPS) missions in LMIC. MethodsRDMIS system components consist of a universal serial bus (USB) interfaced laparoscopic camera, portable computer and a battery powered wireless portable laparoscopic light source. The surgeon transports the RDMIS in a single standard carry-on luggage. Utilizing prepositioning logistics from prior World Pediatric GPS missions, a standard MIS tower system (sMIS) was maintained on site. ResultsThe RDMIS was utilized to carry out procedural components of laparoscopic appendicostomy and laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Both sMIS and RDMIS were interchanged during the cases to allow for subjective comparison of surgical exposure and visualization. The RDMIS system allowed for safe and effective visualization and dissection of surgical structures. All children recovered uneventfully and were discharged the following day and have had no complications. The RDMIS system costs were significantly less than those of sMIS. ConclusionsRDMIS appears to be a safe, inexpensive option that will allow for the translation of modern MIS technology during GPS in remote locations. Further studies validating the RDMIS are indicated, however, the lower costs, ease of transport and potential benefit to children in the LMIC may be significant.

ITWIN Technology

The USB (Universal Serial Bus) flash drive is a data storage device. The data on the intermediary server is also stored in cloud storage. However, the USB flash drive has the disadvantage of being too compact in size, making it easily misplaced or lost. If someone else hacks the username and password for cloud storage, data can be misused. iTwin is the ideal solution for all of these issues. It's a secure USB gadget that lets you access, share, and edit any of your files and media between any two online computers in the world. It enables remote file access without compromising security or privacy.

Wi-Fi Access Point Design Concept Targeting Indoor Positioning for Smartphones and IoT.

Indoor positioning systems (IPS) have been regarded as essential for many applications, particularly for smartphones, during the past decade. With the internet of things (IoT), and especially device-to-device (D2D) cases, the client is supposed to have a very simple structure and low cost. It is also desirable that the client contains minimal software modules specifically for IPS purposes. This study proposes a new IPS technique that satisfies these conditions. The evaluation of the technique was previously executed based on a manual procedure. This technique utilizes Wi-Fi technology in addition to a new design of two orthogonal phased antenna arrays. This paper provides a complete design of a Wi-Fi access point (AP), considered as the proof of concept of a commercial AP. For the system to be fully automatic, the proposed architecture is based on a Raspberry Pi, external Wi-Fi modules, a powered universal serial bus (USB) hub, and two orthogonal phased antenna arrays. The phases of each antenna array are governed by extra-phase circuits as well as a radio frequency (RF) switch. Extensive design parameters have been chosen through parametric sweeps that satisfy the design conditions. Software testing results for the antenna arrays are included in this paper to show the feasibility and suitability of the proposed antenna array for IPS.