Universal Serial Bus Research Articles

A Novel Approach to Managing System-on-Chip Sub-Blocks Using a 16-Bit Real-Time Operating System

Embedded computers are ubiquitous in products across various industries, including the automotive and medical industries, and in consumer goods such as appliances and entertainment devices. These specialized computing systems utilize Systems on Chips (SoCs), devices that are made up of one or more main microprocessor cores. SoCs are augmented with sub-blocks that perform dedicated tasks to support the system. Sub-blocks contain custom logic or small-footprint microprocessors, depending upon their complexity, and perform support functions such as clock generation, device testing, phase-locked loop synchronization and peripheral management for interfaces such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) or Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). SoC designers have traditionally obtained sub-blocks from commercial vendors. While these sub-blocks have well-defined interfaces, their internal implementations are opaque. Without visibility of the specifics of the implementation, SoC designers are limited to the degree to which they can optimize these off-the-shelf sub-blocks. The result is that power and area constraints are dictated by the design of a third-party vendor. This work introduces a novel idea: using an open-source, small, multitasking, real-time operating system inside an SoC sub-block to manage multiple processes, thereby conserving code space. This OS is TurbOS, a new operating system whose primary goal is to provide the highest performance using the least amount of space. It is written in the assembly language of a new pipelined 16-bit microprocessor developed at the University of Florida, the Turbo9. TurbOS is derived from and incorporates the design benefits of an existing operating system called NitrOS-9, and reduces the code size from its progenitor by nearly 20%. Furthermore, it is over 80% smaller than the popular FreeRTOS operating system. TurbOS delivers a rich feature set for managing memory and process resources that are useful in SoC sub-block applications in an extremely small footprint of only 3 kilobytes.

Design and Construct of a Portable Solar Mobile Charger

Abstract: The state of incessant power failure accompanied with the increase in pump price of petroleum in India, solar energy becomes the most sought after energy source. Solar chargers are simple, portable and ready to use devices which can be used by anyone especially in remote areas. Going solar can solve the problems of dependence on fuels and the prevalent energy crisis. This project aims to make a portable solar charger which can be used on the go. A portable solar mobile phone charger is simply a power electronic device that converts solar radiation into electrical current for the purpose of charging the batteries of mobile phones. This charger is made by converting, controlling and conditioning the flow of electrical energy from source to load according to the requirements. of the load; this technology is called power electronics. An external adjustable voltage regulator is used to obtain the desired constant voltage. A zener diode switches on to ensure charging is cut off at the saturation point. Two 3.7V lithium ion batteries are used as backup; an operational amplifier works here as a comparator to signify when backup is fully charged. Ultimately, 11V and 160mA is supplied by the panel under full sunlight. This charger has an output voltage of 5V and an average of 800mA current to charge a mobile phone, this system charges a phone fully between 4-5hours and it has a capacity of 4800mAh. This device charges all mobile phones by all manufacturers using a universal serial bus connector. It is the only viable solution to charging mobile phones as it is portable, light-weight and does not cause pollution

Regulate drain‐shield relative positioning and contact for mitigating radiated emission from USB cables

AbstractThis letter delves into the influence of drain wire design on electromagnetic radiated emission (RE) from a commercial universal serial bus (USB) cable operating in a high‐speed data transfer mode. The investigation involves an experimental comparison of measured RE across various retrofitted cables. Notably, it is demonstrated that the distribution of contact points on the drain‐shield has negligible effects on RE. Conversely, relocating the drain wire externally to the shields and minimizing the distance with respect to the grounding connector leads to a significant reduction in RE, particularly within the sub‐MHz frequency range. Consequently, regulatory proposals are put forth to diminish overall RE and enhance the RE compliance of USB cables.

Deep Reinforcement Learning-Empowered Cost-Effective Federated Video Surveillance Management Framework.

Video surveillance systems are integral to bolstering safety and security across multiple settings. With the advent of deep learning (DL), a specialization within machine learning (ML), these systems have been significantly augmented to facilitate DL-based video surveillance services with notable precision. Nevertheless, DL-based video surveillance services, which necessitate the tracking of object movement and motion tracking (e.g., to identify unusual object behaviors), can demand a significant portion of computational and memory resources. This includes utilizing GPU computing power for model inference and allocating GPU memory for model loading. To tackle the computational demands inherent in DL-based video surveillance, this study introduces a novel video surveillance management system designed to optimize operational efficiency. At its core, the system is built on a two-tiered edge computing architecture (i.e., client and server through socket transmission). In this architecture, the primary edge (i.e., client side) handles the initial processing tasks, such as object detection, and is connected via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable to the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) camera, directly at the source of the video feed. This immediate processing reduces the latency of data transfer by detecting objects in real time. Meanwhile, the secondary edge (i.e., server side) plays a vital role by hosting a dynamically controlling threshold module targeted at releasing DL-based models, reducing needless GPU usage. This module is a novel addition that dynamically adjusts the threshold time value required to release DL models. By dynamically optimizing this threshold, the system can effectively manage GPU usage, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently. Moreover, we utilize federated learning (FL) to streamline the training of a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network for predicting imminent object appearances by amalgamating data from diverse camera sources while ensuring data privacy and optimized resource allocation. Furthermore, in contrast to the static threshold values or moving average techniques used in previous approaches for the controlling threshold module, we employ a Deep Q-Network (DQN) methodology to manage threshold values dynamically. This approach efficiently balances the trade-off between GPU memory conservation and the reloading latency of the DL model, which is enabled by incorporating LSTM-derived predictions as inputs to determine the optimal timing for releasing the DL model. The results highlight the potential of our approach to significantly improve the efficiency and effective usage of computational resources in video surveillance systems, opening the door to enhanced security in various domains.

Implementation of a Cross-Platform Development Board for Embedded Internet-of-Things Systems

A prototype of a printed circuit board (PCB) with radio frequency electromagnetic compatibility specifications is designed using the top-down methodology for the two-layer Internet of Things with free open-source hardware and software, using the following techniques: requirements, analysis, modular design, schematics, manufacturing and functional testing. The study of the influence of the design parameters is carried out applying the standards of the Printed Circuit Institute and the characteristics of the technological production process for a free multiplatform for wireless networks. Finally, functional tests of the universal asynchronous transmit and receive (UART) communication with the microcontroller, the radio modules, the general-purpose input and output pins, and the over-the-air (OTA) configuration are performed to program the board wirelessly, without the need of a universal serial bus (USB) interface.

The OptoReg system: a simple and inexpensive solution for regulating water oxygen.

This paper describes an optocoupler-based regulation apparatus for saturation manipulation of oxygen in water (OptoReg). This system enables control of solenoid valves for oxygen and nitrogen gases using a FireSting-O2 meter, an optocoupler box and an electronic switch box. The hardware components connect to a computer through Universal Serial Bus (USB) cables. The control software is free and has a graphical user interface, making it easy to use. With the OptoReg system, any lab with a computer running Microsoft Windows operating system and a 4-channel FireSting-O2 meter can easily and cheaply set up four independently controlled systems for regulating water oxygen levels. Here, we describe how to assemble and run the OptoReg system and present a data set demonstrating the high precision and stability of the OptoReg system during static acclimation experiments and dynamic warming trials.

A 87 dB SNR and THD+N 0.03% HiFi Grade Audio Preamplifier

This paper presents a significant contribution to high-fidelity audio technology through the comprehensive design and implementation of an advanced audio-grade preamplifier integrated with a high-performance digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The versatility of the digital section allows seamless integration of audio sources from Universal Serial Bus (USB), Bluetooth, or Sony-Philips Digital interface (SPDIF). In addition, the preamplifier accommodates various analog sources, offering flexibility to users. The unique architecture features an innovative resistor network-based DAC and precision components in the analog section, paving the way for achieving unparalleled audio fidelity. The measured distortion values are remarkably low, with a total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) of only 0.03%. Furthermore, the system exhibits a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 87 dB, comparable to industry benchmark. The hardware design sections went into meticulous details, providing an in-depth exploration of each block of the project. The inclusion of test and measurement data from the actual prototype enhances the credibility of the proposed work. This research not only showcases the theoretical operation of the preamplifier and DAC stage but also validates the practical implementation through many rounds of testing and validation. Our proposed work contributes to the field of high-fidelity audio by presenting a novel solution that is comparable to industry standards. The design’s adaptability to many different audio sources, coupled with robust performance metrics, positions it as a benchmark in the field of audio reproduction. The measurement results and findings presented in this paper are poised to influence future advancements in HiFi audio technology.

An internet of things-based touchless parking system using ESP32-CAM

<span>As technology continues to advance, governments around the world have implemented health protocols to minimize direct contact between individuals and objects, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. To address this need, a touchless parking portal was designed using a microcontroller-based and internet of things (IoT) -based system, with the Arduino UNO microcontroller device serving as the core component. The system employs an ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04 and passive infrared (PIR) to detect vehicles as they arrive at the portal area, in addition to requiring an ESP32-CAM camera, servo motor, light-emitting diode (LED), I2C 16x2 liquid crystal display (LCD), push button, universal serial bus (USB) to transistor-transistor logic (TTL) converter, power supply, and portal bar. The system builder software was developed using Arduino integrated development environment (IDE), Android, and Blynk. The authors conducted thorough testing and analysis of the system, concluding that its overall performance reaches 100%. Nevertheless, despite the extensive experimentation conducted, there remains a possibility that certain factors could still affect the results. Therefore, caution is advised when interpreting the outcomes of this experiment.</span>

Design and implementation of UART receiving module based on FPGA

In modern electronic systems, data transmission is an essential requirement within and between boards, or between lower and upper computers. To ensure data transmission accuracy, communication protocols are established that must be followed by all parties involved. These protocols include UART (universal asynchronous transmitter and receiver), IIC (Inter-Integrated Circuit), SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), USB2.0/3.0(Universal Serial Bus), and Ethernet. Among these protocols, UART is the most basic one and is widely used in embedded devices due to its simple circuit structure and low cost. With the exponential growth of information technology, UART-based embedded devices can easily achieve wired and wireless communication through various communication interfaces and wireless modules. In this paper, the author presents an example of a receiving module for UART communication that converts parallel data into string data. The entire module is developed using the hardware description language Verilog HDL. Simulations are performed using ModelSim, and the results demonstrate that the simulation waveform is consistent with the expected receiving data. This approach facilitates the transformation of serial data to parallel data, improving the efficiency and accuracy of data transmission.

UART communication protocol frame format explanation and application

Universal Asynchronous Transceiver (UART) is a Universal Serial Data Bus, hardware communication protocol using asynchronous serial communication in a configurable manner rate. In most embedded systems, microcontrollers and computers, UART plays an important communication role as a hardware communication protocol between devices to ensure the efficient transmission of communication data. The understanding and use of the UART protocol is crucial in our design process. In order to better understand. basic principle this protocol and realize the use of URAT, this paper introduces serial communication, UART frame format explanation, the working principle of UART, simulation of simple UART3. Depending on the source clock, also known as the Baud Clock, each heterogeneous device in a complete system may be able to create a distinct baud rate and connect with other devices over a UART interface. The fundamental tenet of the UART protocol stipulates that for proper communication, the transmitter and receiver must be set at the same baud rate. It also introduces several advanced designs and applications of UART with baud rate, namely UART with automatic frequency generator and frequency divider and Determination of UART Receiver Baud Rate Tolerance.

Related methods introduction and application analysis of I2C bus

Major changes have taken place in the global integrated circuit industry, and various emerging technologies have promoted the development of chips in the direction of smaller size and larger scale. Verification is the key line of defense to ensure the correct realization of chip functions. Verification also takes up a lot of time in the actual chip project cycle. Improving verification efficiency is of great significance to reducing chip costs. Universal Serial Bus IIC (Inter-Integrated Circuit) has the simple structure of two-way and double-wire, unique data transmission mode and its wide use in system-on-chip. This paper presents a design and implementation of IIC protocol based on Verilog language using Modelsim simulation software. The IIC protocol is a serial communication protocol used for data transfer between electronic devices. The paper provides a detailed introduction to the principles, communication process, and data format of the IIC protocol, and proposes a Verilog-based design solution. Through Modelsim simulation, the correctness and reliability of the design are verified

Clinical Nurses' Identification of a Wearable Universal Serial Bus Used for Pediatric Oncology Clinical Trial Participant Safety Management.

The expanded access to clinical trials has provided more patients the opportunity to participate in novel therapeutics research. There is an increased likelihood of a patient, as a pediatric oncology clinical trial participant, to present for clinical care outside the research site, such as at an emergency room or urgent care center. A novel wearable universal serial bus device is a proposed technology to bridge potential communication gaps, pertaining to critical information such as side effects and permitted therapies, between research teams and clinical teams where investigational agents may be contraindicated to standard treatments. Fifty-five emergency and urgent care nurses across the United States were presented, via online survey without priming to the context of clinical trials or the device, a picture of a pediatric patient wearing the novel wearable device prompted to identify significant, environmental cues important for patient care. Of the 40 nurses observing the patient photo, three identified the wearable device within Situational Awareness Global Assessment Tool formatted narrative response fields. Analysis of the narrative nurse-participant responses of significant clinical findings upon initial assessment of the pediatric patient photo is described, as well as the implications for subsequent prototyping of the novel universal serial bus prototype.

Design and construction of a DC – DC power supply for powering USB soldering iron

Power supply is an electrical device that converts electric current from a source to the desired voltage, current and frequency to power an electrical load. The universal serial bus (USB) soldering iron available in the market operates on a 5-volt direct current (DC) supply. Essentially, it can be powered by any cell phone charger that is capable of providing an output power of not less than 8 watts. Absence of constant power supply from the national grid at times inhibit effective use of this soldering iron. To power it directly from storage battery is inappropriate as most batteries are rated as 2.7, 3.7, 6, and 12 volts. This paper deals with the design and construction of an inexpensive portable regulated power supply to power a USB soldering iron from a 12 volt power supply. The circuit was designed and simulated using Proteus software “intelligent schematic input system (ISIS)” before the construction procedure. Deep discharge protection that safeguard storage battery against under voltage and reverse polarity protections were added to the design. These special features distinguished it from those available in the market. Two light emitting diodes (LED) serve as indicators for low and normal condition of battery while sound from a buzzer shows that the input terminals of the circuit were wrongly connected. The system was tested and found to work as anticipated.

Design of a Flying-Capacitor-Based Voltage Divider LLC Resonant Converter for USB-C PD Charger in Aircraft Applications

Portable electronic devices have grown dramatically at an incredible speed and include many new and sophisticated functions. Thanks to the advent of universal serial bus (USB) power delivery (PD) specifications, power delivery is increased as is the number of applications that can be powered using a USB cable in aircraft. However, the combination of the wide-voltage-gain operation required by the USB PD specification, high step-down ratio, and the lower-pressure environment associated with aircraft puts a lot of stress on converter optimization. This paper presents the DC-DC stage of an integrated, highly compact USB type-C PD charger for aircraft. First, a flying-capacitor-based voltage divider (FCVD) switching bridge is proposed to replace the conventional switching bridge in an LLC converter to improve its efficiency. Second, a printed circuit board (PCB) winding planar transformer is adopted to increase the power density. Gallium nitride devices are used for both the FCVD and the synchronous rectifiers, further shrinking the size and reducing the loss. Critical areas of the converter prone to a high electrical field (E-field) are identified and preemptively addressed with the use of the E-field control methodology that follows the Paschen-curve-based insulation coordination. The prototype is built and tested, and it is verified that the unit successfully operates in rated conditions to achieve a power density of 73.2 W/in <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> and an efficiency of over 90% at all nominal outputs. A high-altitude partial discharge test is also conducted, showing that the proposed prototype meets the partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) at 10,000 ft.

Ultrasonic-based submillimeter ranging system for contactless respiration monitoring

Wireless sensing technologies have exploited various methods for contactless respiration monitoring. One of the main methods is to use an acoustic beam to cover the chest and abdomen with real-time and high-resolution ranging. The system with high ranging resolution can detect small distance transformations, further affecting the precision of respiratory monitoring. However, the traditional range-based respiration monitoring systems are limited by an insufficient sampling rate and poor synchronization. The ranging resolution is between millimeters and centimeters. In this study, we introduced a novel, high-precision ultrasound-based system for contactless respiration monitoring. First, we developed a convenient and high-performance ultrasonic transceiver platform with universal serial bus audio architecture to eliminate the above limitations. The developed platform provides a foundation for acoustic sensing. Furthermore, based on this platform, we designed a cross correlation sine-frequency modulation continuous wave ranging method and a real-time respiration wave recovery method. The median error in monitoring respiration for 12 participants in three different sleep postures is 0 breaths/min, and the maximum error is 0.58 breaths/min. The proposed system has strong robustness concerning different respiration rates, long-term continuous respiration monitoring, and simulated apnea.

Real-Time USB Networking and Device I/O

Multicore PC-class embedded systems present an opportunity to consolidate separate microcontrollers as software-defined functions. For instance, an automotive system with more than 100 electronic control units (ECUs) could be replaced with one or, at most, several multicore PCs running software tasks for chassis, body, powertrain, infotainment, and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) services. However, a key challenge is how to handle real-time device input and output (I/O) and host-level networking as part of sensor data processing and control. A traditional microcontroller would commonly feature one or more Controller Area Network (CAN) buses for real-time I/O. CAN buses are usually absent in PCs, which instead feature higher bandwidth Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces. This article shows how to achieve real-time device I/O and host-to-host communication over USB, using suitably written device drivers and a time-aware POSIX-like “tuned pipe” abstraction. This allows developers to establish task pipelines spanning one or more hosts, with end-to-end latency and throughput guarantees for sensor data processing, control, and actuation.

Unit middleware for implementation of human–machine interconnection intelligent ecology construction

General speech recognition models require large capacity and strong computing power. Based on small capacity and low computing power to realize speech analysis and semantic recognition is a research area with great challenges for constructing intelligent ecology of the Internet of Things. For this purpose, we set up the unit middleware for the implementation of human–machine interconnection, namely human–machine interaction based on phonetics and semantics control for constructing intelligent ecology of the Internet of Things. First, through calculation, theoretical derivation and verification we present a kind of novel deep hybrid intelligent algorithm, which has realized speech analysis and semantic recognition. Second, it is to establish unit middleware using the embedded chip as the core on the motherboard. Third, it is to develop the important auxiliary tools writer-burner and cross-compiler. Fourth, it is to prune procedures and system, download, burn and write the algorithms and codes into the unit middleware and cross-compile. Fifth, it is to expand the functions of the motherboard, provide more components and interfaces, for example including RFID(Radio Frequency Identification, RFID), ZigBee, Wi-Fi, GPRS(General Packet Radio Services, GPRS), RS-232 serial port, USB(Universal Serial Bus, USB) interfaces and so on. Sixth, we take advantage of algorithms, software and hardware to make machines "understand" human speech and "think" and "comprehend" human intentions so as to implement human–machine interconnection, which further structure the intelligent ecology of the Internet of Things. At last, the experimental results denote that the unit middleware have very good effect, fast recognition speed, high accuracy and good stability, consequently realizing the intelligent ecology construction of the Internet of Things.

Improved SEED Modeling of an ESD Discharge to a USB Cable

Integrated circuits (ICs) connected to a universal serial bus (USB) interface require robust electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection strategies due to the nature of the high-speed interface and the regular access by users. System-efficient ESD design (SEED) simulations can help predict the level of ESD stress seen by the IC when protected by a transient voltage suppressor (TVS). In the following paper, previously developed models were improved to predict the voltage and current seen by a TVS and an on-chip protection diode when an ESD gun was discharged to one USB cable pin. Models were improved, in part, by accurately modeling the conductivity modulation within the behavioral TVS model and by using a measured equivalent source to represent the complex interaction between the ESD gun, USB cable, and enclosure. The response of the TVS and on-chip diode was studied in simulation and measurement for several cable configurations and when adding passive components between the TVS and on-chip diode. Simulations predicted peak and quasi-static voltages and currents at the TVS and on-chip diode within 30% of those seen in measurements. The proposed modeling process can help engineers to evaluate and optimize the effectiveness of their ESD protection strategies under complicated test conditions.

High-Isolated Full-Duplex Dongle Antenna Based on Even-Mode Suppression for B5G Communications

A space-shared full-duplex antenna with high isolation is proposed for universal serial bus (USB) dongles. A compact antenna with a compact size of 22 mm x 4 mm comprises a loop and dipole antennas, working as a vertical monopole and a horizontal dipole, respectively. The dipole-type is fed by a microstrip-slotline transition with filtering characteristics of odd-mode bandpass and even-mode bandstop, avoiding the even-mode excitation for the loop antenna. The inherent isolation is caused by the orthogonality of the modes and the even-mode suppression (caused by the microstrip-slotline transition). Thus, high port isolation, low envelope correlation coefficients (ECC), and high efficiency are achieved across the 5G band of 3.4-3.6 GHz.

A Novel Do-It-Yourself Approach to Simulating Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic Surgery.

In 2008, the American Board of Surgery required residents to pass a laparoscopic fundamentals examination to sit for the boards. As such, minimally invasive surgery became the newest addition as a requisite skill for surgical trainees. To assist in preparing trainees for future surgery, simulation devices have been integrated into training programs to develop proficiency with laparoscopic and arthroscopic techniques. While effective, one of the biggest obstacles to accessing these devices is the thousands of dollars required for the equipment. Many commercial and do-it-yourself (DIY) iterations of low-cost, portable, laparoscopic simulators have been described to address this. While the price point ranges from 300 to 400 dollars, these DIY simulators primarily utilize webcams, iPhones, and tablet cameras in a fixed position. This presents an inherent limitation in the simulator's accuracy as current laparoscopy surgery utilizes camera motion. This study presents a novel DIY simulator that portrays a more realistic view of the operative field using camera motion and positioning, costing approximately 200 dollars. This proposed simulator uses a Universal Serial Bus (USB) endoscope with interchangeable side mirrors. We inserted an endoscope with built-in light-emitting diode (LED) lights into a seamless stainless tube for the laparoscope and attached it to a computer for configuration. To simulate the abdominal cavity, holes were drilled into a ½ torso hollow mannequin at the standard port locations for laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and rubber grommets were inserted into the drilled holes. Trocars were constructed using cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) tubing and #8 rubber stoppers. By creating a more affordable and easily constructed model, acquiring laparoscopic skills is more accessible. Simulators are becoming an essential part of medical training. Affordable simulators like ours allow trainees to develop their laparoscopic skill set at their own pace and convenience. More research into this can potentially lead to increased exposure to more accurate simulators and facilitate more accessible training for performing minimally invasive surgery in any surgical specialty.