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An embedded system is highly constrained by software interactions with the physical world and the physical execution platform. Paradigms from hardware design, software design, and control theory need to be combined in a consistent manner to design such a system.
The CITI has developed skills in embedded systems design, specifically in the domain of embedded computing systems used in telecommunications and multimedia applications. The CITI laboratory has been working on simulation of systems on chip, included in the scientific effort of Grenoble's Silicon Valley (Minatech, Crolles II, Minalogic, ...). The advent of systemC simulation allows small laboratories to simulate a complete chip on a simple PC, giving rise to new research opportunities in system on chip design. With these skills, the CITI laboratory is able to build experimental platforms used as test beds for new protocols or new design strategies such as energy minimization.
Following its developments on sensor networks, the CITI laboratory gained skills in low power embedded platforms, such as a micro-controller associated to a radio chip. Software development for such platforms needs to understand many low level technical features close to micro-electronics (hardware driver development, and lightweight operating systems) in order to control the hardware/software interface.
These skills are used today for research in the domain of wireless communication with numeric computations such as software radio, distributed applications on sensor networks, simulation of wireless networks or new communication protocol development. The CITI laboratory has also produced precise simulators of low power embedded platforms which are used in some research laboratories. The CITI also defined generic hardware abstraction to help the design of middleware that may absorb the hardware variations.