ECE 397-1 (with CS): Introduction to Real-Time Systems

Time change and clarification of prerequisites

Introduction to Real-Time Systems initially had scheduling conflicts with a number of other related courses. In order to make it easier for prospective students to register, lectures have been rescheduled to 12:30-2:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Tech LR5. In addition, the prerequisites have been clarified.

Project

Example sensor code
Example PPC code

Introduction to Real-Time Systems is a project-oriented course. The project will be the design and implementation of a distributed real-time system, a sensor network.

You will use wireless Pocket PC computers to provide audio and video capabilities to the system and as clients from which to ask questions like "where in Tech is there activity?" and "let me see what's going on!". Similar to the sensor board element, you will learn how to balance your Pocket PC's many tasks to provide stable real-time behavior. Here, you'll be working on top of a larger real-time operating system, Windows CE.

The finished system will automatically route important information (temperature, light, rumble, audio, and video streams) throughout an automatically formed wireless network to observers (Pocket PCs and desktop machines) that may reconfigure the sensor nodes or remotely cause them to take actions such as sounding an alarm.

Students will form teams in order to complete the course project. We will make a strong effort to form well-balanced teams with each teams students collectively having the appropriate background.

Course goals

This course focuses on the design and implementation of computer systems that must or should provide timely responses. Real-time systems surround us and their development requires special skills. Automotive control, avionics, streaming media, and games are all real-time systems. In addition to traditional hard real-time concepts, design, and implementation, we will also explore soft real-time systems and distributed real-time systems.

Where this course can fit in your requirements

Prerequisites

• Proficiency with ANSI-C and C++ is required.
• Familiarity with microcontroller-based systems will be helpful, but is not required.
• Familiarity with Windows-based development using Visual Studio and similar tools will be helpful, but is not required.
• Familiarity with operating system concepts such as processes and threads, as well as some systems programming experience, are required. However, CS 343 and/or CS 213 are not required.

Faculty

• Robert Dick
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Office: Tech L477
  • Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 4:00-5:00 and by appointment
• Peter Dinda (Computer Science)

Teaching assistant

• Ashish Gupta (Computer Science)

Main reference

Jane W. S. Liu, Real-Time Systems, Prentice Hall, 2000.

Handouts

• Syllabus
• Lecture notes
  • Packet one — Introduction, definitions, graphs (Print version)
  • Packet two — Design representations, hard problems (Print version)
  • Packet three — Design representations, hard problems (Print version)
  • Packet four — Design representations, hard problems (Print version)
  • Packet five — Scheduling example, RTOSs, overview of OS and off-line scheduling code (Print version)
  • Packet six — Simulation for power and timing information, impact of modern architectural features (Print version)
  • Packet seven — Distributed real-time system synthesis (Print version)
• Course review (Print version). Please note that the chalkboard was used for many of the lectures.