• Journal of KIISE:Computer Systems and Theory
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.691-698
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• 2006

TCP/IP Offload Engine (TOE) is a technology that processes TCP/IP on a network adapter instead of a host CPU to reduce protocol processing overhead from the host CPU. There have been some approaches to implementing TOE: software TOE based on an embedded processor; hardware TOE based on ASIC implementation; and hybrid TOE in which software and hardware functions are combined. In this paper, we designed software modules and hardware modules for a hybrid TOE on an FPGA that had two processor cores. Software modules are based on the embedded Linux. Hardware modules are for data transmission (TX) and reception (RX). One core controls the TX path and the other controls the RX path of the Linux. This TX/RX path separation mechanism can reduce task switching overheads between processes and overcome poor performance of single embedded processor. Hardware modules deal with creating headers for outgoing packets, processing headers of incoming packets, and fetching or storing data from or to the host memory by DMA. These can make it possible to improve the performance of data transmission and reception. We proved performance of the TOE with separated transmission and reception paths by performing experiments with a TOE network adapter that was equipped with the FPGA having processor cores.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartD
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• v.11D no.2
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• pp.443-452
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• 2004

The paper presents an intelligent space management system for ubiquitous computing. The system is basically a home/office automation system that could control light, electronic key, and home appliances such as TV and audio. On top of these basic capabilities, there are four elegant features in the system. First, we can access the system using either a cellular Phone or using a browser on the PC connected to the Internet, so that we control the system at any time and any place. Second, to provide more human-oriented interface, we integrate voice recognition functionalities into the system. Third, the system supports not only reactive services but also proactive services, based on the regularities of user behavior. Finally, by exploiting embedded technologies, the system could be run on the hardware that has less-processing power and storage. We have implemented the system on the embedded board consisting of StrongARM CPU with 205MHz, 32MB SDRAM, 16MB NOR-type flash memory, and Relay box. Under these hardware platforms, software components such as embedded Linux, HTK voice recognition tools, GoAhead Web Server, and GPIO driver are cooperated to support user-friendly intelligent space.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.21-30
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• 2009

Fusion flash memory such as OneNAND$^{TM}$ is popular as a ubiquitous storage device for embedded systems because it has advantages of NAND and NOR flash memory that it can support large capacity, fast read/write performance and XIP(eXecute-In-Place). Besides, OneNAND$^{TM}$ provides not only advantages of hybrid structure but also multi-block erase function that improves slow erase performance by erasing the multiple blocks simultaneously. But traditional NAND Flash Translation Layer may not fully support it because the garbage collection of traditional FTL only considers a few block as victim block and erases them. In this paper, we propose an Erase Group Flash Translation Layer for improving multi-block erase function. EGFTL uses a superblock scheme for enhancing garbage collection performance and invalid block management to erase multiple blocks simultaneously. Also, it uses clustered hash table to improve the address translation performance of the superblock scheme. The experimental results show that the garbage collection performance of EGFTL is 30% higher than those of traditional FTLs, and the address translation performance of EGFTL is 5% higher than that of Superblock scheme.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.43-54
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• 2007

This paper presents design and verification of a face detection hardware for real time application. Face detection algorithm detects rough face position based on already acquired feature parameter data. The hardware is composed of five main modules: Integral Image Calculator, Feature Coordinate Calculator, Feature Difference Calculator, Cascade Calculator, and Window Detection. It also includes on-chip Integral Image memory and Feature Parameter memory. The face detection hardware was verified by using S3C2440A CPU of Samsung Electronics, Virtex4LX100 FPGA of Xilinx, and a CCD Camera module. Our design uses 3,251 LUTs of Xilinx FPGA and takes about 1.96${\sim}$0.13 sec for face detection depending on sliding-window step size, when synthesized for Virtex4LX100 FPGA. When synthesized on Magnachip 0.25um ASIC library, it uses about 410,000 gates (Combinational area about 345,000 gates, Noncombinational area about 65,000 gates) and takes less than 0.5 sec for face realtime detection. This size and performance shows that it is adequate to use for embedded system applications. It has been fabricated as a real chip as a part of XF1201 chip and proven to work.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.239-251
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• 2007

This thesis is about the reduction of the power consumption in GPS embedded terminals with periodic position fix to improve the time delay of position determination. In order to improve time delay of position determination during the wireless terminal is powered on, it needs to be set such that it can be periodically recalibrated by the GPS and those recalibrated values need to be saved in the terminal's memory so that it can reduce the time delay from the request of location. By using the trace of the information that's been saved in the terminal's memory, it can be set so that it'll be easier to determine whether the wireless terminal has gone into buildings and have the capability of checking if it has gone into a specific building. Likewise, while the terminal is turned on, in order calibrate the location, it needs to continuously work the GPS engine which leads to a rapid decrease in terminal's idle time. This thesis proposes some solutions regarding these issues - reducing 20 ~ 30% of the battery consumption for GPS visible situation that can occur when the wireless terminal periodically calibrates its location to determine the in-building status, and extending the idle time of the terminal by flexibly using the suggested GPS calibration time method according to wireless terminal's mobility.

• Journal of KIISE:Computing Practices and Letters
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.369-377
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• 2008

Today, Ethernet technology is rapidly developing to have a bandwidth of 10Gbps beyond 1Gbps. In such high-speed networks, the existing method that host CPU processes TCP/IP in the operating system causes numerous overheads. As a result of the overheads, user applications cannot get the enough computing power from the host CPU. To solve this problem, the TCP/IP Offload Engine(TOE) technology was emerged. TOE is a specialized NIC which processes the TCP/IP instead of the host CPU. In this paper, we implemented a high-performance, lightweight TCP/IP(HL-TCP) for the TOE and applied it to an embedded system. The HL-TCP supports existing fundamental TCP/IP functions; flow control, congestion control, retransmission, delayed ACK, processing out-of-order packets. And it was implemented to utilize Ethernet MAC's hardware features such as TCP segmentation offload(TSO), checksum offload(CSO) and interrupt coalescing. Also we eliminated the copy overhead from the host memory to the NIC memory when sending data and we implemented an efficient DMA mechanism for the TCP retransmission. The TOE using the HL-TCP has the CPU utilization of less than 6% and the bandwidth of 453Mbps.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.312-320
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• 2019

In this paper, we design a 512Kb eFlash IP using 110nm eFlash cells. We proposed eFlash core circuit such as row driver circuit (CG/SL driver circuit), write BL driver circuit (write BL switch circuit and PBL switch select circuit), read BL switch circuit, and read BL S/A circuit which satisfy eFlash cell program, erase and read operation. In addition, instead of using a cross-coupled NMOS transistor as a conventional unit charge pump circuit, we propose a circuit boosting the gate of the 12V NMOS precharging transistor whose body is GND, so that the precharging node of the VPP unit charge pump is normally precharged to the voltage of VIN and thus the pumping current is increased in the VPP (boosted voltage) voltage generator circuit supplying the VPP voltage of 9.5V in the program mode and that of 11.5V in the erase mode. A 12V native NMOS pumping capacitor with a bigger pumping current and a smaller layout area than a PMOS pumping capacitor was used as the pumping capacitor. On the other hand, the layout area of the 512Kb eFlash memory IP designed based on the 110nm eFlash process is $933.22{\mu}m{\times}925{\mu}m(=0.8632mm^2)$.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.189-198
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• 2015

Most IoT-related approaches have tried to establish the relation by connecting the network between things. The proposed research will present how the pervasive interaction of eco-system formed by touching the objects between humans and things can be recognized on purpose. By collecting and sharing the detected patterns among all kinds of things, we can construct the environment which enables individualized interactions of different objects. To perform the aforementioned, we are going to utilize technical procedures such as event-driven signal processing, pattern matching for signal recognition, and hardware in the loop simulation. We will also aim to implement the prototype of sensor processor based on Arduino MCU, which can be integrated with system using Arduino-Matlab/Simulink hybrid-interoperation environment. In the experiment, we use piezo transducer to detect the vibration or vibrates the surface using acoustic wave, which has specific frequency spectrum and individualized signal shape in terms of time axis. The signal distortion in time and frequency domain is recorded into memory tracer within sensor processor to extract the meaningful pattern by comparing the stored with lookup table(LUT). In this paper, we will contribute the initial prototypes for the acoustic touch processor by using off-the-shelf MCU and the integrated framework based on Matlab/Simulink model to provide the individualization of the touch-sensing for the user on purpose.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartA
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• v.11A no.7 s.91
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• pp.489-498
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• 2004

VLIW processor is considered to be an appropriate processor for the embedded system, provided with high performance and low power con-sumption due to its simple hardware structure. Unfortunately, the VLIW processor often suffers from high memory access latency due to the variable length of I-packets, which consist of independent instructions to be issued in parallel. It is because of the variable I-packet length that some I-packets must be placed over two cache blocks, which are called straddle I-packets, so that two cache accesses are required to fetch such I-packets. In this paper, an expansion buffer cache is proposed to improve not only the instruction fetch bandwidth, but also the power consumption of the I-cache with moderate hardware cost. The expansion buffer cache has a small expansion buffer containing a fraction of a straddle packet along with the main cache to reduce the additional cache accesses due to the straddle I-packets. With a great reduction in the cache accesses due to the straddle packets, the expansion buffer cache can achieve $5{\~}9{\%}$improvement over the conventional I-caches in the $Delay{\cdot}Power{\cdot}Area$ metric.

• Journal of KIISE:Computing Practices and Letters
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.868-872
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• 2010

Many embedded Java systems are equipped with limited memory, which can constrain the code cache size provided for Java just-in-time compilation, affecting the Java performance. This paper proposes expanding the limited code cache when it is full, by saving the machine code for some methods in the code cache into the file system of the permanent storage and reloading it to the code cache when they are re-invoked later. This is applying the client ahead-of-time compilation during the execution time for the purpose of enlarging the code cache. Our experimental results indicate that the proposed execution method can improve the performance by as much as 1.6 times compared to the conventional method, when the code cache size is reduced by half.