KGiSL Institute of Technology

KGiSL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Coimbatore- 641035
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND
ENGINEERING
QUESTION BANK
REGULATION: 2017

SUBJECT CODE / SUBJECT: EC 8791 EMBEDDED AND REAL TIME

SYSTEMS

YEAR / SEMESTER: IV / VII

Prepared by Approved by
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Faculty Incharge Head Of the Department

Syllabus

EC8791 EMBEDDED AND REAL TIME SYSTEMS

OBJECTIVES:
The student should be made to:
 Understand the concepts of embedded system design and analysis
 Learn the architecture and programming of ARM processor
 Be exposed to the basic concepts of embedded programming
 Learn the real time operating systems

UNIT I INTRODUCTION TO EMBEDDEDSYSTEM DESIGN 9

Complex systems and micro processors– Embedded system design process –Design
example: Model train controller- Design methodologies- Design flows - Requirement
Analysis – Specifications-System analysis and architecture design – Quality
Assurance techniques - Designing with computing platforms – consumer electronics
architecture – platform-level performance analysis.

UNIT II ARM PROCESSOR AND PERIPHERALS 9

ARM Architecture Versions – ARM Architecture – Instruction Set – Stacks and
Subroutines – Features of the LPC 214X Family – Peripherals – The Timer Unit –
Pulse Width Modulation Unit – UART – Block Diagram of ARM9 and ARM Cortex
M3 MCU.

UNIT III EMBEDDED PROGRAMMING 9

Components for embedded programs- Models of programs- Assembly, linking and
loading – compilation techniques- Program level performance analysis – Software
performance optimization – Program level energy and power analysis and
optimization – Analysis and optimization of program size- Program validation and
testing.

UNIT IV REAL TIME SYSTEMS 9

Structure of a Real Time System –– Estimating program run times – Task Assignment and
Scheduling – Fault Tolerance Techniques – Reliability, Evaluation – Clock Synchronisation.

UNIT V PROCESSES AND OPERATING SYSTEMS 9

Introduction – Multiple tasks and multiple processes – Multirate systems- Preemptive
realtime operating systems- Priority based scheduling- Interprocess communication
mechanisms – Evaluating operating system performance- power optimization strategies for
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processes – Example Real time operating systems-POSIX-Windows CE. - Distributed

embedded systems – MPSoCs and shared memory multiprocessors. – Design Example -
Audio player, Engine control unit – Video accelerator.

TOTAL: 45 PERIOD

UNIT I INTRODUCTION TO EMBEDDEDSYSTEM DESIGN

1. What is an embedded computer system?
2. Why a programmable CPU is used rather than a hardwired unit?
3. List the characteristics of embedded computing applications.
4. Why use microprocessors?
5. Why not use PCs for all embedded computing? How many different hardware platforms
do we need for embedded computing systems?
6. Define Cyber-physical systems.
7. List the challenges in embedded computing system design.
8. What are the ways in which the nature of embedded computing machines makes their
design more difficult?
9. What are the different levels of abstractions in real-time behavior of an embedded
computing system?
10. What are the objectives of embedded system design process?
11. Why the design methodology is so important?
12. What are the major level of abstraction in the design process?
13. What are all the major goals and the tasks we need to perform at every steps in the design
process?
14. What are all the non-functional requirements in embedded system design
process?
15. List out the entries in the requirements form as a check list.
16. Define Unified Modeling Language.
17. State the two complementary ways of Object-Oriented specification.
18. Figure an object describing a display in UML notation.
19. Figure out A class in UML notation.
20. What are the types of relationships that can exist between objects and classes?

PART B & C

1. What are the factors to be considered while designing an Embedded System Process?
2. Analyze in detail about the challenges in embedded computing system design.
3. Mention the requirements for designing a GPS moving map in embedded system design
process.
4. Define acronym of CRC. Make the use of a CRC card Layout to explain the system analysis
and architecture design.
5. Evaluate system design using requirements and illustrate the type of design and explain.
6. Analyze the hierarchical design flow for an embedded system with suitable diagrams.
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7. Construct system design methods using water fall, spiral and rain fall method and also give
the differences.
8. Demonstrate the goal of design methodology in detail.
9. Develop a model that would change system design using hardware software design system
method.
10. Describe the performance of embedded computing systems.
11. Develop the requirement, specification and state diagram of a model train controller with
necessary illustrations.
12. Evaluate the deferent factors involved in embedded system design process.

UNIT II - ARM PROCESSOR AND PERIPHERALS

1. What are all the major hardware components included in a typical computing platform?
2. Define CPU bus.
3. What is four cycle handshake?
4. What are the major components on a typical bus?
5. What is timing diagram?
6. Define Burst transfer.
7. Write short note on DMA.
8. What are the three registers included in DMA controller?
9. What are the three reasons for a bridge allows the bus to connect to each other.
10. Construct the ARM AMBA bus system.
11. Explain about ARM bus Systems?
12. List the types of DRAM.
13. Define boot-block flash.
14. Write note on intellectual property.
15. Define cross-compiler.
16. What is test bench program?
17. What are the important debugging tools available?
18. Define In-circuit emulator (ICE).
19. Write short note on Logic analyser.
20. What are the two modes that a typical logic analyzer can acquire data?
21. Define Linker.
22. Define re-entrant and re-locatable type of programming.
23. Define Loop distribution & Loop tiling.
24. What is dead code?
25. What is array padding?
PART B & C

1. Demonstrate the advanced features of the ARM Core .

2. From the fundamentals, draw the architecture of ARM processor with relevant explanation.
3. Examine the interrupt vector table by providing the vector address of each interrupt supported by
ARM.
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4. Give the general structure of an Assembly language line and provide examples for each
directive.
5. Discuss about the types of stacks and subroutines supported by ARM processor.
6. Investigate the working of a UART in LPC214x.
7. Draw the architecture of ARM Cortex processor and describe its functional units.
8. Discuss on the procedure to generate the square wave from Timer unit in LPC214x chip with an
example code.
9. Generate the program using ARM instruction to calculate 3X2 + 5Y2, where X = 8 and Y = 5.
10. Demonstrate the GPIO peripheral used in LPC214x family.

UNIT III - EMBEDDED PROGRAMMING

1. Define Process & Threads.

2. Define Jitter.
3. What is CPU usage metrics?
4. What is preemptive operating system?
5. Define kernel and time quantum.
6. What is Context, Context Switching & record?
7. What is active object & active class?
8. Write short note on round-robin scheduling.
9. Define Rate-monotonic scheduling.
10. Define Rate-monotonic analysis.
11. Define critical instant for a process.
12. State the equations for CPU utilization for a set of n tasks.
13. Define Semaphore.
14. Define Mutex.
15. What is mean by priority inversion?
16. Define Deadlock.
17. What are the advantages of building ISR queues?
18. Justify the term “Cyclic scheduling”.
19. What is dynamic program scheduling?
20. Define high level language.
21. Write the objective of a kernel.
22. What is mean by thread?

PART B & C
1. Analyze the components of embedded program and discuss in detail about each
component.
2. Describe about stream-oriented programming and circular buffer with example.
3. Examine the Data flow graph with the help of an example.
4. Illustrate the Code/Data flow graph for a While loop with necessary diagrams.
5. With the help of a flow chart describe the basic compilation process.
6. Discuss about the Procedure and Data structure with respect to compilers.
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7. Outline the Program level energy and power analysis and optimization.
8. Explain the steps for Program generation from compilation through loading.
9. Evaluate the different techniques used in software performance optimization.
10. Write short notes on black box and white box testing.

UNIT IV - REAL TIME SYSTEMS

1. What is the usage of mailboxes and pipes in RTOS?
2. What is meant by a pipe? How does a pipe differ from a queue?
3. Write the re-entrant function conditions.
4. Why do you need a cross complier?
5. What is meant by RTOS?
6. What is the advantage of reentrant functions in embedded systems software?
7. When is an RTOS needed in embedded software?
8. Name the two important functions of RTOS.
9. List out the task service functions.
10. What are the strategies used by RTOS on interrupt source calls?
11. List the function of a Kernel. What can be the functions outside the kernel?
12. When do use cooperative scheduling and when pre-emptive?
13. What is meant by action plan?
14. What is a target system? How does this differ from the final embedded system?
15. Define emulator and ICE.
16. Compare between the assembler and dissembler.
17. What is meant by Human machine Interactions?
18. Define ROM emulator.
19. What is the use of a simulator in a development phase?
20. What are a complier, linker, loader and interpreter?
21. What are the various component of emulator?
22. State the need for inter-process communication.
23. When is an RTOS necessary and when is it not necessary in the embedded system?
24. What are the functions of queues?
25. Define software interrupt.

PART B & C

1. Explain the typical designs for voter reliability with the example of poisson failures.
2. Mention the classification of faults according to their temporal behavior and output
behavior.
3. Give a detail notes on mathematical understanding of the priority ceiling algorithm
using a series of results.
4. Apply the knowledge of uniprocessor scheduling algorithms in developing a
multiprocessor schedule.
5. Examine the exponentially distributed fault latency with the condition
mean 1/µ.
6. Criticize on reliability models for hardware redundancy.
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7. Determine the more general model assuming that the failure process was
Poisson and fault latencies were exponentially distributed.
8. Estimate the Techniques for allocating and scheduling tasks on
processors to ensure that deadlines are met.
9. Discuss the preemptive earliest deadline first algorithm.
10. Evaluate utilization bound for the RM algorithm and explain it in detail.

UNIT V - PROCESSES AND OPERATING SYSTEMS

1. Illustrate the UML Collaboration diagram for the data compressor.

2. What are the additional behavior we provided for a fully functional system data compressor?
3. What are the three methods for table attributes in data compressor?
4. Draw the diagram for relationships between classes in the data compressor.
5. State the requirements for alarm clock.
6. Draw the class diagram for alarm clock.
7. Illustrate preprocessing button inputs for alarm clock.
8. What are the three types of test has to be performed in Alarm clock?
9. State the theory of operations and basic functions of audio player.
10. Define perceptual coding.
11. What are the three layers of audio compression standards?
12. Figure out the MPEG Layer 1 encoder diagram.
13. Figure out the MPEG Layer 1 encoder diagram.
14. Illustrate the MPEG Layer1 data frame format.
15. Draw the state diagram for audio playback.
16. Draw the architecture of a cirrus audio processor for CD/MP3 player.
17. State the theory of operation and requirements for software modem.
18. Draw the frequency shift keying and FSK detection scheme in the Software modem.
19. Draw the class diagram for the modem.
20. What is loop-back testing?
21.What are the steps performed by the modern digital camera?
22. What is Pixels, Luminance & Chrominance?
23.Define histogram.
24.What are major approaches are used to determine focus in digital camera?
25.What are the major types of image sensors used in modern camera?

PART B & C
1. Discuss in detail multitasking and multiprocessing.
2. Explain the concepts of Multiprocessor System-On-Chip (MPSoC) and Shared memory
multiprocessor are used in embedded applications.
3. Infer in detail about the
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i) Characteristics of distributed embedded System.

ii) Architecture of Distributed Embedded System with neat sketches.
4. Demonstrate in detail about power optimization strategies for CPU operation.
5. Recall the performance of the Earliest – Deadline – First scheduling with other
scheduling algorithms with suitable example.
6. Develop an approach for cooperative multitasking in the PIC16F with the help of a
program. What would happen if we put the tasks into Time Handler?
7. From design flow analysis to architectural design, illustrate video accelerator using
UML methodology.
8. Mention in detail about Shared Resources. Explain about Windows CE with a neat diagram.
9. Explain in detail how shared memory and message passing mechanisms are used for
interprocess communication.
10. Develop the Multirate system using condition of multi task and processes? explain with
suitable example and its necessary conditions.