MASTER SCHOOL · and education at Aalto University is concentrated on such themes. The local coordinator for the specialisation, Vesa Hirvisalo is the leader of the related research

EIT ICT Labs MASTER SCHOOL

ES – Specialisations

EIT ICT Labs Master School: ES – Specialisations

ES EIT ICT Labs Master Programme

Embedded Systems The Embedded System technical major focuses on enabling technologies and design methodologies for computer systems which are embedded as integral part of larger systems, designed for specific control functions of devices with various electronic and mechanical components. These devices are everywhere, including a wide variety of personal and industrial systems such as mobile communication equipment, transportation vehicles, health-care equipment, and construction robots in the industry. In all these areas, embedded systems confer added value to the products by either extending the range of the delivered functionalities or by enhancing the quality of a “traditional” functionality that is rendered to the user. The goal of the ES major is to give students a holistic, system-based, and multi-disciplinary view on embedded systems, their development, and their integration.

More information: http://www.masterschool.eitictlabs.eu/programme/majors/es/

Contact: Juha Plosila ([email protected])


Specialisations Specialisations are provided during the second year. The ES major offers 6 specialisations, each at a different location. To meet the requirements for geographic mobility, the chosen exit point needs to differ from the chosen entry point.

Embedded Platforms at KTH

Embedded Multicore Processing at TUB

Embedded Networking at TUE

Mobile Cyber-Physical System at Aalto

Energy Efficient Computing at TUCS

Real-Time Embedded System at UNITN


Embedded Platforms (KTH Stockholm)

Dr. Johnny Öberg is an assoc. proffessor in Electronic System Design from Royal Institute of Technology (Kungl. Tekniska Högskolan - KTH), Stockholm, Sweden since 2003. He has extensive educational experience, and has supervised more than 100 MSc theses. He has been involved in the creation of four MSc programs at KTH. He is not only the coordinator of the Embedded Platform track of the EIT program, he is also the program director for the two regular MSc programs on Embedded Systems and System-on-Chip programs at KTH, and responsible for ICES

Education. On the research side, he was one of the pioneers in the early research on Network-on-Chip architectures and Grammar-based Hardware Synthesis. He has published more than 80 internationally reviewed papers in areas like Network-on-Chips, Grammar-based Hardware Synthesis, High-Level Synthesis, HW/SW Co-Design, and High-performance Hardware Architectures for a number of application areas. His current research interests include design and test of Heterogeneous Real-Time Multi/Many-core Systems, Computationally Intensive Hardware Architectures, and Reconfigurable Systems. He also has entrepreneurial experience. He started his first company in 1985. In 2003, he participated in the Kista Innovation and Growth Entrepreneurial programme and got first prize for best Business plan. In 2006-2008, he was working part time in industry as an FPGA/Embedded Systems/VHDL design consultant.

This track presents platforms commonly used in the industry, and studies architecture and design of homogeneous and heterogeneous platforms. Embedded platforms consist of a hardware architecture for computational units, interconnect and the memory system, and hardware dependent embedded software such as drivers and real-time operating systems.

Future Media and Content Delivery: Several of the presented platform are optimized for multi-media processing and wireless communication, which are prominent application case studies in several courses and projects. Many industrial master thesis projects also focus on multi-media processing and wireless communication.

Intelligent Transportation Systems: A second focus is on platforms for automotive electronics in particular for the in-car entertainment component and the traffic management systems.


Contact: Johnny Öberg

The KTH curriculum comprises of three mandatory courses

(in total 22.5 credits) plus one electable course.

Embedded Platforms Specialisation Mandatory Courses (22.5 ECTS):

Digital Design using HDLs 7.5 ECTS

Design Project 7.5 ECTS

Research Methodology and Scientific Writing 7.5 ECTS

Embedded Platforms Specialisation Electives:

System Design Languages 7.5 ECTS

Embedded Hardware Design in ASICs and FPGAs 7.5 ECTS

Embedded Systems Design 7.5 ECTS

Signal Theory 7.5 ECTS

Digital Communications 7.5 ECTS

Radio Electronics 7.5 ECTS

The program has a large industrial contact network through ICES, the KTH Innovative Centre for Embedded Systems. ICES organize regular meetings with the Swedish Embedded Systems Industry to present thesis and job opportunities.


Embedded Multicore Processing (Berlin)

Prof. Ben Juurlink is the coordinator of the Embedded Multicore Systems major at TU Berlin, Germany. He is a full professor of Embedded Systems Architectures of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science faculty of TU Berlin. He has an MSc degree from Utrecht University (NL) and a PhD degree from Leiden University (NL). In 1997-1998 he worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute in Paderborn (DE). From 1998 to 2009 he was a faculty member in the Computer Engineering laboratory of Delft University of Technology (NL). His

research interests include multi- and manycore processors, instruction level parallel and media processors, low-power techniques, and hierarchical memory systems. He has (co-) authored more than 100 papers in international conferences and journals and received a best paper award at the IASTED PDCS conference in 2002. He has been the leader of several national projects, work package leader in several European projects, and is currently coordinator of the EU FP7 project LPGPU (lpgpu.org). He is a senior member of the IEEE, a member of the ACM, and a member of the HiPEAC NoE. He served in many program committees, is area editor of the journal Microprocessors and Microsystems: Embedded Hardware Design (MICPRO), and is general co-chair of the HiPEAC 2013 conference.

Multicore processors are increasingly being deployed in embedded systems. To address this technology trend, TU Berlin offers a specialisation on Embedded Multicore Systems. The major conveys software as well as hardware aspects. The students acquire skills and knowledge to understand the ongoing technology evolution towards of multicore systems. Designing embedded systems has traditionally required application-specific platform customization. Nowadays, with ever increasing focus on multithreading and power efficiency, future embedded system designers require sufficient knowledge about multicore architectures. Several of these architectures are thoroughly analyzed such as cache-coherent, message passing, distributed memory, COMA, NUMA, and NUCA architectures. Additionally the major also targets heterogeneous systems, e.g., asymmetric multicores, fused CPUs and GPUs, and accelerators (vector units, DSP units, FPGA-based). In addition to the architectural knowledge, several parallel programming models as well as runtime systems are part of the curriculum at TU Berlin (MPI, OpenMP, Pthreads, OpenCL, OmpSs). For future and even more complex embedded software, it is more


challenging to guarantee high quality, reliability and especially real-time performance, while keeping the time-to-market low. Therefore TUB offers courses dealing with analysis and optimization of embedded software as well as other software techniques.

TUB curriculum comprises of three mandatory courses (in total 18 credits) plus minimal six credits out of the elective courses.

Contact: Ben Juurlink

Embedded Multicore Processing Specialisation Mandatory Courses (18 ECTS):

Multicore Architecture 6 ECTS

Parallel Systems 6 ECTS

Analysis and Optimization of Embedded Systems 6 ECTS

Embedded Multicore Processing Specialisation Electives:

Recent Advances in Computer Architecture 3 ECTS

Project Optimization of Multicore Systems 6 ECTS

Seminar Optimization of Multicore Systems 3 ECTS

Operating Systems Project 9 ECTS

Distributed Algorithms 6 ECTS

Recent Advances in Multicore Systems 3 ECTS

Hot Topics in Operating and Distributed Systems 3 ECTS


Embedded Networking (Eindhoven) Prof. Mohammad Mousavi is the coordinator of the Embedded Networking major at TU/Eindhoven, The Netherlands. He has received his Ph.D. degree from TU/e and did his postdoctoral research at Reykjavik University in Iceland. He has held an assistant professor position both with the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Departments at TU/e and currently he holds a permanent position with the latter department. His research interests include mathematical models of computer systems (formal semantics), testing and verification. He has served as program

chair and program committee member of numerous leading international conferences and workshops and served as a guest editor for a number of academic journals, such as Science of Computer Programming and Innovations in Software and Systems Engineering.

Contemporary embedded systems are networked in order to share information and resources. Networking has provided both numerous opportunities and interesting challenges for embedded systems. The specialisation at TU/e addresses these opportunities and challenges. It covers aspects of protocol design and verification, managing functional and non-functional aspects of architectural design, mapping to different platforms and finally programming, testing and diagnosis.

Some of the application areas, in which the aspect of networking is prominent, are listed below:

Health & Well-being: Wireless sensor networks can, for instance, be used to monitor elderly and disabled people living independently. Or they can be used in houses for human-centred interaction. Therefore, the specialisation will teach students how to design and build (wireless) sensor networks.

Future Media & Content Delivery: Networks provide new means to distribute media, e.g. TV broadcasts over Internet by peer-to-peer systems.

Smart Energy Systems: sensors connected in a network and controlled by intelligent algorithms provide the technology to enable energy management. This technology will gain importance due to the increasing complexity of energy networks.


Contact: Mohammad Mousavi

TU/e specialisation curriculum comprises four mandatory courses

(in total 20 credits), plus 13 credit units of elective courses.

Embedded Networking Specialisation Mandatory Courses (20 ECTS):

Architecture of Distributed Systems 5 ECTS

Network Embedded Systems 5 ECTS

Grids and Clouds 5 ECTS

Ubiquitous Computing and Activity Recognition 5 ECTS

Embedded Networking Specialisation Electives:

Wireless Communication 3 ECTS

Physical Aspects of Computer Security 5 ECTS

Seminar System Architecture and Networks 5 ECTS

Advances in Networking 5 ECTS

Energy Efficient Embedded Systems 5 ECTS

Measuring and Simulating the Internet 4 ECTS


Mobile Cyber-Physical Systems (Aalto University Helsinki)

Are you interested in systems that go far beyond current standalone appliances, laptops, and smartphones? Mobile cyber-physical systems combine computational and physical elements. A mobile cyber-physical system is typically designed as a network of mobile interacting elements instead of as standalone devices. Considering the elements, the ability to communicate and sense their environment in an intelligent manner is essential. Our research and education at Aalto University is concentrated on such themes. The local coordinator for the specialisation, Vesa Hirvisalo is the leader of the related research group at Aalto University and has a

long experience in education, is an awarded teacher, and has instructed over 50 theses. He has also worked several decades in collaboration with the related industry and has the experience of getting research results in practical use together with the industry.

The core of the specialisation Mobile Cyber-Physical Systems consists of project-based learning courses, in which the student will be trained in understanding the systems as a whole. This core is supplemented by a set of elective courses, which cover special technology needed in realizing such systems. The specialisation promotes research-based innovation that utilizes multi-domain knowledge. The environment of Aalto University gives an excellent setting for this. The university consists of six schools, one for economics, one for arts and design, and four schools for engineering. Considering the larger EIT context, the specialisation is connected to the thematic area of Smart Spaces, where the use of wireless networking and virtual and mixed reality allows embedded systems to be used in new innovative contexts and ways.

Contact: Vesa Hirvisalo


Mobile Cyber-Physical Systems Specialisation Mandatory Courses (min. 20 ECTS):

Web Software Development 3-6 ECTS

Seminar on Embedded Systems 3-10 ECTS

Embedded Systems Project 5-10 ECTS

A Language Course 3 ECTS

ICT Innovation I&E Minor Thesis 6 ECTS

Mobile Cyber-Physical Systems Specialisation Electives:

Digital Image Processing 5 ECTS

Speech Recognition 5 ECTS

Multimedia Programming 4 ECTS

User Interface Construction 3-4 ECTS


Energy Efficient Computing (University of Turku (UTU))

Prof. Johan Lilius is the leader of the Embedded Systems Laboratory at Åbo Akademi University, and the director of TUCS. Prof. Lilius is the author of over 80 publications, has supervised 4 PhD theses and over 40 M.Sc. theses. He has co-organised several workshops, summer schools and conferences in the area. In 2010 he co-chaired the “Applications and Theory of Petri Nets and other Models of Concurrency” conference. Prof. Lilius is also actively participating in the Finnish Strategic Centres for Science, Technology and Innovation in the ICT area, is an associate member

of the ARTIST network, and the Åbo Akademi University representative in ARTEMISIA.

Dr. Juha Plosila is an Associate Professor in Embedded Computing at the University of Turku (UTU). He received a PhD degree in Electronics and Communication Technology from UTU in 1999. Plosila is the leader of the Embedded Computer and Electronic Systems (ECES) research unit and a co-leader of the Resilient IT Infrastructures (RITES) research program at TUCS. He has supervised 10 PhD theses and over 25 M.Sc. theses. His current research deals with adaptive parallel embedded systems, with a special focus on emerging 3D stacked multiprocessor

systems. This includes applications of autonomous energy-efficient architectures to new computational challenges in the cyber-physical systems domain.

This specialisation prepares its graduate for the challenging design tasks of energy efficient computing systems. The students learn about the theoretical aspects of energy consumption in embedded systems and acquire practical skills to tackle the challenges of energy-aware designs. These skills are essential in design of systems especially in the following thematic areas of EIT:

Smart Spaces: Future applications in smart space and mobile domains require increasing computational capacity. However, no revolutionary new energy sources will be available. Instead the needed computational capacity must be provided by improving energy efficiency of algorithms and architectures;


Smart Energy Systems: Smart grid solutions are based on energy efficient embedded technologies: increasing intelligence (computational complexity) of a grid should not increase energy consumption;

Health & Well-Being: Energy efficient embedded computing will have an essential role in implementing future health & well-being applications and systems.

The Energy Efficient Computing specialisation track is hosted by the Turku Centre for Computer Science (TUCS), a joint institute of University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. Through this arrangement, students can benefit from the facilities and infrastructure of both universities in the same contemporary building. In addition, TUCS has established good connections to the ICT industry in the area through Turku Science Park Ltd.

Contact: Johan Lilius + Juha Plosila

Energy Efficient Computing Specialisation Mandatory Courses (20 ECTS):

Seminar on Energy Efficient Computing 5 ECTS

Design methods for Energy Efficient Embedded Systems 5 ECTS

Energy Efficient Embedded Electronics 5 ECTS

Many-Core Programming 5 ECTS

Energy Efficient Computing Specialisation Electives:

Multi-Media Algorithm Implementation 5 ECTS

System-on-Chip Design 5 ECTS

Reconfigurable Computing 5 ECTS

Seminar on Special Thematic Areas: Smart Spaces, Smart Energy Systems, Embedded Systems in Health and Well Being Applications

5 ECTS


Real-Time Embedded Systems (Trento)

Prof. Luigi Palopoli is the coordinator of the Embedded Systems major at Trento University, Italy. He is an associate professor and received his PhD degree from the Scuola Superiore S. Anna, Pisa, Italy, which is one of the most active university sites worldwide on real-time systems. He has a strong network of collaborations with several institutions working on real-time scheduling, control and robotics. He is the coordinator of an EU project on assistive robotics (www.ict-dali.eu). The research on embedded system in Trento is carried within the EECS research program at the DISI department. Research activities in embedded systems are on

sensor networks, design methodologies, real-time control and robotics.

Real-time systems are a particular class of embedded systems that are required to operate in close connection with the environment. The prominent issue for a successful design of a real-time system is its predictability: the system has to be bug free to the maximum degree allowed by the current industrial practice, it has to react to external stimuli in a predictable time and has to optimize resource utilization. To be able to develop a real-time system, a student has to be in command of several foundational disciplines on software development, computing architecture, model-based design. In addition, he/she will be exposed to the most recent trends on safety critical systems, embedded control systems and sensor networks. This rich basis of knowledge is constructed through the mandatory courses and elective courses, while a wide choice of optional courses enable the students to enrich their expertise on areas that are tightly related to embedded systems (e.g., distributed systems, security, software technologies). Laboratory experiences in which the students are required to operate on robotic and multimedia application contribute to the construction of practical skills that prove essential in the daily work experience on embedded real-time systems.

Contact: Luigi Palopoli


Real-Time Embedded Systems Specialisation Mandatory Courses (24 ECTS):

Laboratory of Embedded Control Systems 6 ECTS

Safety Critical Systems 6 ECTS

Sensor Networks 6 ECTS

Architectures for Embedded Systems 6 ECTS

Real-Time Embedded Systems Specialisation Electives:

Real-Time Operating Systems 6 ECTS

Signals and Systems 6 ECTS

Optimization of Electronic Systems 6 ECTS

Nomadic Communication 6 ECTS

Security 6 ECTS

Formal Methods 12 ECTS

Documents

MASTER SCHOOL · and education at Aalto University is concentrated on such themes. The local coordinator for the specialisation, Vesa Hirvisalo is the leader of the related research