The Infona portal uses cookies, i.e. strings of text saved by a browser on the user's device. The portal can access those files and use them to remember the user's data, such as their chosen settings (screen view, interface language, etc.), or their login data. By using the Infona portal the user accepts automatic saving and using this information for portal operation purposes. More information on the subject can be found in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By closing this window the user confirms that they have read the information on cookie usage, and they accept the privacy policy and the way cookies are used by the portal. You can change the cookie settings in your browser.
Multi-core systems are becoming particularly common, due to the high performance they can deliver. Their performance strongly depends on the availability of effective cache controllers, able to guarantee (among others) the coherence of the caches of the different cores. This paper proposes a method for the test of the cache coherence logic existing within each core in a multi-core system, resorting...
Mass spectrometry is a highly sensitive and fast analysis methodology that provides a detailed chemical profile of a sample, while requiring a small sample volume. Current ionization techniques such as electrospray (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALDI) have been used to characterize biomarkers in tissue and biological fluids. However, in the case of MALDI the choice for a sample target...
The paper is dealing with the in-field test of the decode unit of RIS C processors through functional test programs following the SBST approach. The paper details a strategy based on instruction classification and manipulation, and signatures collection. The method does not require the knowledge of detailed implementation information (e.g., the netlist), but is based on the Instruction Set of the...
Falls among the elderly is a major public health problem due to its causality for increased dependency. It can be tackled thanks to innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) along with new forms of service delivery organization such as home care. In the context of a Marie Curie project we have proposed the KINOPTIM concept, a comprehensive fall prevention and holistic management...
Branch Prediction Units (BPUs) are widely used to reduce the performance penalties caused by branch instructions in pipelined processors. BPUs may be implemented in different forms: the Branch History Table (BHT) is an effective solution when the goal is predicting the result of conditional branches. In this paper we propose a method to generate test programs able to detect faults affecting the memory...
Among the contrast-enhancement methods, histogram equalization is the most popular. However, its major drawback is that it over-enhances the image and shifts its mean brightness and, consequently, it creates an unnatural look. In this paper, we propose a method that overcomes this problem by splitting the image histogram into two sub-histograms, using the mean as a threshold, and replacing their cumulative...
When the result of a previous instruction is needed in the pipeline before it is available, a "data hazard" occurs. Register Forwarding and Pipeline Interlock (RF&PI) are mechanisms suitable to avoid data corruption and to limit the performance penalty caused by data hazards in pipelined microprocessors. Data hazards handling is part of the microprocessor control logic, its test...
When the result of a previous instruction is needed in the pipeline before it is available, a “data hazard” occurs. Register Forwarding and Pipeline Interlock (RF&PI) are mechanisms suitable to avoid data corruption and to limit the performance penalty caused by data hazards in pipelined microprocessors. Data hazards handling is part of the microprocessor control logic; its test can hardly be...
A key issue in many safety-critical applications is the test of the ICs to be performed during the operational phase: regulations and standards often explicitly describe fault coverage figures to be achieved. Functional test (i.e., a test exploiting only functional inputs and outputs, without resorting to any Design for Testability) is often the only viable solution, unless a strict cooperation exists...
Nowadays, Software-Based Self-Test (SBST) is growing in importance especially in the on-line test scenario for safety critical systems such as automotive. This paper concentrates on the coverage by SBST of those faults in the scan chain that can impact the behavior of the embedded processor while working in its application field. A technique is described that is able to systematically tackle these...
Electronic systems are increasingly used for safety-critical applications, where the effects of faults must be taken under control and hopefully avoided. For this purpose, test of manufactured devices is particularly important, both at the end of the production line and during the operational phase. This paper describes a method to test the logic implementing the Branch Prediction Unit in pipelined...
The Reorder Buffer (ROB) is a key component in superscalar processors. It enables both in-order commitment of instructions and precise exception management even in those architectures that support out-of-order execution. The ROB architecture typically includes a memory array whose size may reach several thousands of bits. Testing this array may be important to guarantee the correct behavior of the...
This paper presents the design, experimental modeling, and control of a pump-driven renal perfusion pressure (RPP)-regulatory system to implement precise and relatively fast RPP regulation in rats. The mechatronic system is a simple, low-cost, and reliable device to automate the RPP regulation process based on flow-mediated occlusion. Hence, the regulated signal is the RPP measured in the left femoral...
High peak power consumption during test may lead to yield loss. On the other hand, reducing too much test power may lead to test escape. In order to overcome this problem, test power has to mimic the power consumed during functional mode, being as high as possible but not crossing the frontier of over-consumption. Measuring power consumption is a very time consuming activity, therefore many works...
In this paper, image enhancement issues are addressed by analyzing the effect of two well-known color constancy algorithms in combination with gamma correction. Those effects are studied applying the algorithms separately and in combination. Images from the Barnard dataset and from the Berkeley dataset are considered for experimental tests. The performance of the approaches is evaluated comparing...
This work presents an evaluation of color image segmentation based on rough set theory. A performance comparison of two algorithms in different color spaces, RGB and CIELUV, is carried on. In this histogram-based approach to segmentation, the concept of Histon plays a fundamental role. Thresholds are obtained using a roughness measure, and the segmentation is accomplished using a region merging procedure...
Caches are crucial components in today's processors (both stand-alone or integrated into SoCs) and they account for a growing percentage of the occupied silicon area. Therefore, their test (both at the end of the manufacturing and on-line) is crucial for the quality and reliability of the whole product. While in many cases cache test is based on Design for Testability (DfT) techniques, there are situations...
Software-based Self-Test (SBST) can be used during the mission phase of microprocessor-based systems to periodically assess the hardware integrity. However, several constraints are imposed to this approach, due to the coexistence of test programs with the mission application. This paper proposes a method for the generation of SBST programs to test on-line the Address Calculation Unit of embedded RISC...
A Branch Target Buffer (BTB) is a mechanism to support speculative execution in order to overcome the performance penalty caused by branch instructions in pipelined microprocessors. Being an intrinsically fault tolerant unit, it is hard to achieve a good fault coverage resorting to plain functional testing methods. In this paper we analyze the causes for low functional testability and propose some...
The 40 years since the appearance of the Intel 4004 deeply changed how microprocessors are designed. Today, essential steps in the validation process are performed relying on physical dices, analyzing the actual behavior under appropriate stimuli. This paper presents a methodology that can be used to devise assembly programs suitable for a range of on-silicon activities, like speed debug, timing verification...
Set the date range to filter the displayed results. You can set a starting date, ending date or both. You can enter the dates manually or choose them from the calendar.