## Discrete-Time PLLs, Part 1: Basics

December 1, 20159 comments

Design Files: Part1.slx

Hi everyone,

In this series of tutorials on discrete-time PLLs we will be focusing on Phase-Locked Loops that can be implemented in discrete-time signal proessors such as FPGAs, DSPs and of course, MATLAB.

In the first part of the series, we will be reviewing the basics of continuous-time baseband PLLs and we will see some useful mathematics that will give us insight into the inners working of PLLs. In the second part, we will focus on...

## Mounting plate for Arduino

November 30, 2015

While having a breadboard with your microcontroller is necessary, it is very cumbersome if the two aren't fastened together somehow.  You can buy mounting plates, but I choose to make one.

I am using thin plexiglass type glazing material from the hardware store.  You can use the thicker material, but may have to purchase longer screws for stand-offs depending on what you use.

I like using the small Plano tackle boxes, because they can hold the plate, a few parts, batteries and a...

## Cortex-M Exception Handling (Part 1)

November 28, 20152 comments

This article describes how Cortex-M processors handle interrupts and, more generally, exceptions, a concept that plays a central role in the design and implementation of most embedded systems. The main reason of discussing this topic in detail is that, in the past few years, the degree of sophistication (and complexity) of microcontrollers in handling interrupts steadily increased, bringing them on a par with general-purpose processors.

## Coding Step 4 - Design

November 24, 2015

Articles in this series:

The last article in this series discussed how to write functional high-level requirements: specifications for what your software is supposed to do. Software design is the other side of the coin....

## Polynomial Inverse

November 23, 20152 comments

One of the important steps of computing point addition over elliptic curves is a division of two polynomials.  When working in $GF(2^n)$ we don't have large enough powers to actually do a division, so we compute the inverse of the denominator and then multiply.  This is usually done using Euclid's method, but if squaring and multiplying are fast we can take advantage of these operations and compute the multiplicative inverse in just a few steps.

The first time I ran across this...

## Motion Sensor with Raspberry Pi and MPU6050 - Part 1

November 21, 2015

This blog will help you build your own, low cost 3-axis motion sensor using Raspberry Pi and Invensense MPU6050. For the benefit of the beginners, I will be beginning with the basics - setting up Raspberry Pi in part 1 of this blog series and then proceed to interfacing the MEMS based tri-axial motion sensing unit - MPU6050 to Raspberry Pi board in part 2. The final part no. 3 will be about acquiring data on the client computer. I have  tried multiple...

## One Clock Cycle Polynomial Math

November 20, 201514 comments

Error correction codes and cryptographic computations are most easily performed working with $GF(2^n)$  polynomials.  By using very special values of $n$ we can build circuits which multiply and square in one clock cycle on an FPGA. These circuits come about by flipping back and forth between a standard polynomial basis and a normal basis representation of elements in $GF(2^n)$.

A normal basis is yet another form of polynomial but instead of adding powers of $\beta$ we add...

## Basic hand tools for electronics assembly

November 20, 20153 comments

Though the software tools vary with different microcontrollers, many hardware tools are the same.

If you are working on larger robotic or automotive systems, you will need a 3/8" and 1/2" drive socket set. There are occasions when even larger drive socket sets are needed. For small robots and taking things apart, the 1/4" drive socket set is useful. The sizes usually range from 5/32" to 9/16" and 4mm to 15mm.  You will need both shallow and deep sockets, both standard and...

## Elliptic Curve Cryptography

November 16, 20156 comments

Secure online communications require encryption.  One standard is AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) from NIST.  But for this to work, both sides need the same key for encryption and decryption.  This is called Private Key encryption.  Public Key encryption is used to create a private key between two sides that have not previously communicated.  Compared to the history of encryption, Public Key methods are very recent having been started in the 1970's.  Elliptic...

## The three laws of safe embedded systems

November 12, 20151 comment

This short article is part of an ongoing series in which I aim to explore some techniques that may be useful for developers and organisations that are beginning their first safety-related embedded project.

In the last two weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to discuss the contents of my previous article on this site with a group of very smart and enthusiastic engineers in Cairo (Egypt). As part of this discussion, it has become clear that I should add a few more details to explain the work...

## Linear Feedback Shift Registers for the Uninitiated, Part XVIII: Primitive Polynomial Generation

August 6, 20182 comments

Last time we figured out how to reverse-engineer parameters of an unknown CRC computation by providing sample inputs and analyzing the corresponding outputs. One of the things we discovered was that the polynomial $x^{16} + x^{12} + x^5 + 1$ used in the 16-bit X.25 CRC is not primitive — which just means that all the nonzero elements in the corresponding quotient ring can’t be generated by powers of $x$, and therefore the corresponding 16-bit LFSR with taps in bits 0, 5,...

## Linear Feedback Shift Registers for the Uninitiated, Part VII: LFSR Implementations, Idiomatic C, and Compiler Explorer

November 13, 2017

The last four articles were on algorithms used to compute with finite fields and shift registers:

Today we’re going to come back down to earth and show how to implement LFSR updates on a microcontroller. We’ll also talk a little bit about something called “idiomatic C” and a neat online tool for experimenting with the C compiler.

## Levitating Globe Teardown, Part 1

November 4, 20133 comments

I've been kicking some ideas around for a long time for a simple and inexpensive platform I could use for control systems experimentation for the beginner.  I want something that can be controlled easily in a basic fashion, yet that provides some depth: I want to be able to present ever-more challenging goals to the student, that can be attained by fancier control algorithms all on the same device.

I'm currently looking at magnetic levitation.  It's fun, it has the potential to be...

## How to install Ubuntu 12.04 Precise, Xubuntu-desktop and Open JDK-7 on Beagleboard Rev. C2

July 25, 20124 comments

My aim was to install Ubuntu 12.04, Xubuntu-desktop graphical user interface and Java virtual machine (Open JDK-7) on my beagleboard so that I could run my java application on the monitor connected to the BB. I encountered several problems and solved them one by one. Following is how I've done it..

I had all the accesorries for the beagleboard (usb hub, dvi-to-hdmi cable, usb-ethernet converter, usb keyboard, usb mouse and a hdmi enabled monitor).

My host PC also has a Ubuntu 12.04...

## You Will Make Mistakes

September 28, 20141 comment
</scorpion>: FAIL

Anyone out there see the TV pilot of Scorpion? Genius hacker squad meets Homeland Security in a fast-paced thriller to save hundreds of airplanes from crashing after LAX air traffic control software upgrade fails and they didn’t save a backup of the old version (ZOMG!!!) so thousands of people are going to die because the planes… well, they just can’t land! They just can’t. Even if the weather is sunny and calm and there could quite possibly...

## C++ on microcontrollers 4 – input pins, and decoding a rotary switch

November 12, 20112 comments

previous parts: 1, 2, 3

This blog series is about the use of C++ for modern microcontrollers. My plan is to show the gradual development of a basic I/O library. I will introduce the object-oriented C++ features that are used step by step, to provide a gentle yet practical introduction into C++ for C programmers.  Reader input is very much appreciated, you might even steer me in the direction you find most interesting.

So far I...

## [ C Programming Techniques: integer type optimization ]

May 22, 20131 comment

I am currently working on a voltage controller running on a ATMEGA328P, ATMEL AVR 8 bits microcontroller. The controller logic is implemented in the main() routine and relies on a periodical timer whose frequency is fixed at application setup. Among other things, the timer ISR handler increments some per tick counters which are then used by the main routine to implement the voltage controller timing logic.By looking at the code, one noticed that I use the uint8_t type for counters instead of...

## StrangeCPU #4. Microcode

May 13, 20137 comments
Summary:

Sliding windows containing runs of microcode.

## Mutex vs. Semaphores – Part 2: The Mutex & Mutual Exclusion Problems

May 15, 20197 comments

Part 1 of this series we looked at the history of the binary and counting semaphore, and then went on to discuss some of the associated problem areas. In this posting I aim to show how a different RTOS construct, the mutex, may overcome some, if not all, of these weaknesses.

To address the problems associated with semaphore, a new concept was developed during the late 1980’s. I have struggled to find it’s first clear definition, but the major use of the term mutex (another...

## Fluxions for Fun and Profit: Euler, Trapezoidal, Verlet, or Runge-Kutta?

September 30, 20132 comments

Today we're going to take another diversion from embedded systems, and into the world of differential equations, modeling, and computer simulation.

DON'T PANIC!

First of all, just pretend I didn't bring up anything complicated. We're exposed to the effects of differential equations every day, whether we realize it or not. Your car speedometer and odometer are related by a differential equation, and whether you like math or not, you probably have some comprehension of what's going on: you...