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ELEC5614: Real Time Computing [Not Offered] (2017 - Semester 1)

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Unit: ELEC5614: Real Time Computing (6 CP)
Mode: Normal-Day
On Offer: Yes
Level: Postgraduate
Faculty/School: School of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Unit Coordinator/s: Prof Xu, Dong
Session options: Semester 1
Versions for this Unit:
Site(s) for this Unit: https://elearning.sydney.edu.au/
Campus: Camperdown/Darlington
Pre-Requisites: None.
Prohibitions: MECH5701.
Brief Handbook Description: This unit is concerned with the theory and practice of real time computer systems as applied to the design of embedded systems and computer control systems in engineering, manufacturing and automation.

Some background in programming, object oriented design and system architecture is assumed. A prime aim of this unit of study is to develop a capacity for research and inquiry in the field of real-time and embedded systems. Completion of this unit will facilitate progression to advanced study or to work in embedded systems and industrial real-time computer systems.

The following topics are covered. Hard real time and embedded systems, as applied to engineering, manufacturing and automation. Timing and scheduling: periodic vs aperiodic processes, deadlines, rate monotonic, deadline monotonic and earliest deadline scheduling. Management of shared resources. Real-time languages and their features. Real time operating systems. Real time software design. Embedded Systems: overview, signal flow, interfacing. Reliability and fault tolerance in hardware and software. SCADA and DCCS. Some case studies.
Assumed Knowledge: COMP2129 Operating Systems and Machine Principles and ELEC3607 Embedded Systems
Lecturer/s: Prof Xu, Dong
Dr Yu, Kun
Timetable: ELEC5614 Timetable
Time Commitment:
# Activity Name Hours per Week Sessions per Week Weeks per Semester
1 Project Work - own time 2.00 1 7
2 Lecture 2.00 1 13
3 Laboratory 2.00 1 12
4 Tutorial 1.00 1 6
5 Independent Study 1.00 1 12
6 E-Learning 1.00 1 12
T&L Activities: Lecture: Lectures

Laboratory: Lab work on Real-time Design, real-time operating systems and real-time programming

Tutorial: Tutorial exercises to reinforce material covered in class

Independent Study: Study project topic and tutorial problems in depth

E-Learning: On-line discussions and study of on-line materials and recorded lectures

Attributes listed here represent the key course goals (see Course Map tab) designated for this unit. The list below describes how these attributes are developed through practice in the unit. See Learning Outcomes and Assessment tabs for details of how these attributes are assessed.

Attribute Development Method Attribute Developed
Students use and demonstrate design and problem solving skills in labs and in the project. Design (Level 4)
This unit studies advanced discipline specific technological issues relating to real-time computing Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 4)
Students research advanced software issues in labs and the team project Information Seeking (Level 2)
Many real-time systems are safety critical and students study associated issues. Professional Conduct (Level 2)
Students undertake a significant software project in teams. Project and Team Skills (Level 2)

For explanation of attributes and levels see Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table.

Learning outcomes are the key abilities and knowledge that will be assessed in this unit. They are listed according to the course goal supported by each. See Assessment Tab for details how each outcome is assessed.

Design (Level 4)
1. Ability to design, build and test real-time software to solve a specific and quantifiable problem.
Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 4)
2. Ability to evaluate technical aspects of real-time hardware, interfacing and the reliability of such systems using principles and techniques developed throughout the course.
3. Ability to evaluate software technologies employed in real-time applications, by focusing on timing and scheduling of processes, operating systems and software design methodologies to the extent of the material presented.
Information Seeking (Level 2)
4. Ability to identify information needs and undertake inquiry and knowledge development within the context of various real-time systems.
Professional Conduct (Level 2)
5. Ability to demonstrate an understanding of safety-critical and reliability issues and the way they correlate with professional standards and practice.
Project and Team Skills (Level 2)
6. Ability to work in a team by assuming clear responsibilities and showing initiative through contributions, but also being able compromise through receptiveness to others' opinions within the common goal of designing real-time software.
Assessment Methods:
# Name Group Weight Due Week Outcomes
1 Project Yes 10.00 Multiple Weeks 3, 4, 5, 6,
2 Lab Skills Yes 20.00 Multiple Weeks 1, 2, 3,
3 Final Exam No 70.00 Exam Period 1, 2,
Assessment Description: Final Exam: End of semester exam

Project: Project design, build, test and report

Lab Skills: Students write and demo real-time software in the laboratory
Grading:
Grade Type Description
Standards Based Assessment Final grades in this unit are awarded at levels of HD for High Distinction, DI (previously D) for Distinction, CR for Credit, PS (previously P) for Pass and FA (previously F) for Fail as defined by University of Sydney Assessment Policy. Details of the Assessment Policy are available on the Policies website at http://sydney.edu.au/policies . Standards for grades in individual assessment tasks and the summative method for obtaining a final mark in the unit will be set out in a marking guide supplied by the unit coordinator.
Policies & Procedures: See the policies page of the faculty website at http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/student-policies/ for information regarding university policies and local provisions and procedures within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies.
Recommended Reference/s: Note: References are provided for guidance purposes only. Students are advised to consult these books in the university library. Purchase is not required.
Online Course Content: https://elearning.sydney.edu.au/
Note on Resources: Notes: available online or in printed form from the University Publishing Service

See also the following texts:

B P Douglass, "Doing Hard Time: Developing Real-Time Systems with UML, Objects, Frameworks, and Patterns", Addison Wesley, 1999

Bennett S, “Real-time Computer Control: and Introduction”, Prentice-Hall, 1994i

Note that the "Weeks" referred to in this Schedule are those of the official university semester calendar https://web.timetable.usyd.edu.au/calendar.jsp

Week Description
Week 1 Introduction and Outline
Week 2 Real time Software Design : Requirements specification and real-time software construction with UML
Week 3 Real time Software Design : Requirements specification and real-time software construction with UML (Cont.)
Week 4 Real time Issues: Introduction, tasking and scheduling, memory management, interrupts, synchronisation, semaphores, message passing, signals, events, I/O drivers.
Week 5 Real time Issues (Cont)
Week 6 Real-time Operating Systems
Week 7 Real-time Operating Systems
Week 8 Real-time Languages
Week 9 Real-time Languages (Cont)
Week 10 Scheduling theory: Time lines, multitasking, task switching, static vs dynamic, optimal fixed priority scheduling, predictability, rate monotonic and deadline monotonic scheduling
Week 11 Hardware and interfacing: Overview. Signal flow - A/D, D/A, filters, samplers, muxes, signal timing, sampling rates, signal reconstruction, bus systems, interrupts.
Week 12 Introduction to reliability and fault tolerance of real-time hardware and software
Week 13 Review
Exam Period Assessment Due: Final Exam

Course Relations

The following is a list of courses which have added this Unit to their structure.

Course Year(s) Offered
Bachelor of Computer Science and Technology (Honours) 2015, 2016, 2017
Biomedical Engineering / Law 2013, 2014
Biomedical Engineering / Arts 2013, 2014
Biomedical Engineering / Commerce 2013, 2014
Biomedical Engineering / Medical Science 2013, 2014
Biomedical Engineering / Project Management 2013, 2014
Biomedical Engineering / Science 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering / Arts 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering / Commerce 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Bioelectronics) / Arts 2011, 2012
Electrical Engineering (Bioelectronics) / Science 2011, 2012
Electrical Engineering / Medical Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering / Project Management 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering / Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Computer) / Arts 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Computer) / Commerce 2012, 2013, 2014, 2011
Electrical Engineering (Computer) / Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Computer) / Law 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Power) / Arts 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Power) / Project Management 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Power) / Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications) / Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Biomedical Mid-Year 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Biomedical/ Project Management 2019, 2020
Biomedical Engineering 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Biomedical / Arts 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Biomedical / Commerce 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Biomedical / Medical Science 2015, 2016, 2017
Biomedical / Music Studies 2016, 2017
Biomedical / Project Management 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Biomedical /Science 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Biomedical / Science (Health) 2018, 2019, 2020
Biomedical - Chemical and Biomolecular Major 2015
Biomedical - Electrical Major 2015
Biomedical - Information Technology Major 2015
Biomedical / Law 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Biomedical - Mechanical Major 2015
Biomedical - Mechatronics Major 2015
Electrical Mid-Year 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Electrical/ Project Management 2019, 2020
Electrical 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Electrical / Arts 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Electrical / Commerce 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Electrical / Music Studies 2016, 2017
Electrical / Project Management 2016, 2017, 2018
Electrical / Science 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Electrical / Science (Health) 2018, 2019, 2020
Electrical (Computer) 2015
Electrical (Power) 2015
Electrical (Telecommunications) 2015
Software Mid-Year 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Software/ Project Management 2019
Software 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Software / Arts 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Software / Commerce 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Software / Music Studies 2016, 2017
Software / Project Management 2016, 2017, 2018
Software / Science 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Software / Science (Health) 2018, 2019
Software / Law 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Software Engineering / Arts 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Software Engineering / Commerce 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Software Engineering / Medical Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Software Engineering / Project Management 2012, 2013, 2014
Software Engineering / Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Biomedical / Science (Medical Science Stream) 2018, 2019, 2020
Bachelor of Information Technology 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Arts 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Commerce 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Medical Science 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Science 2015, 2016, 2017
Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Laws 2015, 2016, 2017
Electrical / Science (Medical Science Stream) 2018, 2019, 2020
Graduate Certificate in Information Technology 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Graduate Certificate in Information Technology Management 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Graduate Diploma in Information Technology 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Graduate Diploma in Information Technology Management 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Master of Engineering (including Grad Cert & Grad Dip) 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Master of Information Technology 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Master of Information Technology Management 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Master of IT/Master of IT Management 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Master of Professional Engineering (Accelerated) (Electrical) 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Master of Professional Engineering (Accelerated) (Power) 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Master of Professional Engineering (Accelerated) (Software) 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Master of Professional Engineering (Accelerated) (Telecommunications) 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Master of Professional Engineering (Electrical) 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Master of Professional Engineering (Power) 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Master of Professional Engineering (Software) 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Master of Professional Engineering (Telecommunications) 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Software / Science (Medical Science Stream) 2018, 2019
Computer Engineering / Commerce 2010
Electrical Engineering (Computer) / Medical Science 2011, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications) / Arts 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications) / Medical Science 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Course Goals

This unit contributes to the achievement of the following course goals:

Attribute Practiced Assessed
Design (Level 4) Yes 41.67%
Engineering/IT Specialisation (Level 4) Yes 50.83%
Maths/Science Methods and Tools (Level 4) No 0%
Information Seeking (Level 2) Yes 2.5%
Communication (Level 2) No 0%
Professional Conduct (Level 2) Yes 2.5%
Project and Team Skills (Level 2) Yes 2.5%

These goals are selected from Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table which defines overall goals for courses where this unit is primarily offered. See Engineering & IT Graduate Outcomes Table for details of the attributes and levels to be developed in the course as a whole. Percentage figures alongside each course goal provide a rough indication of their relative weighting in assessment for this unit. Note that not all goals are necessarily part of assessment. Some may be more about practice activity. See Learning outcomes for details of what is assessed in relation to each goal and Assessment for details of how the outcome is assessed. See Attributes for details of practice provided for each goal.