Rugged Embedded Systems: Computing in Harsh Environments

Rugged Embedded Systems: Computing in Harsh Environments presents the latest ideas, insights, and knowledge related to all critical aspects of new-generation harsh environment-capable embedded computers. Harsh environments, defined as those with inherent characteristics (like extreme temperature and radiation levels, very low power and energy budgets, strict fault tolerance, and security constraints, among others) require highly-reliable power-efficient embedded designs. Disruptive technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous vehicles are just two examples of systems with challenging design requirements. This book describes how to design reliable embedded systems for harsh environments, including architectural approaches, cross-stack hardware/software techniques, and emerging challenges and opportunities. To guarantee robustness and fault tolerance across these drastically diverse scenarios, this contributed work discusses multiple layers, involving firmware, operating system, and applications, as well as power management units and communication interfaces. Provides a deep understanding of embedded systems for harsh environments as discussed by experts involved in state-of-the-art autonomous vehicle-related projectsDiscusses multiple layers, involving firmware, operating system, and applications, as well as power management units and communication interface. Covers the most important challenges (fault tolerance, power efficiency, and cost effectiveness) faced when developing rugged embedded systemsIncludes case studies exploring embedded computing for autonomous vehicle systems and space exploration