Proposed Middleware Solution for Resource- Constrained Distributed Embedded Networks
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering Electrical and Computer Engineering 2014 PROPOSED MIDDLEWARE SOLUTION FOR RESOURCE- CONSTRAINED DISTRIBUTED EMBEDDED NETWORKS Jason T. Rexroat University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Rexroat, Jason T., "PROPOSED MIDDLEWARE SOLUTION FOR RESOURCE-CONSTRAINED DISTRIBUTED EMBEDDED NETWORKS" (2014). Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering. 63. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ece_etds/63 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electrical and Computer Engineering at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Jason T. Rexroat, Student Dr. James Lumpp Jr., Major Professor Dr. Cai-Cheng Lu, Director of Graduate Studies PROPOSED MIDDLEWARE SOLUTION FOR RESOURCE-CONSTRAINED DISTRIBUTED EMBEDDED NETWORKS ________________________________________ THESIS ________________________________________ A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky By Jason Timothy Rexroat Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. James Lumpp Jr, Professor of Electrical Engineering Lexington, Kentucky 2014 Copyright © Jason Timothy Rexroat 2014 ABSTRACT OF THESIS PROPOSED MIDDLEWARE SOLUTION FOR RESOURCE-CONSTRAINTED DISTRIBUTED EMBEDDED NETWORKS The explosion in processing power of embedded systems has enabled distributed embedded networks to perform more complicated tasks. Middleware are sets of encapsulations of common and network/operating system-specific functionality into generic, reusable frameworks to manage such distributed networks. This thesis will survey and categorize popular middleware implementations into three adapted layers: host-infrastructure, distribution, and common services. This thesis will then apply a quantitative approach to grading and proposing a single middleware solution from all layers for two target platforms: CubeSats and autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). CubeSats are 10x10x10cm nanosatellites that are popular university-level space missions, and impose power and volume constraints. Autonomous UAVs are similarly-popular hobbyist-level vehicles that exhibit similar power and volume constraints. The MAVLink middleware from the host-infrastructure layer is proposed as the middleware to manage the distributed embedded networks powering these platforms in future projects. Finally, this thesis presents a performance analysis on MAVLink managing the ARM Cortex-M 32-bit processors that power the target platforms. KEYWORDS: Middleware, CubeSat, Distributed Computing, UAV, MAVLink Jason T. Rexroat . December 2, 2014 . PROPOSED MIDDLEWARE SOLUTION FOR RESOURCE-CONSTRAINED DISTRIBUTED EMBEDDED NETWORKS By Jason Timothy Rexroat James E Lumpp, Jr, PhD . Director of Thesis Cai-Cheng Lu PhD . Director of Graduate Studies December 2, 2014 . To my Parents: Curtis and Mary Jo Rexroat To my Brother: Michael Rexroat To my Wife: Brittany Rexroat Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the invaluable support and advice of Dr. James Lumpp, who invited an untested freshman to build space hardware. This invitation changed the course of my life, and without him, I would not be the person I am today. I would also like to thank the other members of my thesis committee, Dr. Larry Holloway and Dr. Hank Deitz, for their insight and support. I would also like to thank my colleagues from the Space Systems Laboratory. Under your tutelage, I grew from a kid who didn’t know how to solder to a confident and competent engineer, and I consider our time spent together among the most enjoyable experiences of my life. I would also like to thank my wife, Brittany Rexroat. I’ll never forget you telling me to “just do it” on our walk to class; without your constant support and love, I would not have finished this thesis. Finally I would like to thank my wonderful family. My parents have shown me nothing but love and support, and have been a never ending source of encouragement. My brother has been there for me through every season, and is my dearest friend. It gives me indescribable joy to see him pursue engineering. III Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ III Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... IV List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. VIII List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ IX 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Distributed Embedded Systems ....................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 CubeSats .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1.2 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ...................................................................................... 2 1.2 Survey Taxonomy ............................................................................................................ 2 1.2.1 Host-Infrastructure Layer Middleware .................................................................... 3 1.2.2 Distribution Layer Middleware ................................................................................ 4 1.2.3 Common Services Layer Middleware ...................................................................... 4 1.3 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................... 5 2 Background .............................................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles .............................................................................................. 6 2.2 CubeSats .......................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Distributed Processing ................................................................................................... 12 2.3.1 8051........................................................................................................................ 12 2.3.2 ARM ...................................................................................................................... 12 2.4 Distributed Middleware ................................................................................................. 13 2.4.1 Terminology ........................................................................................................... 13 2.4.2 Classifications ........................................................................................................ 21 2.5 Space Systems Laboratory ............................................................................................. 24 3 Host-Infrastructure Middleware ............................................................................................. 26 3.1 HI-Hardware .................................................................................................................. 26 IV 3.1.1 CAN ....................................................................................................................... 26 3.1.2 I2C .........................................................................................................................