Intel Helps Teach Students About Wireless, Multimedia Embedded Systems SAN DIEGO, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Computer engineering students at the The kits will equip research and training labs, initially for a senior-
level project course on wireless multimedia embedded systems.
"While some universities have taught this for personal-computer
applications, it is fairly new to teach about embedded systems for mobile
applications such as cell phones," said professor Rajesh Gupta, who holds
the QUALCOMM Chair in Embedded Microsystems in the Jacobs School. "The idea
is to enhance the education of our students by moving beyond single chip
design toward complete systems embedded on a chip for mobile devices."
The donation through the Intel Foundation includes 40 Intel(R) PXA27x
Processor Developer's Kits (based on its latest XScale(R) family of
power-saving semiconductors for wireless and mobile devices), as well as
related computer equipment and support. The kits are full, high-end embedded
systems platforms, and can be used for any embedded processing applications.
The Intel gift contributes to the $1 billion fundraising goal of The Campaign
for UCSD: Imagine What's Next.
"Intel's motivation for this particular grant process is to supply
computer equipment and other tools to jump-start relevant curriculum and
research that prepares students for tomorrow's applications," said Jerry
Kissinger, Education Manager of Intel's Santa Clara site. "This particular
grant appealed to the selection committee because of the practical, problem-
solving approach to the field of wireless multimedia applications."
Intel's equipment will initially be used in a twice-yearly embedded
systems course to be taught by computer science professor Tajana Simunic
Rosing, who co-authored the grant proposal with Gupta.
"In each class there are usually 40 students," noted Simunic Rosing. "So
with Intel's donation we have a one-to-one ratio of students to developer
platforms, which they will use as they work on their individual projects."
Their projects are expected to involve hands-on experience in areas of
application and systems programming (operating systems and middleware) for
delivering content such as multimedia in embedded systems on wireless
networks -- while taking into account the power constraints of mobile devices
that usually rely on batteries.
According to Simunic Rosing, one planned student project is for Scripps
Institution of Oceanography. Scripps seismologists are trying to achieve
instantaneous transfer of data from seismic sensors when an earthquake hits.
"Intel's platform has enough processing power for significant data analysis
at a remote site," said Simunic Rosing. "It can do part of the seismic data
processing and wireless data delivery on location, while transmission of data
from sensors in areas not affected by the earthquake can be delayed until
there is enough spare bandwidth in the network."
"Our company has an intense interest in the whole wireless arena,"
explained Intel's Kissinger. "Professors Simunic Rosing and Gupta are
creating a laboratory and collaboration which will offer students a
specialization where they can affect the future of wireless computing."
The Intel hardware will be deployed in UCSD's two newest buildings,
opening in the fall. Thirty kits will be installed in the new CSE building's
Embedded Systems lab, while ten kits go to the Systems on Chip Laboratory in
the 215,000-square-foot Calit2 building.
Intel is not a newcomer to supporting research at the Jacobs School.
Rajesh Gupta's research lab received a $50,000 donation last year. Gupta and
fellow computer engineering professor Dean Tullsen (a pioneer in semiconductor
multiprocessing) have been supported by Intel through the nationwide
Semiconductor Research Corporation. Intel also funds projects indirectly
through its membership in UCSD's Center for Wireless Communications (CWC).
Intel is one of the private partners in the Center for Internet Epidemiology
and Defenses (CIED), a joint venture of UCSD and UC Berkeley. Led by CSE's
Stefan Savage, it was set up last year as one of the first NSF-funded Cyber
Trust centers. In May, Intel teamed with the UC Discovery Grant program
(which provides matching funds) to underwrite a $1.1 million project of
Electrical and Computer Engineering professor Gabriel Rebeiz, who is
developing Giga-bits-per-second 24 GHz and 60 GHz communication networks
using smart-antenna base stations. In February, a team led by CWC director
Larry Larson was awarded $420,000 jointly by Intel and the UC Discovery Grant
program to investigate ultra-wideband (UWB) technology for communications
applications. Intel has also supported the mobile computing software research
of CSE professor Bill Griswold.
"Our students and faculty have benefited in many ways from the close
relationship we are forming between the school and Intel," said Jacobs School
Dean Frieder Seible. "Just this summer Intel supported top high-school
students spending a month at UCSD to work on team research projects -- and I
have no doubt that some of those students will now make UCSD their top choice
for college, in part thanks to Intel."
"Intel is pleased to be a continuing partner in the advancement and
support of higher education," added Kissinger. "We look forward to the
contribution this equipment will make to the education of UCSD students and to
the university's curriculum and research."
Since its founding nearly 50 years ago, UCSD has rapidly achieved the
status as one of the top institutions in the nation for higher education and
research. In order to keep UCSD at the forefront of academic and research
excellence, the university launched The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What's Next
in July 2000. Donations to the comprehensive $1 billion fundraising campaign
will help support students and faculty, expand academic programs, fund
research endeavors and strengthen innovation funds to meet the highest
priority needs. The Campaign for UCSD has generated over $742 million to
date, but there is still more than $258 million to raise before the campaign
concludes in June 2007.
Related Links
Intel http://www.intel.com/
Computer Science and Engineering Department http://www.cse.ucsd.edu/
Embedded Systems and Software http://mesl.ucsd.edu/ess/
Microelectronic Embedded Systems Laboratory http://mesl.ucsd.edu
Embedded Systems Projects http://mesl.ucsd.edu/gupta/EmbeddedProjects.html
The Campaign for UCSD http://campaign.ucsd.edu/
California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology
http://www.calit2.net/
Source: Prnews |