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The world market for aviation and space computing systems faces a significant shift caused by the loss of momentum of the traditionally used PowerPC and SPARC instruction set architectures in the commercial domain. This means that the space industry is not able to leverage training, software tools, etc. from the commercial domain and this fuels a need to shift to architectures present in larger commercial markets. The De-RISC project brings together leading European entities within the areas of fault-tolerant microprocessors, hypervisors, embedded safety-critical software and mixed-criticality systems in an effort to commercialize a complete technology stack consisting of an FPGA space grade development board, system-on-chip design and software stack. The goal is to create a platform for the aerospace industries implementing the open RISC-V microprocessor instruction set architecture together with specific features to address the needs of the target industries and to adopt modern commercial technology to allow leveraging technology development from other domains., {"references":["RISC-V Foundation. https://riscv.org/, accessed in May 2021.","Cobham Gaisler. \"NOEL-V Processor\", https://www.gaisler.com/noel-v, accessed in May 2021.","fentISS. \"XtratuM\", https://fentiss.com/products/hypervisor/, accessed in May 2021.","\"De-RISC: Dependable Real-time Infrastructure for Safety-critical Computer\", http://www.derisc- project.eu/, accessed in May 2021.","Paco Gómez Molinero, Javier Coronel Parada, Miguel Masmano Tello, \"XtratuM: A space qualified Hypervisor for LEON-based Computers\", GR740 User Day at ESTEC, 28th November 2019.","Cobham Gaisler. \"GR740 Quad-Core LEON4 SPARC V8 Processor\", https://www.gaisler.com/gr740, accessed in May 2021.","fentISS, \"LithOS\", https://fentiss.com/products/lithos/, accessed in May 2021.","Enrico Mezzetti, Leonidas Kosmidis, Jaume Abella, Francisco J. Cazorla, \"High-Integrity Performance Monitoring Units in Automotive Chips for Reliable Timing V&V\", in IEEE Micro, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 56- 65, January/February 2018.","Javier Jalle, Mikel Fernandez, Jaume Abella, Jan Andersson, Matthieu Patte, Luca Fossati, Marco Zulianello, Francisco J. Cazorla, \"Contention-aware performance monitoring counter support for real-time MPSoCs\", 2016 11th IEEE Symposium on Industrial Embedded Systems (SIES), Krakow, 2016, pp. 1-10.","L. Pomante, D. Andreetti, F. Federici, V. Muttillo, D. Pascucci, \"Analysis and design of a Command & Data Handling platform based on the LEON4 multicore processor and PikeOS hypervisor\", DAta Systems In Aerospace – DASIA 2017.","Julien Galizzi, Jean-Jacques Metge, Paul Arberet, Eric Morand, Fabien Vigeant, et al.. \"LVCUGEN (TSP-based solution) and first porting feedback\", Embedded Real Time Software and Systems (ERTS2012), Feb 2012, Toulouse, France."]}

In this contribution, we provide an overview of the results and lessons learnt from the on-going ESA-funded GPU4s project (GPU for Space) performed by the BSC as a prime and ADS as subcontractor. Embedded GPUs can provide significant computational power at a low-power for large amounts of data, allowing the use of software for on-board processing. They allow more flexibility, easier reconfiguration compared to FPGAs and can support several different processing tasks through reuse of compute resources. Moreover, they can leverage an abundance of specialised developers, familiar with widely-used programming models, resulting in an overall lower cost. The purpose of this exploratory project is to address the increased needs for on-board processing performance of future missions, exploring the possibility of using embedded GPUs in space and studying the initial steps required for their adoption. In particular, our goal is the evaluation of GPU IP for possible future space processors as well as the evaluation of COTS GPUs. We performed a survey of existing and future algorithms used in space across all divisions of ADS, to identify which domains expect higher needs for performance and whether their algorithms have good characteristics for GPU parallelisation. We concluded that most space algorithms are a good fit for the GPU programming model, something we confirmed also experimentally later. In another survey, we studied the available hardware solutions and their software ecosystem. We focused on embedded GPU IPs from European providers, to identify the most appropriate one for a radiation-hardened implementation in an ASIC or FPGA in the long term. Additionally, we covered the most important embedded COTS GPU solutions, to identify the most appropriate one for lower cost, short-term adoption. We also expanded our survey to open source IP and GPU-like solutions. From this extensive coverage we selected to benchmark a set of embedded GPUs. For this, we have defined GPU4S Bench [1], an open source embedded GPU benchmarking suite, consisting of algorithmic building blocks from multiple space domains, identified in our space survey. GPU4S Bench provides also the basis and optimised implementations of these algorithms for GPUs and Multi-core CPUs used in ESA’s OBPMark, an open source benchmarking suite for general on-board processing devices. In addition to these benchmarks, we ported complex space applications, such as the Euclid NIR, the image processing and CCSDS compression benchmarks from OBPMark, demonstrating that GPUs can benefit significantly existing and mainly future space processing, in terms of performance and power consumption, including efficiency. In our contribution we will present a summary of the obtained results. Finally, we identified issues such as radiation effect mitigation, thermal management and procurement of GPU devices, which need to be addressed for the adoption of GPUs in space, we proposed potential solutions and defined a roadmap. Overall, our conclusion is that embedded GPUs have a high potential for providing the performance needs of future missions, and can significantly reduce the cost, while offering new capabilities. [1] GPU4S Bench: Design and Implementation of an Open GPU Benchmarking Suite for Space On-board Processing: https://www.ac.upc.edu/app/research-reports/public/html/research_center_index-CAP-2019,en.html

Archaeology has experienced a large number of innovations during recent decades. Geographical Information Systems, archeometry, or laser scanning are only some of the methodological advances of the discipline. However, the public image on how archaeology works is roughly the same than it was several years ago. Specifically, it is dominated by the sense of wonder generated by the discovery of ancient civilizations and objects typically portrayed in fiction works.Can we exploit this fascination for discovery while explaining what archaeology is really about? This approach would need to stablish links between scientific thinking and the type of puzzle-solving mystery typically portrayed in books and movies. We argue here that videogames are one of the best available tools to integrate these two concepts. On the one hand, their high level of interaction led by trial-and-error mechanisms makes them suitable to learn how science works. On the other hand, videogames are powerful narrative devices so they can be used to tell a story to the player.This work describes how these ideas were used to create Evolving Planet. This videogame was designed as the dissemination initiative of the research project SimulPast. The player takes the role of a future scientist studying the extinction of a sentient species in a distant planet. The use of science-fiction allowed us to portray topics such as evolution, technology and cooperation while solving the mystery on the disappearance of an entire civilization. At the same time the game mechanics are remarkably similar to the methods used in the project, and particularly to computer simulation. We explore here a diversity of challenges and decisions faced by the development team in the effort to explain our research methods while retaining the sense of discovery of fictional archaeology.

Archaeology has seen a large number of digital innovations during recent decades. Geographical Information Systems, archaeometry, or laser scanning are only some of the methodological advances of the discipline. However, the public image of how archaeology works is roughly the same as it was several years ago. Public fascination with archaeology is built upon a sense of discovery. Fictional works such as Indiana Jones, the Tomb Raider series (Core Design & Crystal Dynamics 1996-2016) or Uncharted series (Naughty Dog 2007-2016) are based on the concept of solving a mystery by unearthing an artefact or a city that has been forgotten for centuries (Meyers Emery & Reinhard 2015). Non-fiction but still popular media producers, such as Time Team or National Geographic, also promote this sense of wonder while emphasizing the rigorous methodology of archaeological research – as distant from these fictional pillagers as can be imagined.

Cassandra és una eina de visualització basada en OpenGL [25] que serveix per interpretar resultats i patrons de comportament que ens propcorcionen simulacions (d'ambit social principlament) desenvolupades per Pandora, una llibreria creada pel BSC-CASE (Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Computer Applications in Science & Engineering). Cassandra consta de suport GIS (Geographic Information System), d'una alta escalabilitat i, sobre el que ens centrarem en aquest projecte, de l'anàlisi de grans volums de dades.

El conjunt d'instruccions o ISA (de l'anglès instruction set architecture) RISC-V i la fundació que el recolza segueixen creixent ràpidament com una alternativa open-source per als dissenys hardware. Tot i que el software open-source ja representa una part important de totes les solucions software, el hardware open-source encara està començant a expandir-se. Abans d'això, el mercat estava format íntegrament per ISAs propietàries (la gran majoria provinents dels EUA) que el controlaven. Aquest Treball de Final de Grau mostra el disseny, implementació i el testing d'un framebuffer VGA pel processador RISC-V que s'està desenvolupant en el projecte DRAC del Barcelona Supercomputing Centre. En aquest document s'expliquen els diversos passos seguits i el raonament darrera les decisions preses. The RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA) and the foundation that supports it continue to grow rapidly as an open-source alternative for hardware designs. Despite open-source software already being established as an important part of all the software solutions, open-source hardware has only recently begun to expand. Before that, the market was entirely made of proprietary ISAs (mostly from the US) that controlled it. This Final Degree Thesis shows the design, implementation and testing of a VGA (Video Graphics Array) framebuffer for the RISC-V processor being developed in the DRAC project by the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre. This document explains the various steps taken along the way and the reasoning behind the decisions that were taken.