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The concentration of data from multiple links to a single output is an essential task performed by High-Energy Physics (HEP) Data Acquisition Systems (DAQs). At high and varying data rates combined with the large width of the concentrator’s output interface, this task is non-trivial. This paper presents a concentrator based on the Beneš network, which provides efficient concentration without using a high-frequency clock internally. It warrants that empty data are eliminated and does not disturb the data time-ordering if the data rates significantly differ between inputs. Additionally, it is well suited to FPGA implementation. It is based on simple data-routing primitives and may be fully pipelined.

Currently, public safety is threatened by emergencies related to broadly understood terrorism, natural disasters and technical failures or related to mass events, public gatherings and state or religious ceremonies and other situations causing risks that may lead to losing control over the course of events. It makes the police take specific actions as part of organised police activities, primarily police operations. The condition for the efficiency and effectiveness of the command in the police is to develop new, alternative, innovative technical solutions. The Mobile Distribution Point of ICT Infrastructure serves as an example in this respect. It will be an autonomous node that integrates technologically advanced ICT services, such as voice, data and image transmission, GPS positioning, for the needs of mobile command posts and the provision of ICT infrastructure in a specific area. Currently, the Polish police do not have a similar device, which reduces effective operation in emergencies.

The major upgrade of the BM@N experiment for the heavy ion program is a new hybrid tracking system. It consists of seven planes of GEM detectors and four silicon tracking stations based on the modules with double-sided microstrip silicon sensors of CBM type. The BM@N silicon tracking system (STS) will conceptually inherit the data acquisition system (DAQ) from the CBM silicon tracker currently in development for FAIR. This is an entirely data driven acquisition system relying on purely self-triggering readout channels, which will also be adopted for the operation with BM@N trigger. The core components of the readout chain are front-end boards (FEB), GBTxEmu board and GBTxEmu readout interface (GERI) board. The front-end board is an integrated part of the STS module. The main components of FEB are eight STS-XYTER ASICs which are needed for the readout of one side of the silicon sensor. The GBTxEmu board comprises an FPGA which emulates functionality of the CERN GBTx ASIC and provides a bidirectional optical link between front-end electronics and data processing boards in the computer nodes. The GERI board implements the following functionalities: concentrating and preprocessing of the data stream, filtering of the data according to the BM@N trigger signals and providing an interface for the detector control system (DCS) to configure readout electronics.

This article introduces a robust approach for pin-to-port assignment in multiboard field-programmable gate array designs. The problem has been known for a long time and is especially annoying in relatively large data acquisition (DAQ) systems, such as DAQ and control systems for high-energy physics experiments, where hundreds of differential signals are routed via multiple boards. However, there is still no generic user-friendly open-source solution. The proposed approach has two main goals: safety (check as many potential human mistakes as possible) and reusability (reuse connections mappings, defined in files, in multiple designs). The proposed file format description is concise and comprehensible. It is fully declarative, vendor-agnostic, part-agnostic, and programming language-agnostic from the user’s perspective. The article also presents the realization of the idea implemented in the Python language and provides real-life example from the DAQ readout chain for the silicon tracking system for the compressed baryonic matter experiment.

FPGA-based data acquisition and processing systems play an important role in modern high-speed, multichannel measurement systems, especially in High-Energy and Plasma Physics. Such FPGA-based systems require an extended control and diagnostics part corresponding to the complexity of the controlled system. Managing the complex structure of registers while keeping the tight coupling between hardware and software is a tedious and potentially error-prone process. Various existing solutions aimed at helping that task do not perfectly match all specific requirements of that application area. The paper presents a new solution based on the XML system description, facilitating the automated generation of the control system’s HDL code and software components and enabling easy integration with the control software. The emphasis is put on reusability, ease of maintenance in case of system modification, easy detection of mistakes, and the possibility of use in modern FPGAs. The presented system has been successfully used in data acquisition and preprocessing projects in High-Energy Physics experiments. It enables easy creation and modification of the control system definition and convenient access to the control and diagnostic blocks. The presented system is an open-source solution and may be adopted by the user for particular needs.

This paper describes the design of the RF front-end, currently implemented as a part of a long-range UHF radio transceiver. The project aims to condition the commercial WiFi HaLow (IEEE 802.11ah) signal to fit in the desired frequency band and enable communication for longer distances. Assumptions of the design, described at the beginning, are followed by a more detailed description of subsequent hardware functional blocks that handle data transmission.

This article discusses the construction of a prototype of a platform that provides the integration of video signals from multiple sources. Video sources can be both existing CCTV systems based on analog cameras, modern systems based on IP cameras and individual cameras of various types. The system consists of portable units that provide signal conversion, its encoding, video streaming and transmission over IP protocols. A distributed and modular prototype of the VSI system was developed. The system consists of modular devices that integrate video streams, user terminals and central system. The VSI prototype provides simultaneous access to a large number of real- time video streams . The system is fully modular, which enables easy expansion of both hardware and software. The article presents the obtained architecture and exemplary operating results.

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has significantly hindered the functioning of universities The necessity to work remotely has disabled access to the hardware laboratories In the teaching of embedded systems, the possibility of working with real hardware is really important Fortunately, the embedded computer system itself may be efficiently emulated with QEMU However, the problem may arise with the emulation of its environment, the I/O devices, especially those providing the user interface This paper describes the methods to modify and use QEMU to emulate the real hardware used in the laboratories It also discusses the advantages and limitations of such an approach The elaborated methodology may be useful also after the pandemic, to support and improve teaching in normal conditions, e g , by allowing students to perform at home the realistic experiments on emulated hardware © 2020 SPIE

International audience; This contribution outlines the first preliminary acquisition data obtained by the GEM diagnostics on WEST. It was designed to monitor the radiation of impurities with a particular focus on the challenges of the elaborated plasma imaging technology in the area of SXR radiation. The details of the developed diagnostics and preliminary results obtained within the commissioning phase of the diagnostics at the WEST Project are provided. It is shown that both spatially and spectrally resolved calibrated data could be collected. A comparison with other WEST diagnostics manifests good qualitative agreement. Currently, the developed system records rather high energy part of the SXR radiation (above 4 keV), that nevertheless still could be useful to assess an intensification of the erosion.

Large area triple GEM chambers will be employed in the first two stations of the MuCh system of the CBM experiment at the upcoming Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research FAIR in Darmstadt/Germany. The GEM detectors have been designed to take data at an unprecedented interaction rate (up to 10 MHz) in nucleus-nucleus collisions in CBM at FAIR. Real-size trapezoidal modules have been installed in the mCBM experiment and tested in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the SIS18 beamline of GSI as a part of the FAIR Phase-0 program. In this report, we discuss the design, installation, commissioning, and response of these GEM modules in detail. The response has been studied using the free-streaming readout electronics designed for the CBM-MuCh and CBM-STS detector system. In free-streaming data, the first attempt on an event building based on the timestamps of hits has been carried out, resulting in the observation of clear spatial correlations between the GEM modules in the mCBM setup for the first time. Accordingly, a time resolution of $\sim$15\,ns have been obtained for the GEM detectors.

This work refers to the soft X-Ray (SXR) plasma diagnostics system being developed. The goal is to compute SXR spectra − energetically and topologically with means of Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector. The system has two sections: the analog signal acquisition part (installed at the GEM detector), and the signal processing part (located in the rack). PCI-Express Gen2 interface and DDR3 memory are used for data transmission, storage and buffering. Xilinx Artix7 FPGAs in the signal processing part perform signal acquisition functions. One data acquisition module (DQM) of the system is capable of processing up to 64 analog input channels in real-time. Acquired data is transferred to the embedded PC for post-processing − including cluster reconstruction and spectrograms computation in offline mode. Advanced low-level control software and signal processing algorithms (Matlab) integration was performed. Effort has been carried out in order to integrate different parts of the system. As a result of previous work and recent achievements in system development, first spectra measurements were performed with connected GEM detector and 55Fe SXR test source.

Due to the dramatic increase of data volume in modern high energy physics (HEP) experiments, a robust high-speed data acquisition (DAQ) system is very much needed to gather the data generated during different nuclear interactions. As the DAQ works under harsh radiation environment, there is a fair chance of data corruption due to various energetic particles like alpha, beta, or neutron. Hence, a major challenge in the development of DAQ in the HEP experiment is to establish an error resilient communication system between front-end sensors or detectors and back-end data processing computing nodes. Here, we have implemented the DAQ using field-programmable gate array (FPGA) due to some of its inherent advantages over the application-specific integrated circuit. A novel orthogonal concatenated code and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) have been used to mitigate the effects of data corruption in the user data. Scrubbing with a 32-b CRC has been used against error in the configuration memory of FPGA. Data from front-end sensors will reach to the back-end processing nodes through multiple stages that may add an uncertain amount of delay to the different data packets. We have also proposed a novel memory management algorithm that helps to process the data at the back-end computing nodes removing the added path delays. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed FPGA-based DAQ utilizing optical link with channel coding and efficient memory management modules can be considered as first of its kind. Performance estimation of the implemented DAQ system is done based on resource utilization, bit error rate, efficiency, and robustness to radiation.

The search for new technologies in the field of plasma diagnostics entails the increasing demands on the radiative stability of the used materials due to development and usage of fusion facilities, where the study of processes occurring during the interaction of radiation with matter has become particularly important. Currently, a new X-ray imaging detection technology is required for tokamaks such as ITER. X-ray detectors that are being used in existing equipment may rapidly degrade due to large neutron fluxes characteristic for the tokamak environment. Despite the relatively wide use of semiconductor detectors to record SXR radiation (generally ionizing radiation), gas detectors are promising candidates that are suited much better for use in future fusion reactors given their resistance to neutron radiation. The most promising representative of the new gas detector class is the so called Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM), which is characterized by high amplification factor of the primary charge that is originated from photon absorption. Its main advantages are the compactness of the detector, good temporal and spatial resolutions, the ability to discriminate against photon energy and better neutron resistance compared to existing systems. All this makes such a detection system a potentially better candidate for soft X-ray measurements in the ITER and DEMO reactors. In this work, a new type of detection system based on GEM technology was proposed for soft X-ray measurements in the ITER reactor-oriented research, which is being developed at IPPLM.

The presented system is used for monitoring of the plasma impurities in the tokamak. It is done by measuring radiation in Soft X-Ray range with the use of a GEM-based detector. Acquired data is transferred through the whole system with low latency. Presented system can be divided into many parts - detector, analog electronics, FPGA, PCIe transmission line and computer system with high-performance CPU. This work will concentrate on synchronization between FPGA, which write data to the memory on the CPU side and computational part, which is executed in the computer. In long-running measurements, there is a synchronization problems which can arise. There is a difference in variables based on which the execution time of both parts is dependent. Working on measurements of radiation of plasma impurities requires limits in terms of latency. This paper presents reasons, descriptions and solutions for such problems.

The article describes the architecture of the data sorting and aggregation module for the triggerless high energy physics experiment data acquisition. The described module is able to revert shifts in the input data order, which are introduced by the detector readout modules. The sorted data is aggregated into a single stream and then divided into packages containing samples acquired in consecutive time intervals. The presented article describes the usage of the heap sorting algorithm for restoring the correct data order. Data stream aggregation techniques, used in the presented module, are described. The paper contains a block diagram of the presented module and resource utilization summary generated after implementation.

The main detector system at the Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) located in Dubna, Russia is the Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD). For better calibration reason, the MPD needs an additional trigger system for an off-beam calibration of MPD sub-detectors and for rejection (veto) of cosmic muons. The system should also be useful for practical astrophysics observations of cosmic showers. The consortium NICA-PL group defines goals and basic assumptions for the MPD Cosmic Ray Detector (MCORD). This article describes the conceptual design and simulation plans of the MCORD detector based on plastic scintillators with SiPM photodetectors and electronic digital system based on the MicroTCA crate.

The Silicon Tracking System, Muon Chamber, Transition Radiation Detector and Time-Of-Flight among others are the detector systems of the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at the FAIR facility. These detector systems will be built with tens of thousands of front-end ASICs exposed to high radiation doses and difficult environmental and interference conditions. A CERN's GBTx-based solution was chosen for combining data from multiple front-end ASICs into an optical link before further concentration and preprocessing in the common Data Processing Board data hub. This paper presents the protocol design addressing the DAQ system requirements, simplifying the ASIC's back-end design and presents its adaptation for the STS and MUCH detector's conditions. A specific link synchronization technique, hit data bandwidth optimization and time synchronization method for the self-triggered front-end chip are presented.

This work refers to the measurement system for soft-X-ray radiation (SXR) diagnostics using gaseous electron multiplier (GEM) detectors. In terms of tokamak plasma parameter control and optimization, it is important to determine the level of SXR generated by plasma. This work describes the whole system including the GEM detector, electronic modules, and data acquisition (DAQ) path. The structure of the DAQ system is presented in terms of hardware, firmware, and software architecture. The currently developed hardware allows sampling of the GEM detector signals with 125-MHz frequency and real-time field-programmable gate array (FPGA) processing. It enables processing of all events generated by the highest possible photon flux for the GEM detector. The developed FPGA firmware registers digitized GEM detector signals with a global trigger up to 625 kHz with all 64 channels sampling simultaneously and stores them in the local memory. Therefore, it makes it possible to obtain the photon energy spectra a...

The measurement system based on GEM – Gas Electron Multiplier detector is developed for X-ray diagnostics of magnetic confinement fusion plasmas. The Triple Gas Electron Multiplier (T-GEM) is presented as soft X-ray (SXR) energy and position sensitive detector. The paper is focused on the measurement subject and describes the fundamental data processing to obtain reliable characteristics (histograms) useful for physicists. So, it is the software part of the project between the electronic hardware and physics applications. The project is original and it was developed by the paper authors. Multi-channel measurement system and essential data processing for X-ray energy and position recognition are considered. Several modes of data acquisition determined by hardware and software processing are introduced. Typical measuring issues are deliberated for the enhancement of data quality. The primary version based on 1-D GEM detector was applied for the high-resolution X-ray crystal spectrometer KX1 in the JET tokamak. The current version considers 2-D detector structures initially for the investigation purpose. Two detector structures with single-pixel sensors and multi-pixel (directional) sensors are considered for two-dimensional X-ray imaging. Fundamental output characteristics are presented for one and two dimensional detector structure. Representative results for reference source and tokamak plasma are demonstrated.

Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD) is a main part of a new Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) located in Dubna, Russia. To increase MPD functionality, it was proposed to add an additional muon trigger system for off-beam calibration of the MPD sub-detectors and for rejection of cosmic ray background during experiments. The system could also be very useful for astrophysical observations of cosmic showers initiated by high energy primary particles. This article describes the main goals of MCORD detector and the early stage of MCORD design, based on plastic scintillators with silicon photomultiplier photodetectors (SiPM) for scintillation readout and electronic system based on MicroTCA standard.

This paper focuses on the model of the sequencer algorithm created in Matlab. The sequencer is used in the measurement system of 2nd generation for GEM detector. First, are described and compared two generations of the system. The article explains why sequencer is needed in the new system and presents how it works. It can collect data from many sources and send it out in unambiguous order. The model of the sequencer designed in Matlab allows adjusting its parameters to the specific process. The article explains technical aspects of the model, describes basic objects that were used to build the model. In the end, there are presented results. The sequencer is implemented in FPGA device.

The advanced Soft X-ray (SXR) diagnostics setup devoted to studies of the SXR plasma emissivity focusing on the energy range of tungsten emission lines is at the moment a highly relevant and important for ITER/DEMO as W became a plasmafacing material and, therefore, plasma contamination by W and W transport in the plasma must be understood and monitored. The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) based SXR radiation detecting system under development by our group with a spatial and energy-resolved photon detecting chamber may become such a diagnostic setup; however, many physical, technical and technological aspects must be taken into consideration. This work presents the results of preliminary tests and simulations of the research into the optimal design of the detector’s internal chamber. The study of the influence of different GEM foils on the properties and distribution of the electron avalanche as well as the effect of the high rate photon flux on GEM foil performance was performed. Effect of electrodes alignment allowed choosing the gap distances which maximize electron transmission was also examined. Finally, the optimal readout structure design was identified suitable to collect a total formed charge effectively.

The paper presents the implementation of the streaming heapsort algorithm using the High-Level Synthesis (HLS). Results of synthesis in different configurations are compared with the reference implementation based on heavily optimized HDL code. Obtained results are used for evaluation of High-Level Synthesis as a method of implementation of data processing algorithms.

Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD) is a part of Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) located in Dubna, Russia. For full functionality, the MPD needs an additional trigger system for off-beam calibration of MPD subdetectors and for rejection of cosmic ray particles (mainly muons). The system could also be useful for astrophysics observations of cosmic showers initiated by high energy primary particles. The consortium NICA-PL comprised of several Polish scientific institutions has been formed to define goals and basic assumptions for MPD Cosmic Ray Detector (MCORD). This article describes the early stage design of the MCORD detector based on plastic scintillators with silicon photomultiplier photodetectors for scintillation readout and electronic system based on MicroTCA crate. Plans for simulations of MCORD detector performance are also presented.

The Video Concentration Device (VCD) is the component of the Video Signals Integrator (VSI). The whole VSI is a complex hybrid system containing hardware, firmware, and software components and can integrate and serve video signals from many sources. The VCD is a portable device capturing video signals in various formats from different sources, and transmitting them to the VSI server. Due to high complexity, VCD is equipped with a diagnostic system providing the possibility to remotely manage it. Its functions include the update of the firmware and software, starting the special diagnostic version of the firmware and the software, low-level expert access. In most cases it should eliminate the necessity of the on-site expert’s intervention, except in case of hardware failure

The Common Readout Interface (CRI) is an important component of the new architecture of readout and DAQ chain for CBM. The paper presents the results of preliminary analysis and experiments performed to assess the possibility to implement the CRI firmware in the selected prototyping hardware platform. It also reviews functionalities provided by the Zynq UltraScale+ platform regarding their usability for the creation of the PCIe-based data concentration system.

We present the concept of data distribution and dispatching software which is prepared for low latency and high throughput SXR measurement system developed by our group. Its scope includes handling data acquisition from multiple FPGA chips, execution of numerical algorithms with the use of multiple threads and post calculation storage and transfer. Data transfer to CPU side is done with usage of DMA via PCIe interface with specially developed Linux driver. This paper describes the need and details of discussed part of the system.

Objectives: The objectives were to compare three methods of estimating critical closing pressure (CrCP) in a scenario of a controlled increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) induced during an infusion test in patients with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).

This paper discusses the model and the development methodology that was proposed in the implementation process of the heterogeneous system for the WEST thermal fusion reactor. The objective was to provide a systematic approach to provide a heterogeneous device to handle high-throughput workloads with low-latency for the WEST Soft X-Ray impurities diagnostic. The presented mechanism is dedicated to augment the system applicability to a wider area of instrumentation for high-scale physics experiments.

The collaboration of authors led to implementing advanced and fast systems for diagnostics of plasma content in tokamaks. During the development of systems it is planned to add new functionalities, in particular, the algorithms of tomographic reconstruction to obtain information on three dimensional distribution of plasma impurities. In the article the idea of tomographic reconstruction is introduced and issues of performance and adequate hardware selection are presented.

This article describes the development of a method to localize an athlete during sports performance on a platform, based on a static video recording. Considered sport for this method is wushu – martial art. However, any other discipline can be applied. There are specified requirements, and 2 algorithms of image processing are described. The next part presents an experiment that was held based on recordings from the Pan American Wushu Championship. Based on those recordings the steps of the algorithm are shown. Results are evaluated manually. The last part of the article concludes if the algorithm is applicable and what improvements have to be implemented to use it during sports competitions as well as for offline analysis.

The implementation of the CBM readout and DAQ chain is currently reconsidered. The proposed changes include replacement of two sets of FPGA-based boards with a single one: Common Readout Interface (CRI) board. The paper presents the analysis performed to select the optimal hardware platform for the CBM CRI, considering the cost and the number of input links serviced by a single board.

The requirements given for GEM (Gaseous Electron Multiplier) detector based acquisition system for plasma impurities diagnostics triggered a need for the development of a specialized software and hardware architecture. The amount of computations with latency and throughput restrictions cause that an advanced solution is sought for. In order to provide a mechanism fitting the designated tokamaks, an insight into existing solutions was necessary. In the article there is discussed architecture of systems used for plasma diagnostics and in related scientific fields. The developed solution is compared and contrasted with other diagnostic and control systems. Particular attention is payed to specific requirements for plasma impurities diagnostics in tokamak thermal fusion reactor. Subsequently, the details are presented that justified the choice of the system architecture and the discussion on various approaches is given.

We present a feasibility study of fast events parameters estimation algorithms regarding their execution time. It is the first stage of procedure used on data gathered from gas electron multiplier (GEM) detector for diagnostic of plasma impurities. Measured execution times are estimates of achievable times for future and more complex algorithms. The work covers usage of Intel Xeon and Intel Xeon Phi - high-performance computing (HPC) devices as a possible replacement for FPGA with highlighted advantages and disadvantages. Results show that less than 10 ms feedback loop can be obtained with the usage of 25% hardware resources in Intel Xeon or 10% resources in Intel Xeon Phi which leaves space for future increase of algorithms complexity. Moreover, this work contains a simplified overview of basic problems in actual measurement systems for diagnostic of plasma impurities, and emerging trends in developed solutions.

The measurement system based on gas electron multiplier detector is developed for soft X-ray diagnostics of tokamak plasmas. The multi-channel setup is designed for estimation of the energy and the position distribution of an X-ray source. The focal measuring issue is the charge cluster identification by its value and position estimation. The fast and accurate mode of the serial data acquisition is applied for the dynamic plasma diagnostics. The charge clusters are counted in the space determined by 2D position, charge value, and time intervals. Radiation source characteristics are presented by histograms for a selected range of position, time intervals, and cluster charge values corresponding to the energy spectra.

The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment is a part of the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at Darmstadt, Germany. The challenge in CBM experiment is to measure the particles generated in nuclear collisions with unprecedented precision and statistics. To capture the data from each collision a highly time synchronized fault tolerant self-triggered electronics is required for Data Acquisition (DAQ) system that can support high data rate (up to several TB/s). Basic readout chain for CBM consists of a front-end Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) also known as X-Y Time Energy Read-out (XYTER) ASIC, a radiation hardened high speed optical transceiver board with Gigabit Transceiver (GBTx) ASIC followed by a Data Processing Board (DPB) and First Level Event Selector Interface Board (FLIB). As the first step towards the development of the readout chain, FPGA prototypes of GBTx ASIC and XYTER ASIC also known as GBTx emulator and XYTER emulator are developed. GBTx chips are connected to the XYTER in the front end through Low Voltage Differential Signalling (LVDS) electrical line also known as E-link and in the back-end with DPB using optical fiber. In this work, an FPGA-based readout chain prototype comprising of XYTER emulator, GBTx emulator, and DPB is developed where control and configuration signal of XYTER will be sent from DPB through GBTx emulator. A Python script is written in the computer to generate the control information that will be transferred to DPB through Ethernet using IPBus protocol.

The measurement system based on GEM - Gas Electron Multiplier detector - is developed for soft X-ray diagnostics of tokamak plasmas. The multi-channel setup is designed for estimation of the energy and the position distribution of an Xray source. The focal measuring issue is the charge cluster identification by its value and position estimation. The fast and accurate mode of the serial data acquisition is applied for the dynamic plasma diagnostics. The charge clusters are counted in the space determined by 2D position, charge value and time intervals. Radiation source characteristics are presented by histograms for a selected range of position, time intervals and cluster charge values corresponding to the energy spectra.

Soft X-ray plasma measurement systems are mostly multi-channel, high performance systems. In case of the modular construction it is necessary to perform sophisticated system discovery in parallel with automatic system configuration. In the paper the structure of the modular system designed for tokamak plasma soft X-ray measurements is described. The concept of the system discovery and further automatic configuration is also presented. FCS application (FMC/ FPGA Configuration Software) is used for running sophisticated system setup with automatic verification of proper configuration. In order to provide flexibility of further system configurations (e.g. user setup), common communication interface is also described. The approach presented here is related to the automatic system firmware building presented in previous papers. Modular construction and multichannel measurements are key requirement in term of SXR diagnostics with use of GEM detectors.

In the pipelined data processing systems it is very important to ensure that parallel paths delay data by the same number of clock cycles. If that condition is not met, the processing blocks receive data not properly aligned in time and produce incorrect results. Manual equalization of latencies is a tedious and error-prone work. This paper presents an automatic method of latency equalization in systems described in VHDL. The proposed method uses simulation to measure latencies and verify introduced correction. The solution is portable between different simulation and synthesis tools. The method does not increase the complexity of the synthesized design comparing to the solution based on manual latency adjustment. The example implementation of the proposed methodology together with a simple design demonstrating its use is available as an open source project under BSD license.

This article is an overview of what has been implemented in the process of development and testing the GEM detector based acquisition system in terms of post-processing algorithms. Information is given on mex functions for extended statistics collection, unified hex topology and optimized S-DAQ algorithm for splitting overlapped signals. Additional discussion on bottlenecks and major factors concerning optimization is presented.

In complex FPGA designs, usage of version control system is a necessity. It is especially important in the case of designs developed by many developers or even by many teams. The standard development mode, however, offered by most FPGA vendors is the GUI based project mode. It is very convenient for a single developer, who can easily experiment with project settings, browse and modify the sources hierarchy, compile and test the design. Unfortunately, the project configuration is stored in files which are not suited for use with Version Control System (VCS). Another important problem in big FPGA designs is reuse of IP cores. Even though there are standard solutions like IEEE 1685-2014, they suffer from some limitations particularly significant for complex systems (e.g. only simple types are allowed for IP-core ports, it is not possible to use parametrized instances of IP-cores). Additionally, the overhead associated with packaging of IP-cores is significant and not justified for simple reusable blocks. This paper presents a system aimed at storing the whole design in a VCS oriented form. The hierarchy of sources is described with textual ”extended project (EPRJ) files” which are fully controlled by the user and may also be put in a VCS. The IP blocks may be easily added to the project just by including the accompanying EPRJ file. Both absolute and relative file paths may be used which allows the flexible structure of directories. The sources of locally developed IP blocks may be stored in directories located inside the main source tree, while sources of independently developed blocks, using separate VCS repositories, may be located outside that tree. The environment allows splitting the design into smaller parts, which are synthesized independently. That reduces the time needed to recompile the whole design if only a few blocks are modified. The system creates the standard project, which can be used for convenient interactive work with the design. After the interactive session, the user should transfer changes of settings into the system files (also under VCS control). With that approach, it is always possible to recreate any stable version of the project from the VCS. The system also provides a possibility of automated rebuilding of the design from the VCS stored files. That is especially useful for ”build servers” used in serious projects. The development of the system was inspired by the needs of firmware development for the CBM experiment. The system has been developed mainly for Xilinx Vivado tools, but adaptation for Altera Quartus is planned in the nearest future. The system is developed as a free and Open Source solution.