The Group on Systems, Signals, and Computing

   CONTENTS  

Foreword

Research Structures

Energy, Environment, and Biodiversity

Humanities and Ethics

Culture and Education

Society and Development

Information and Communication Technology

Biology and Health

Research Structures and Researchers

About

Home PUCRS TECNOPUC EDIPUCRS
Uk  Versão em Português  Uk  PDF Version  

Seeking more reliable systems

The Group on Systems, Signals, and Computing (SiSC) develops fundamental and applied research on Electric Engineering and Computer Science with an emphasis on the architecture of fault-tolerant electronic systems for critical applications (e.g., aerospace and medical uses) in which reliability and high performance are crucial. The group also develops computer-aided design (CAD) methods and tools to design systems on chips aiming at optimizing both the power consumption and activities in the field of digital signal processing, particularly related to audio, multimedia, biological signals, and man-machine interfaces.

A reference in its field, SiSC holds many patents related to fault-tolerant electronic systems. One particularly remarkable project, because of its repercussion and innovative nature, is the development of on-chip sensors that monitor the aging of integrated circuits. This development increases the reliability of integrated circuits because problems may be detected before their actual occurrence; thus, these sensors are extremely useful, for example, for satellites and aviation. Companies such as Embraer and Airbus, and some developers of onboard computers have shown interest in this project.

The group contributes to the training of specialized human resources by organizing events such as the Design and Test Summer School in Latin America, a school of microelectronics that has traveled across Latin America (LA) every two or three years since 2002. Undergraduate and postgraduate students and professionals meet for a few days to attend courses and lectures on the latest novelties in this field. Every year, SiSC holds the itinerant IEEE Latin American Test Workshop (LATW), which is the most important event of its type in the Southern Hemisphere.

Chaired by Professor Fabian Luis Vargas, SiSC established partnerships with universities including USP, UFMG, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Jose Fourier and INSA-Toulouse (France), Barcelona UPC (Spain), Bristol (England), and National Taiwan University (Taiwan).