Embedded computersystemen explOratie

Computers are everywhere around us and have become an indispensable part of our existence. Many of these computer systems are clearly visible, such as laptops and desktop computers. However, many more are less visible or even completely invisible: the so-called embedded computer systems. Examples of these are the computer system in your mobile phone, in cars, trains, airplanes, and smart home devices in your home. Such embedded computer systems face many conflicting design requirements: they must be fast and sometimes even provide guarantees about their responsiveness; they must be energy-efficient (many embedded systems use a battery); they must be reliable (think of self-driving cars), etc. In his inaugural lecture, Pimentel discusses the importance of modeling, simulation, and optimization techniques to enable designers of embedded computer systems to make good design choices that lead to a good compromise between speed, energy efficiency, and reliability.