https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/21959 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:49:06 GMT 2026-04-09T19:49:06Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/23490 Title: FPGA based gravitational multi-particle simulator Abstract: The Multi-Particle/N-body simulation problem has been pursued by numerous scholars in the last century. Nowadays particle simulators are considered to be highly valuable tools in several fields of Physics, most notably that of Astronomy. The idea behind the n-body problem is to find the most time and resource efficient method to simulate an ‘n’ number of particles in a given space. By simulating it is meant that the next position of each particle is continuously predicted by a combination of the particle’s current vectorial velocity and the forces exerted on that same particle by the other particles. There are various ways to achieve this, with the most basic being the brute-force approach which compares each particle with every other particle in the system for each time-step. An optimised approach towards solving the n-body problem is the barnes-hut algorithm, which was developed in the mid 80s and makes use of a quad-tree data-structure. The multi-particle problem in this dissertation has been tackled from two different perspectives; software and hardware. For the scope of this project the brute-force approach was applied both to the software and hardware implementations, while the barnes-hut was only implemented in software part. The software implementation consisted of a simulator built from scratch in Python, utilising custom packages such as the quad-tree data-structure. The basic brute-force algorithm compares each particle with every other particle while the barnes-hut makes use of the quadtree, to improve computational times at the expense of some degree of accuracy. On the other hand the hardware implementation consists of a brute-force simulator built using an FPGA in VHDL. The idea behind this project was to learn about the difference between the two implementations in terms of computational efficiency. Each implementation was approached using a different mindset. The software implementation required a procedural and structural approach even though object oriented principles were applied, whilst the hardware implementation required a more state driven and concurrent approach. In the software implementation the n-body problem was solved using a rather highly abstracted understanding of the logic with minimal to no particular interest of how it is implemented at a lower level. This is in stark contrast with the hardware implementation where the hardware dictated how the simulator was to be built, so a low level understanding was mandatory and a priority. The results for the software implementation showed that the barnes-hut offers significant improvement over the basic brute-force approach. This is primarily due to the efficient quad-tree data-structure implementation, with fast traversal times. It was also concluded that the FPGA isn’t necessarily the best option, even though it might sound counter intuitive. This is because if parallelisation is not utilised, the problem becomes quadratic and computational times become large in a very short amount of time. In the hardware implementation computation times are dependant on the propagation of the values through the logic and not on the inputs themselves, more specifically the intensiveness of the calculations. Description: B.SC.(HONS)COMPUTER ENG. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/23490 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/23489 Title: Collision avoidance system for the RP survey and visual inspection train in the CERN large hadron collider Abstract: This Final Year Project focused on producing a working prototype of a collision avoidance system for the retractable Radio-Protection (RP) arm, in the Train Inspection Monorail (TIM), located in European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Tunnel. This retractable arm is deployed in specific regions in the tunnel, after the beams have been dumped, to take radiation and oxygen level measurment around LHC equipment. In turn, these measurements allow the CERN Radiation Protection Group to assess any health hazards inside the LHC tunnel, before access to it is permitted to the maintenance personnel. This prototype uses a series of eight distance measurement sensors based on the Infrared (IR) Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology, which scans a safety volume underneath the TIM and raises an alarm once this volume is breached. Namely, the TeraRanger One (TR1) IR ToF distance measurement sensor, is used, which is interfaced via the TeraRanger Hub (TRH), by TeraBee. A Cortex-M microcontroller, is mounted on the TRH, which in turn is connected to the distance measurement sensors via a multiplexed Universal Synchronous/Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (USART) connection among all eight sensors. The Micro Controller Unit (MCU) also provides an interface for the user maintaining the collision avoidance system, via a second, dedicated USART connection. The MCU’s Direct Memory Access (DMA) functionalities are also used to transfer the data from the TR1, directly into memory. Sensor characterisation tests were also devised and performed. The sensor characterisation tests obtained calibration results, by which the accuracy of the TR1 sensors was improved, established any effects that prolonged use of the TR1 might have on the distance measurement, due to components heating up over time, as well as the effects on the distance measurements, when the Field-of-View (FOV) of the TR1 was partially covered. For the specific role of aiding in the data acquisition during the sensor characterisation tests, a testing rig was designed and constructed. This was designed to ensure that the distance from the sensor array to the surface being scanned, was always known during testing. Description: B.SC.(HONS)COMPUTER ENG. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/23489 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/23488 Title: Dual-axis light tracker Abstract: With an ever growing dependence on technology and intelligent systems, automatic control and microcontroller based systems play an increasingly important role in our daily lives. Feedback control systems have been extremely popular over the past few decades, providing elegant solutions to complicated control problems in applications ranging from climate control systems in automobiles to high precision systems in space vehicle control. This project involved the design and implementation of a dual axis light tracker which is able to locate a source of light in both the panning and tilting axis of rotation. This was achieved through the use of four light sensors strategically placed around a cross-shaped shade in such a way that all sensors receive equal light when the system directly faces the light source. A digital control algorithm based on proportional, integral and derivative control was implemented on an Arduino microcontroller driving two servo motors, one for each axis of rotation. Gain scheduling was applied to the system. This is a technique used for achieving reliable and repeatable performance for different system conditions, in this case, varying ambient light intensities needed to be considered. Integral anti-windup techniques were also explored. The results are compared to a simple yet widely used algorithm for light tracking. Description: B.SC.(HONS)COMPUTER ENG. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/23488 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z