Abstract
Process variations in MOS manufacturing processes tend to increase within each new technology node, leading to lower production yields, particularly those of analogue circuits, which are also sensitive to external perturbations that might force there performance to drift beyond there admissible tolerance margins. This issue is addressed here with the design of a calibratable N-Integer phase-locked loop (PLL) based frequency synthesizer. In the approach being proposed, a statistical analysis is carried out to know the sensitivity of the PLL performance to expected process, temperature, and voltage variations. A training data set is then identified and used to define the calibration law and the required calibration algorithm. Simulation results are presented that confirm its validity.

Abstract
Panoramic or aerial images can be acquired with some easiness and cover vast tracts of territory to be used in fire detection. The analysis of these images, in particular based on color and threshold indices, can be very interesting computationally when applied in real time systems and collected, for example, through drones or watchtowers. This paper presents a solution designated Color Algorithm for Flame Exposure (CAFE), which significantly improves an existing method (cf. Forest Fire Detection Index - FFDI) in flame detection, based on daylight images, in mixed Mediterranean landscape, containing vegetation, buildings, burning areas, land, etc. The CAFE approach, presented, adds a parameterizable transformation of the image into the Lab color space. This approach was tested in four distinct scenarios, significantly reducing false positives and maintaining an equivalent level of false negatives when compared to the FFDI approach.

Abstract
Location data plays an important role in several applications embedded in our digital living. These applications, usually, take advantage of Global Positioning System (GPS). However, GPS is not targeted for indoor location, therefore this paper presents an alternative system, based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons that together with bluetooth-enabled Smartphones, allows the development of low cost and accurate location-aware applications for indoor scenarios. The paper describes the challenges associated with the system deployment and presents algorithms to improve the distance estimation process as the user moves around the smart space. The evaluation performed shows that this approach has good results on noise reduction and movement adaptation allowing a close tracking of the indoor user position. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018.

Abstract
IEEE 1687 standard (IJTAG), as an extension to the IEEE 1149.1, facilitates efficient access to embedded instruments by supporting reconfigurable scan networks. Specifically, IJTAG allows each IP to be wrapped by a test data register (TDR) whose access is controlled by a segment insertion bit (SIB) or a scan-mux control bit (SCB). Because the TDRs and the SIB/SCB network are typically not public, but critical for accessing embedded instruments, they might be used for illegitimate purposes, such as dumping credential data and reverse engineering IP design. Machine learning has been proposed to detect such attacks, but the large number of instruments and parallel execution enabled by the IJTAG produce high-dimensional data, which poses a challenge to on-chip detection. In this paper, we propose to reduce the high-dimensional but sparse data using a low-density parity-check (LDPC) matrix. Experiments using a modified version of the OpenSPARC T2 to include IJTAG functionality demonstrate that the use of feature reduction eliminates 91% of the features, leading to 43% reduction in circuit size without affecting detection accuracy. Also, the on-chip detector adds moderate overhead (similar to 8%) to the IJTAG.

Abstract
This paper presents a novel high-gain transimpedance amplifier for flexible radiation sensing systems that can be used as large-area dosimeters. The circuit is implemented with indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin-film-transistors and uses two stages for the amplification of the sensor signal (current). The first stage consists of cascode current mirrors with a diode connected load that performs current amplification and voltage conversion. Then, the first stage is followed by a voltage amplifier based on a positive feedback topology for gain enhancement. The proposed circuit converts nano-ampere (10 nA) currents into hundreds of millivolts (280 mV), showing a gain around 149 dB and a power consumption of 0.45 mW. The sensed radiation dose level, in voltage terms, can drive the next stages in the radiation sensing system, such as analog to digital converters. These radiation sensing devices can find potential applications in real-time, large area, flexible health, and security systems.

Abstract
This paper presents a high speed digitally programmable Ring Oscillator (RO) using Indium-galliumzinc oxide thin-film transistors (IGZO TFTs). Proposed circuit ensures high speed compared to the conventional ROs using negative skewed scheme, in which each inverter delay is reduced by pre-maturely switching on/off the transistors. In addition, by controlling the load capacitance of each inverter through digital control bits, a programmable frequency of oscillation was attained. Proposed RO performance is compared with two conventional designs under same conditions. From simulation, it has been observed that the proposed circuit has shown a higher frequency of oscillations (283 KHz) compared to the conventional designs (76.52 KHz and 144.9 KHz) under same conditions. Due to the programmable feature, the circuit is able to generate 8 different linearly spaced frequencies ranging from 241.2 KHz to 283 KHz depending upon three digital control bits with almost rail-to-rail voltage swing. The circuit is a potential on-chip clock generator in many real-world flexible systems, such as, smart packaging, wearable devices, RFIDs and displays that need multi frequencies.