Embedded real-time systems in cyber-physical applications: a frequency domain analysis methodology

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) use sensors and actuators to interface between an embedded system and the physical world. The time-continuous domain of the physical world should be periodically sampled by real-time tasks in an embedded system to preserve its dynamic properties in the time-discrete domain. Because the task execution pattern may vary during runtime, a jitter in the execution of a real-time task hinders the periodicity of its execution. The effects of jitters in CPSs are difficult to determine when the premises of the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem are not satisfied. This paper proposes using frequency domain analysis to determine the perturbations that a real-time system produces on real-world applications; accordingly, the paper defines both a design and an evaluation criterion for real-time systems in CPS applications. The Fixed Priority discipline is analysed through simulations to conclude that no special design techniques are required when the utilization factors are less than 20%.