Many people may see the development of software and hardware like different disciplines. However, there are great similarities between them that have been shown due to the appearance of extensions for general purpose programming languages for its use as hardware description languages. In this contribution, the approach proposed by the MyHDL package to use Python as an HDL is analyzed by making a comparative study. This study is based on the independent application of Verilog and Python based flows to the development of a real peripheral. The use of MyHDL has revealed to be a powerful and promising tool, not only because of the surprising results, but also because it opens new horizons towards the development of new techniques for modeling and verification, using the full power of one of the most versatile programming languages nowadays.

The Internet of Things (IoT) security is one of the most important issues developers have to face. Data tampering must be prevented in IoT devices and some or all of the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of sensible data files must be assured in most practical IoT applications, especially when data are stored in removable devices such as microSD cards, which is very common. Software solutions are usually applied, but their effectiveness is limited due to the reduced resources available in IoT systems. This paper introduces a hardware-based security framework for IoT devices (Embedded LUKS) similar to the Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS) solution used in Linux systems to encrypt data partitions. Embedded LUKS (E-LUKS) extends the LUKS capabilities by adding integrity and authentication methods, in addition to the confidentiality already provided by LUKS. E-LUKS uses state-of-the-art encryption and hash algorithms such as PRESENT and SPONGENT. Both are recognized as adequate solutions for IoT devices being PRESENT incorporated in the ISO/IEC 29192-2:2019 for lightweight block ciphers. E-LUKS has been implemented in modern XC7Z020 FPGA chips, resulting in a smaller hardware footprint compared to previous LUKS hardware implementations, a footprint of about a 10% of these LUKS implementations, making E-LUKS a great alternative to provide Full Disk Encryption (FDE) alongside authentication to a wide range of IoT devices.

In this paper we present a design of a peripheral for microblaze soft core processor as part of a R+D project carried out in cooperation with three different companies. The objective of the project consisted in the development of an embedded system with a SoC implemented on a FPGA custom-designed board. This work addresses the design of a digital data processing peripheral included as a part of the target SoC application, that process digital signals via the digital inputs on a proposed board. Peripheral functionality is configurable for each digital signal independently and is configured from the software running on the microblaze processor core.

This contribution presents the design and implementation of a SNTP client module suitable for IEC 61850 environments fully done in hardware. The module is able to provide synchronization and accurate time reference within a microsecond with respect to a SNTP server, in a extremely compact, cost-effective and low power device completely implemented in a low grade FPGA chip. Therefore it can be an ideal replacement to expensive computer-based solutions or dedicated GPS receivers in a wide range of industrial applications. This SNTP client is part of a common technological platform for implementing Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) under IEC 61850.