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Mbed BK Ed2 CH 1

The document provides an overview of embedded systems and microcontrollers. It discusses that (1) embedded systems are controlled by computers inside products to perform non-computing functions, (2) microcontrollers combine a processor core, memory, and peripherals to control embedded systems, and (3) ARM designs effective microprocessor cores that are widely used in embedded systems.

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Pedro Augusto Peres
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39 views

Mbed BK Ed2 CH 1

The document provides an overview of embedded systems and microcontrollers. It discusses that (1) embedded systems are controlled by computers inside products to perform non-computing functions, (2) microcontrollers combine a processor core, memory, and peripherals to control embedded systems, and (3) ARM designs effective microprocessor cores that are widely used in embedded systems.

Uploaded by

Pedro Augusto Peres
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

Chapter 1: Embedded Systems,

Microcontrollers and ARM tw rev. 26.8.16

If you use or reference these slides or the associated textbook, please cite the original authors’ work as follows:
Toulson, R. & Wilmshurst, T. (2016). Fast and Effective Embedded Systems Design - Applying the ARM mbed
(2nd edition), Newnes, Oxford, ISBN: 978-0-08-100880-5.
www.embedded-knowhow.co.uk
What is an Embedded System?
An embedded system is a product which is controlled by a
computer inside it, but whose overall function is not computing.
Examples are near endless, and include washing machines,
office equipment, and car engine management.
An Example Embedded System
A snack vending machine is a good example of an embedded system. At its
heart is a single microcontroller. As the diagram shows, this accepts a number
of input signals, from the user keypad, the coin counting module, and from the
dispensing mechanism itself. It generates output signals dependent on those
inputs.
The Segway Personal Transporter

The Segway personal transporter uses sensitive


gyroscopes to ensure that the standing platform
always remains horizontal. If weight shifts forward
(and the gyroscope shows an imbalance) then the
motor in the wheels moves forwards marginally to
compensate and stops moving when a horizontal
position has been achieved again. The
microcontroller, sensors and actuators act together
to ensure that the platform stays stable.
Microprocessors and Microcontrollers
The Figure shows the essential elements of a computer system.
A computer can perform arithmetic or logical calculations. It does this in a digital
electronic circuit called the ALU, or Arithmetic Logic Unit.
The ALU is placed within a larger circuit, called the Central Processing Unit (CPU),
which provides some of the supporting features that it needs.
Which arithmetic or logical calculation the ALU does depends on a digital code which is
fed to it, called an instruction.
If the ALU is kept busy, by feeding it a sequence of instructions, and also passing it the
data it needs to work on, then we have a simple computer.

Essentials
Essentials of a computer
of a computer
The Microcontroller
A microcontroller takes the essential features of the computer, and adds to these the
features that are needed for it to perform its control functions. It’s useful to think of it as
being made up of three parts: core, memory and peripherals,
Development Processes - what’s so Special about C/C++?
As programmers, it is our ultimate goal to produce a program which makes the
microcontroller do what is needed. That program must be a listing of instructions, in
binary, drawn from the instruction set. We sometimes call the program in this raw binary
form machine code.
It’s tedious, to the point of being near impossible, for us as humans to work with the
binary numbers which form the instruction set. A step to programming sanity is to use a
High Level Language (HLL), which generates the machine code through a compiler.
C is a HLL with clear advantages. This is because it is simple, and has features which
allow access to the hardware when needed. A step up from C is C++, which is also
widely used for more advanced embedded applications.
The Development Cycle

Program development is based around


this simple loop. The source code is
written on the host computer, using a
text editor. The source code is converted
into the binary machine code by a
compiler (if writing in C/C++), which is
downloaded to the microcontroller itself.
Program download to the target system
requires temporary connection to the
host computer.
The world of ARM - a Little History
In 1981 the Acorn computer became a popular
machine in schools and universities in the UK. It
used an 8-bit processor made by MOS Technology.
Around the same time IBM produced its very first
PC, based on a more powerful Intel 16-bit
microprocessor.
Throughout the 1980s the influence of the IBM PC
grew, and its smaller competitors began to fade.

Designers at Acorn realised:


• that they had the capability to design the microprocessor itself and didn’t need to
buy it in from elsewhere.
• that their future may not lie in selling the completed computer itself.
• that you don’t need to manufacture silicon to be a successful designer, what matters
is the ideas inside the design. These can be sold as IP, intellectual property.
A group of them formed Advanced RISC Machines Ltd, later simply called
ARM. They applied the above principles.
What does RISC mean?
One approach to CPU design is to insist on keeping things simple, and have a
limited instruction set. This leads to the RISC approach – the Reduced
Instruction Set Computer. This differs from the Complex Instruction Set
Computer (CISC).

The RISC approach looks like a "back to basics" move. A simple RISC CPU can
execute code fast, but it may need to execute more instructions to complete a
given task, compared to its CISC cousin. Characteristic of the RISC approach
include:
• each instruction is contained within a single binary word.
• every instruction normally takes the same amount of time to execute.
• Other useful design features can then be implemented, for example
pipelining - an approach by which as one instruction is being executed, the
next is already being fetched from memory.
The world of ARM - The Cortex core

The ARM concept


continued to prosper,
with a sequence of
smart microprocessor
designs being sold as IP,
to an increasing number
of major manufacturers
around the world. This
led to the Cortex family
of microprocessor cores.

The Cortex M3 core, simplified


Chapter Review
• An embedded system contains one or more tiny computers, which control
it, and give it a sense of intelligence.
• The embedded computer usually takes the form of a microcontroller, which
combines microprocessor core, memory and peripherals.
• Embedded system design combines hardware (electronic, electrical and
electro-mechanical) and software (program) design.
• The embedded microcontroller has an instruction set. It is the ultimate goal
of the programmer to develop code which is made up of instructions from
this instruction set.
• Most programming is done in a high level language, with a compiler being
used to convert that program into the binary code, drawn from the
instruction set and recognised by the microcontroller.
• ARM has developed a range of effective microprocessor and
microcontroller designs, widely applied in embedded systems.

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