Introduction to Embedded

Systems
Embedded System
❑ Any electronic device that incorporates a microprocessor (core which is
programmed to perform a few tasks) within its implementation

❑ a computer-controlled system

❑ computer hardware and software, additional mechanical or other parts,

designed to perform a dedicated function.

❑ is a special-purpose system in which the computer is completely encapsulated

by the device it controls
Embedded System
❑ performs pre-defined tasks, usually with very specific requirements
▪ Mobile phones, MP3 Players, Digital Cameras
❑ Since the system is dedicated to a specific task, design engineers can
optimize it and reduce the size and cost of the product.
❑ Power Constrain, Performance requirements.
❑ often mass-produced, so the cost savings may be multiplied by millions of
items
History:
Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC), 1963
❑ first recognizably modern embedded system.
❑ Developed by Charles Stark Draper at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory
❑ Used in real-time by astronaut pilots to collect and provide flight information
❑ Automatically control all of the navigational functions of the Apollo spacecraft.
❑ first to use integrated circuits (ICs)
❑ RAM: magnetic core memory (4K words)
❑ ROM: core rope memory (32K words)

❑ Image from: Grabert at German Wikipedia. -

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3984038
History:
D-17 Guidance Computer, 1961 ~ 1966
❑ The first mass-produced embedded system developed for Minuteman missile
❑ Built from discrete transistor logic and had a hard disk for main memory
❑ When the Minuteman II went into production in 1966, the D-17 was replaced
with a new computer that was the first high-volume use of integrated circuits.
❑ This program alone reduced prices on quad NAND gate
ICs from $1000/each to $3/each, permitting their use
in commercial products.

Image from: By Jnanna - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?cur
id=4461779
History:
Intel 4004 and 8-bit microprocessor
❑ Intel 4004 ❑ 8-bit Microprocessor (1971-
▪ first microprocessor 1974)
▪ calculators and other small systems ▪ 8008, 8080, 8085, 6800, 6502, Z-
▪ required external memory and support 80, Ti, NS
chips ▪ Hundred if not thousand
vendors rushed into this
market.
▪ 6502 was used by Apple Co.
to design Apple-II, which
sparked the Personal
computer era.
History: 16-bit CPU
❑ 8088, 8086, 80286 Z-8000, 68000
❑ IBM PC Era began from 1979
▪ 8088 was used in PC and PC/XT, was used in the PC/AT.
▪ 80286 is used in IBM PS/2 personal computer system.
▪ Microsoft intentional persuaded the IBM to use assembly to implement the
OS/2 so that caused a long delay of the OS/2-286 release. During that time,
Bill Gate secretly develops the Windows to emulate the Mac’s OS.
▪ Single chip microcontroller (8051 MCU) series which was developed by Intel
in 1980 for use in embedded systems .

Image from: https://www.gadgetronicx.com/basics-of-8051-

microcontroller-programming/
History:
32-bit CPU and RISC
❑ 32-bit CPU ❑ The era of the RISC
▪ 68020, 80386, NS32032, Z8000, ❑Reduced Instruction Set Computer
Japan TRON CPU (RISC) comes. It is RISC vs. CISC
▪ Only a handful manufacturer ❑code density for RISC
would be able to reach the 32- ❑The large installed X86 PC
bit CPU market. software base is a big hurdle to
the RISC machines to overcome.
History:
Simple history of RISC
❑ Even the RISC idea (around 1980) was rebutted by the computer
architects during its early development.
❑ For at that time, most computer architects tried to enhance the
performance of CPU by adding more complex instructions.
❑ RISC is simply against the intuition. Why RISC prevails?
❑ X86 vs. RISC ... This is a big question!

Image from: https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/risc/

History
Notable RISC CPUs Architecture Design
❑ MIPS, PPC, M88000, PA-RISC, DEC-Alpha, Clipper, ARM
❑ Architecture Design
▪ Instruction, Register set, memory model, pipelined architecture, Superscalar, simultaneous
multithreading, multi-core.

❑ Does RISC really reduce the instruction set?

❑ So what is the key to the 32-bit RISC? A Big design Team is needed.
History
❑ RISC vs X86
▪ In the performance with application base game, the RICS failed
miserably to the Intel’s X86 architecture.
▪ So the RISC company had to find the alternative market and focused
on the embedded system.
▪ The tide has been changing now, the RISC power player ARM strikes
back. In low-power application the X86 is no match to the ARM.
ARM history
❑ ARM0: Acorn Computers Ltd used 6502 (which powered Apple-II then) to
design BBC Micro computer.
❑ ARM1 ARM 2: (Inspired by Berkley RISC project)The official Acorn RISC
Machine project started in October 1983.
❑ VLSI Technology, Inc was chosen as silicon partner.
❑ VLSI produced the first ARM silicon on 26 April 1985 – it worked the first
time and came to be termed ARM1 by April 1985.
❑ The first "real" production systems named ARM2 were available the
following year.
ARM Key Architecture
❑ The ARM architecture includes the following RISC features:
❑ Load/store architecture.
❑ No support for misaligned memory accesses (now supported in ARMv6 cores,
with some exceptions related to load/store multiple word instructions).
❑ Uniform 16 × 32-bit register file.
❑ Fixed instruction width of 32 bits to ease decoding and pipelining, at the cost of
decreased code density. Later, the Thumb instruction set increased code
density. Now Thumb-2 ISA
❑ Mostly single-cycle execution.
ARM architecture
❑ To compensate for the simpler design, compared with contemporary processors
like the Intel and Motorola 68020, some additional design features were used:
❑ Conditional execution of most instructions, reducing branch overhead and
compensating for the lack of a branch predictor.
❑ Arithmetic instructions alter condition codes only when desired.
❑ 32-bit barrel shifter which can be used without performance penalty with most
arithmetic instructions and address calculations.
❑ Powerful indexed addressing modes.
❑ A link register for fast leaf function calls.
❑ Simple, but fast, 2-priority-level interrupt subsystem with banked register
banks.
Components of embedded system
❑ Hardware
▪ Processor, memory, ASIC,
controllers,peripherals…

❑ Firmware/software
▪ Boot loader, embedded OS,
device drivers, applications…
Components of embedded system
❑ Design and Development Skills:
• HDL: Verilog, VHDL
• I/O, analog and digital interfacing,
peripherals
• Development kits: Compiler, linker
• Firmware design: Assembly and Low-level
C language
• Device driver design
• Embedded operating system design or
porting
• System programming: System calls, IPC,
Socket …
• Application software design: JAVA, C++
Properties of Embedded Systems
❑ Heterogeneous: Software, Electronics, Mechanical Components,
Optics, etc.,
❑ Complex: Real time requirements, low-power, reliable
❑ Flexible: Remote Maintenance. Time-to-market, personalized.
❑ Communicative: Networked, Connected, unobtrusively
communicating: typically by means of sensors & actuators .
❑ Decentralized control, adaptive behavior, self configuring, self
restoring.
Embedded System Application

Image from: Asif Ali Khan. Optimizing Tensor Contractions

for Embedded Devices with Racetrack Memory Scratch-
Pads - Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Applications-
domains-for-embedded-systems-in-the-Internet-of-
Things_fig1_334646622 [accessed 10 Aug, 2021]
Embedded System Design
What makes embedded systems different?
❑ Real-time operation ❑ reliability
❑ size ❑ safety
❑ cost ❑ energy
❑ time ❑ security
Classifications of Embedded System
❑ Small Scale Embedded System

❑ Medium Scale Embedded System

❑ Sophisticated Embedded System

Small Scale Embedded System
❑ Single 8-bit or 16-bit
microcontroller
❑ They may even be battery
operated.
❑ Programming tools:
❑ Usually “C” is used for ▪ Editor, Assembler and Cross
developing these system. Assembler
❑ The need to limit power
dissipation when system is
running continuously.
Medium Scale Embedded System
❑ Single or few 16 or 32 bit
microcontrollers or Digital
Signal Processors (DSP) or
Reduced Instructions Set
Computers (RISC). ❑ Programming tools:
❑ Both hardware and software ▪ RTOS, Source code Engineering
complexity. Tool, Simulator, Debugger and
Integrated Development
Environment (IDE).
Sophisticated Embedded System
❑ Enormous hardware and
software complexity
❑ may need scalable processor or
configurable processor and ❑ Programming Tools:
programming logic arrays.
▪ A compiler or retargetable
❑ Constrained by the processing compiler might have to be
speed developed for this.
Processor
❑ the heart of the Embedded System.
❑ Two Essential Units: Control Unit (CU), Execution Unit (EU)
Various Processor
1. General Purpose processor (GPP)
❑ Microprocessor Microcontroller Embedded Processor
Digital signal Processor

2. Application Specific System Processor (ASSP)

3. Multi Processor System using GPPs

Various Microprocessors
❑ Intel ❑ Motorola
• 4004, 4040
❑ 6800
• 8080, 8085
• 8086, 8088, ❑ 6809
• 80186, 80188 ❑ 68000
• 80286, 80386 x86-64 ❑ G3, G4, G5
❑ Zilog
• Z80, Z180, eZ80 Z8, eZ8
Microcontroller
❑ is a functional computer system-on-a-chip. It contains a
processor, memory, and programmable input/output
peripherals.

❑ Microcontrollers include an integrated CPU, memory (a small

amount of RAM, program memory, or both) and peripherals
capable of input and output.
Various Microcontrollers
❑ INTEL 8031,8032,8051,8052,8751,8752
❑ PIC
❑ 8-bit PIC16, PIC18,
❑ 16-bit DSPIC33 / PIC24, PIC16C7x
❑ Motorola MC68HC11
Embedded Processor
❑ Special microprocessors & microcontrollers often called, Embedded
processors.

❑ An embedded processor is used when fast processing fast context-

switching & atomic ALU operations are needed.

❑ Examples : ARM 7, INTEL i960, AMD 29050.

Digital Signal Processor
❑ DSP as a GPP is a single chip VLSI unit.
❑ includes the computational capabilities of microprocessor and
multiply & accumulate units (MAC).
❑ DSP has large number of applications such as image processing,
audio, video & telecommunication processing systems.
❑ It is used when signal processing functions are to be processed
fast.
❑ Examples : TMS320Cxx, SHARC, Motorola 5600xx
Application Specific System Processor (ASSP)
❑ dedicated to specific tasks and provides a faster solution
❑ used as an additional processing unit for running the
application in place of using embedded software

❑ Examples : IIM7100, W3100A

Multi Processor System Using GPPS
❑ Multiple processors are used when a single processor does not
meet the needs of different task.

❑ The operations of all the processors are synchronized to obtain an

optimum performance.
Moore’s Law
❑ Moore’s law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing
hardware.
❑ Since the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958, the number of
transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has
increased exponentially, doubling approximately every two years.
❑ The trend was first observed by Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore in
1965.
❑ Almost every measure of the capabilities of digital electronic devices is
linked to Moore's law: processing speed, memory capacity, etc.
Moore’s law
Other Hardware
❑ Power Source ❑ I/O Ports, I/O Buses
❑ Clock Oscillator ❑ Interrupt Handler
❑ Real Time Clock (RTC) ❑ DAC and ADC
❑ Reset Circuit, Power-up Reset ❑ LCD and LED Display
and watchdog timer Reset ❑ Keypad/Keyboard
❑ Memory
Microsoft’s Embedded Family
❑ Microsoft’s Windows Embedded Family:
• Microsoft Windows CE
• Microsoft Windows NT Embedded
• Microsoft Windows with Server Appliance Kit
Microsoft Windows Embedded Family
Future of Embedded Systems
❑ Embedded processor accounts for 100% world wide microprocessor
production.
❑ Microprocessor production
• Embedded : Desktop = 100 : 1
❑ Embedded Processors in a house 40- 50 ( approx )
❑ Embedded Processors in a modern cars 50 – 60
Moving Toward Wireless
Embedded System Issues
❑ Cost and Performance
▪ Lowering the cost affects the speed of embedded system.
▪ Most often speed issue doesn’t matter and one achieves the task at lower
cost.
▪ Simplifying the hardware allows cost reduction.
❑ Specifications and User Constraints
▪ Specifications define that what task is to be achieved.
▪ The constraints help the designer to select appropriate hardware and software
setup to develop an embedded system.
❑ The selection of an embedded system depends upon the requirement
specifications.
Embedded System Constraints
❑ An embedded system is software designed to keep in view three constraints:
▪ Available system memory and speed
▪ Available processor speed
▪ The need to limit the power dissipation
▪ Interfaces
▪ Development Kits
▪ Embedded OS
▪ Embedded Application
❑ When running the system continuously in cycles of wait for events, run, stop and wakeup.
Parting Thought
❑ “ Just as the personal computer was a symbol of the '80s, and the
symbol of the '90s is the World Wide Web, the next nonlinear shift,
is going to be the advent of Wireless Networks .”
❑ -Paul Saffo
Thank you for listening.
References
❑ Vishwa Mohan.
https://www.slideshare.net/cherviralavm/introduction-to-
embedded-systems-7316370
❑
Dr M Muruganandam Masilamani.
https://www.slideshare.net/murugan_m1/embedded-system-
basics