AUTOMOTIVE EMBEDDED SYSTEM (22AU361)

UNIT-3
TYPICAL EMBEDDED SYSTEM

General purpose and Domain specific studies

Case study
• Microwave oven
• Automotive Embedded System
Microwave Oven
Let us see the important parts of the microwave oven

A microwave oven consists of

• A high voltage transformer, which passes energy to the magnetron
• A cavity magnetron
• A Control circuit with a microcontroller
• A waveguide
• A cooking chamber

• A Transformer transfers electrical energy through a circuit by magnetic coupling

without using motion between parts. These are used for supplying power to the
magnetron.
• A Cavity magnetron is a microwave antenna placed in a vacuum tube and oscillated
in an electromagnetic field in order to produce high GHz microwaves. Magnetrons are
used in microwave ovens and radar systems.
 • A control circuit with a microcontroller is integrated on a circuit board. The
microcontroller controls the waveguide and the entire unit so the microwaves are
emitted at a constant rate.
• A Waveguide is any linear structure that guides electromagnetic waves for the
purpose of transmitting power or signals. Generally constructed of a hollow metal
pipe. Placing a waveguide into a vacuum causes radio waves to scatter.
• A Cooking Chamber is a microwave safe container the prevents microwaves from
escaping. The door has a microwave proof mesh with holes that are just small enough
that microwaves can't pass through but lightwaves can. The cooking chamber itself is
a Faraday cage enclosure which prevents the microwaves from escaping into the
environment. The oven door is usually a glass panel for easy viewing, but has a layer
of conductive mesh to maintain the shielding.
Automotive Embedded System
• The Automotive industry is one of the major application domains of embedded
systems.
• Automotive embedded systems are the one where electronics take control over the
mechanical system. Ex. Simple viper control.
• The number of embedded controllers in a normal vehicle varies somewhere between
20 to 40 and can easily be between 75 to 100 for more sophisticated vehicles.
• One of the first and very popular use of embedded system in automotive industry was
microprocessor-based fuel injection.
Some of the other uses of embedded controllers in a vehicle are
• Air Conditioner
• Engine Control
• Fan Control
• Headlamp Control
• Automatic brake system control
• Wiper control
• Air bag control
• Power windows
AES are normally built around microcontrollers or DSPs or a hybrid of the two and are
generally known as Electronic Control Units (ECUs).
Types Of Electronic Control Units(ECU)
High-speed Electronic Control Units (HECUs):
o HECUs are deployed in critical control units requiring fast response.
 o They Include fuel injection systems, antilock brake systems, engine control, electronic
throttle, steering controls, transmission control and central control units.
Low Speed Electronic Control Units (LECUs):
o They are deployed in applications where response time is not so critical.
o They are built around low cost microprocessors and microcontrollers and digital
signal processors.
o Audio controller, passenger and driver door locks, door glass control etc.
Automotive Communication Buses
Embedded system used inside an automobile communicate with each other using serial buses.
This reduces the wiring required.
Types of serial Interfaces used in automotive embedded applications
• Controller Area Network (CAN):
o CAN bus was originally proposed by Robert Bosch.
o It supports medium speed and high speed data transfer.
o CAN is an event driven protocol interface with support for error handling in data
transmission.
• Local Interconnect Network (LIN)
o LIN bus is single master multiple slave communication interface with support for data
rates up to 20 Kbps and is used for sensor/actuator interfacing.
o LIN bus follows the master communication triggering to eliminate the bus arbitration
problem.
o LIN bus applications are mirror controls, fan controls, seat positioning controls.
• Media-Oriented System Transport (MOST)
o MOST is targeted for automotive audio/video equipment interfacing
o A MOST bus is a multimedia fiber optics point–to- point network implemented in a
star, ring or daisy chained topology over optical fiber cables.
o MOST bus specifications define the physical as well as application layer , network
layer and media access control.

RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing)

• RISC is designed to perform smaller number of types of computer instructions so that
it can operate at higher speed.
• The range of instruction is 30 to 40.
• Since each instruction type that a computer must perform requires additional
transistors and circuitry a large list or a set of computer instruction tends to make
microprocessor more complicated and slower in operation.
 • It is a type of microprocessor architecture that utilizes a small highly optimized set of
instruction rather than a more specialized set of instruction often found n other types
of architecture.
• JOHN COCKE of IBM invented the RISC concept in 1974 by providing that 20% of
the instruction in a computer did 80% of its work.
• MACINTOSH computer uses RISC microcomputers.
CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing)
• A complex instruction set computer (CISC) is a computer in which single instructions
can execute several low-level operations (such as a load from memory, an arithmetic
operation, and a memory store) or are capable of multi-step operations or addressing
modes within single instructions.
• The term was retroactively coined in contrast to reduced instruction set computer
(RISC) and has therefore become something of an umbrella term for everything that is
not RISC, from large and complex mainframe computers to simplistic
microcontrollers where memory load and store operations are not separated from
arithmetic instructions.
• A modern RISC processor can therefore be much more complex than, say, a modern
microcontroller using a CISC-labeled instruction set, especially in the complexity of
its electronic circuits, but also in the number of instructions or the complexity of their
encoding patterns.
• The only typical differentiating characteristic is that most RISC designs use uniform
instruction length for almost all instructions, and employ strictly separate load/store-
instructions.
Difference between RISC and CISC
RISC CISC
Multiple register set often consisting of Single register set, typically 6 to 16 registers
more than 256 registers. total.
Three register operand allowed per Only one or two register operands allowed
instruction (eg. Add R1,R2,R3) per instruction (eg. Add R1,R2)
Parameter passing through efficient on-chip Parameter passing through inefficient off-
register windows. chip register windows.
Single cycle instruction except for load and Multiple cycle instruction
store instruction
Hardwired controlled Microprogrammed controlled
Highly pipelined Less pipelined
Fixed length of instruction (30- 40 Variable length instruction
instruction)
Only load and store instruction can access Many instructions can access memory
memory
Few addressing modes Many addressing modes
Programmable Logic Device (PLD)
• In digital electronic system there are only three kinds of devices that are memory,
microprocessor and logic devices.
• Memory devices store random information such as database.
• Microprocessor executes software instruction to perform a wide variety of tasks such
as running a word processing program or a video game.
• Logic devices provide specific function including device to device interfacing data
communication. Signal processing data display timing and control operations and
almost every other function assistive must perform.
• PLD is an electronic component use to build re-configurable digital circuit.
• Un-like a logic gate which has fixed function a PLD has un-defined function at the
time of manufacture.
• Before a PLD can use in a circuit it must be programmed i.e. reconfigured
• PLD’s are chip that can be programmed and reprogrammed to implemented different
logic function.
• The main reason to produce PLD is to reduce total cost.
• Designing with PLD is faster due to which it reduces the time require to bring the
product to the market.
• It also reduces the risk associated with the product development since they allow last
minute changes without having to re-designed circuit boards.
• There are two types of LD’s:
i. Fixed logic device (FLD)
ii. ii. Programmable logic device (PLD)
Advantages of PLD

➢ Less board space is required

➢ Faster in speed.

➢ Lower power requirement.

➢ Less costly assembly process.

➢ Higher reliability (since fewer IC’s) and circuit connections are there which helps
in making troubleshooting easier.

➢ Availability of design software.

Disadvantages of PLD

➢ PLD’s required additional development software and hardware which is often very
expensive.

➢ Design staff often needs to be trained to use new design tools. In addition, parts
must be programmed before they can be assembling into a final product.
Two major types of PLDs
• Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)
• Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs)
• FPGAs offer highest amount of logic density, the most features and the highest
performances. (Ex: provides 8 million system gates).FPGA are used in a wide variety
of applications ranging from data processing and storage, to instrumentation,
telecommunications and digital signal processing.

• CPLDs offer much smaller amounts of logic-up to about 10000 gates. But, CPLDs
offer very predictable timing characteristics and are therefore ideal for critical control
applications. Generally require low amount of power and inexpensive. Ideal for cost-
sensitive, battery operated, portable applications such as mobile phones and digital
handheld assistants.
Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)
• ASIC is a microchip designed to perform some specific function or task.
• It is basically a microchip customized for a particular use rather than intended for
general purpose use.
• Example-A chip design solely to run a cell phone is an ASIC.
• ASIC are categorized according to the technology used for manufacturing.
Types of ASICs
Fully-Customized ASIC

➢ Fully-customized ASIC are those IC’s which cannot be modified to suit different
applications.

➢ Fully customized ASIC’s are those that are entirely tailor filtered to a particular
application.

➢ Since its ultimate design and functionality is pre-specified by the user.

➢ The use of pre-defined mask for manufacturing leaves no option for circuit modification
during fabrication except for some minor fine tunings or calibration and is generally
produced as a single specific product for a particular application only.
Semi-Customized ASIC

➢ These ASIC can be modified partially to serve different functions within its general area
of application.

➢ Unlike fully-customized ASIC, semi-customized ASIC are designed to allow certain

degree of modification during manufacturing process.
Structured/Platform ASIC

➢ Structured or platform ASICs belongs to relatively new ASIC classification. ➢ These are
those ASIC which have been designed and produced from a tightly defined set of designed
methodologies, intellectual properties and well characterized silicon.

➢ The aim to developed this type of ASIC is to shorten design cycle and minimizing
development cost.

➢ A platform ASIC is built from group of platform slices with a platform slice being defined
as a pre-manufactured device system or logic for that platform.

Processor and Architecture

The architecture of any micro-controller or a micro-computer mainly refers to the overall
arrangement of the constituent CPU (it happens with respect to the ROM and RAM). Here,
Harvard and Von Neumann architecture serve as the two major ways using which the
microcontroller gets its CPU arrangement with the ROM and RAM. In this article, we will
take a look at the difference between Von Neumann and Harvard Architecture in detail. But
let us first know about both of them briefly.
What is Von Neumann Architecture?
It is a type of digital computer architecture in which the design follows the concept of the
computers with stored programs where they store the program data along with the instruction
data in the very same memory. The famous physicist and mathematician John Von Neumann
designed this architecture back in 1945.
The Von Neumann architecture consists of four main components:
• CPU: The central processing unit is the brain of the computer. It performs all the
calculations and operations required to execute instructions.
• Memory: The memory holds both instructions and data that the CPU needs to
execute. The memory is organized as a linear sequence of addressable cells, each
containing a fixed number of bits.
• Input/output (I/O) devices: These devices are used to communicate with the outside
world. Examples include keyboards, displays, and printers.
• System bus: The system bus is a collection of wires that connect the CPU, memory,
and I/O devices. It is used to transmit data, instructions, and control signals between
these components.
Advantages of Von Neumann Architecture
• The Von Neumann architecture has several advantages, including simplicity,
flexibility, and efficiency.
• Because instructions and data are stored in the same memory system, the CPU can
easily access both of them without having to switch between different memory
systems. This makes it easier to write programs and reduces the complexity of the
system as a whole.
Disadvantages of Von Neumann Architecture
• One of the main limitations is that the shared bus can become a bottleneck if too many
devices are connected to it. This can lead to slow performance and reduced
scalability.
• Additionally, the CPU can only execute one instruction at a time, which can limit the
overall speed of the system.

What is Harvard Architecture?

• It is a type of digital computer architecture in which the design follows a basic
concept of having separate signal paths (buses) and separate storage for data and
 instructions. This type of architecture basically surfaced to overcome the overall
bottleneck of the Von Neumann Architecture.

The Harvard architecture consists of the following main components:

• CPU: The central processing unit performs all the calculations and operations
required to execute instructions.
• Instruction memory: This memory holds instructions that the CPU needs to execute.
It is typically implemented as read-only memory (ROM) or flash memory.
• Data memory: This memory holds data that the CPU needs to perform computations.
It is typically implemented as random access memory (RAM).
• Input/output (I/O) devices: These devices are used to communicate with the outside
world. Examples include keyboards, displays, and printers.
• System bus: The system bus is a collection of wires that connect the CPU, instruction
memory, data memory, and I/O devices. It is used to transmit data, instructions, and
control signals between these components.
Advantages of Harvard Architecture
• The CPU can access both instruction and data memory simultaneously.
• This can lead to improved performance because the CPU does not have to switch
between memory spaces as often as in a Von Neumann architecture.
• Additionally, because the instruction memory is typically implemented as ROM or
flash memory, it is non-volatile, meaning that it does not lose its contents when power
is turned off.
• This makes it well-suited for embedded systems that need to operate without a
constant power source.
Disadvantages of Harvard Architecture
• As the CPU accesses instruction and data memory separately, it can be more difficult
to write programs that require the CPU to modify its own code.
 • Additionally, because the instruction and data memories are separate, it can be more
difficult to share data between different parts of a program.
Differences between Von-Neumann and Harvard architecture
Commercial Off The Shelf Components (COTS)
• COTS describes software and hardware product that are ready made and available for
sale to the general public.
• Example-Microsoft office is a COTS product i.e. packaged software solution for
businesses.
• COTS products are designed to be implemented easily into existing system without
need of customization.
• Re-using components made for earlier product as an approach to new system
development is a promising way of achieving the mention development and system
improvement.
• There is also possibility to buy software components from component vendors.
• The use of COTS, software component is increasing in today’s development of new
system.
• Shorter systems life cycle and decreased development budget has made COTS
necessary.
• COTS component can also provide an increased reliability compared to customize
made components since they are redefined by substantial field testing.
• Although using COTS component can save valuable development time, insight in the
COTS component functionality and properties must be evaluated for its intended use.
• In order to integrate COTS component in a system the developer must consider
relevant properties of the component such as operational limitations, temporarily
behaviour, pre-conditions etc.

Big Endian (BE) and Little Endian (LE)

Endianness specifies order in which the data is stored in the memory by processor operations
in a multi byte system (processors whose word size is greater than one byte). If the word
length is two byte then the data can be stored in memory in two different ways:
• Higher order of data byte at the higher memory and lower order of data byte at
location just below the higher memory.
• Lower order of data byte at the higher memory and higher order of data byte at
location just below the higher memory.
LE is an order in which LITTLE END (LSB) is stored first at the lowest storage address
while MSB is stored at the higher storage address.
Example: a 4 byte long integer Byte 3 Byte 2 Byte 1 Byte 0
BE is an order in which BIG END (MSB) is stored first at the lowest storage address while
LSB is stored at the higher storage address.
Example: a 4 byte long integer Byte 3 Byte 2 Byte 1 Byte 0

Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

DSP is a technique of performing the mathematical operations on the signals in digital
domain. As real time signals are analog in nature we need first convert the analog signal to
digital, then we have to process the signal in digital domain and again converting back to
analog domain. Thus ADC is required at the input side whereas a DAC is required at the
output end. A typical DSP system is as shown in figure.

The main function of low pass and aliasing filter is to band limit the input signal to the
folding frequency without distortion. It should be noted that even if the signal is band limited,
there is always wide-band additive noise which will be folded back to create aliasing. When
an analog voltage is connected directly to an ADC, the conversion process can be adversely
affected if the voltage is changing during the conversion time.
Application of DSP
DSP is used primarily in areas of audio signal, speech processing, RADAR, seismology,
audio, SONAR, voice recognition, and some financial signals. For example, digital signal
processing is used for speech compression for mobile phones, as well as speech transmission
for mobile phones. DSP is also used in elite headset equipment to protect users from hearing
damage; the same suppression and enhancement concept is equally important here. Leading
industries in the field of hearing protection and on-the-job communication such as Sensear
use digital signal processing to create a safe, quality communication experience. Other
applications include mp3 file manipulation, CAT scans, computer graphics, MRI, and even
amplifiers for certain electric guitars.
Advantages of DSP
• Programmability: software digital signal processes can be quickly modified, in
contrast to analog circuits, which must be physically rearranged.
• Versatility: Flexible and easy to upgrade.
• Stability: Less sensitive environmental changes such as electromagnetic interference.
• DSP offers very high accuracy. Hence filters designed in DSP have tighter control on
output accuarcy compare to analog filters.
• The digital implementation is cheaper compared to analog counterpart.
• The DSP helps in interfacing other ICs with the DSP.
Disadvantages of DSP

• The use of DSP requires anti-aliasing filter before ADC and re-construction filter after
DAC. Moreover it requires ADC and DAC modules. Due to use of this extra
components complex of DSP based hardware increases.
• DSP processes signal at high speed and moreover it consists of higher internal
hardware resources. Due to this, DSP dissipates higher power compare to analog
signal processing. Analog processing consists of passive components (R, L and C)m
which dissipate lower power.
• The hardware architectures and software instructions of each DSP are different. This
requires training on the DSP in order to program for various applications. Hence only
highly skilled engineers can only program the device.
• Most of the DSP chips are very costly and hence one needs to use the appropriate IC
as per requirements (hardware, software).

Time/Frequency Domain Representation of Signals

Electrical signals have both time and frequency domain representations. In the time domain,
voltage or current is expressed as a function of time. Most people are relatively comfortable
with time domain representations of signals. Signals measured on an oscilloscope are
displayed in the time domain and digital information is often conveyed by a voltage as a
function of time.
Signals can also be represented by a magnitude and phase as a function of frequency. Signals
that repeat periodically in time are represented by a line spectrum. The line spectrum has a
DC component at 0 Hz, a fundamental component at 1/T, and harmonics at n/T (where n is an
integer). This representation is also referred to as a power spectrum because the sum of the
powers in each harmonic equals the time-average power in the time-domain signal.