Introduction to Embedded System

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It is an electrical / electro mechanical system It is a combination of specialized hardware and
which is specifically deigned for an application firmware which is tailored to meet the
catering to a specific need requirements of application under consideration

Embedded System

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An embedded system contains Depending on the response requirements and
1. Processing unit the type of applications for which embedded
2. I/O subsystem system is designed, the embedded system can
3. On-board and external communication be a Real time or Non real time system
interface
4. Supervisory and support systems
What is an Embedded System

 A combination of hardware and software which together form

a component of a larger machine.

 An example of an embedded system is a microprocessor that

controls an automobile engine.

 An embedded system is designed to run on its own without

human intervention, and may be required to respond to events
in real time.
General Computing System vs Embedded System

 PC / Laptop / Tablet PC

 General purpose processor –

Intel / Duo or Quad core / AMD
 Peripherals –
USB / WiFi / Ethernet / Video port / Bluetooth / DVD / HDD etc.
 Operating system –
Windows / Linux / Ubuntu / Unix etc.
 Applications –
Printer / MS Word
 Can we change the operating system of your DVD
 Can we add a printer software to DVD player and take a printout
 Can we change functioning of DVD player to a television by changing software

 Interface for connecting DVD player with display screen

 Interface for controlling DVD player through a remote
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 1.2. Embedded Systems vs General Computing Systems
Criteria General Purpose Computing System Embedded System
Contents A system which is a combination of a A system which is a combination of special purpose
generic hardware and a General Purpose hardware and embedded OS for executing a
Operating System for executing a variety of specific set of applications.
applications.

It contains a general purpose It may or not contain an operating system

OS operating for functioning.
system (GPOS).
Applications are alterable (programmable) The firmware of the embedded system is pre-
Alterations
by the user. (It is possible for the end user to programmed and it is non-alterable by the end-user.
re-install the OS and also add or remove user
applications.)

Key factor Performance is the key deciding factor in the Application specific requirements (like
selection of the system. Faster is better. performance, power requirements, memory usage,
etc.) are key deciding factors.
Power Consumption More Less

Response Time Not critical Critical for some applications

Execution Need not be deterministic Deterministic for certain types of ES like ‘Hard
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History of Embedded Systems

Apollo Guidance Computer

They ran the inertial guidance systems of both command module(CM) &
Lunar excursion module(LEM)
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 History of Embedded Systems

Autonetics D-17 Guidance Computer

The first mass produced embedded system
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 Classification of Embedded Systems

How ES has evolved to where

they are today. Applicable for Real Time
Systems

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System performance ES which are reactive in nature

requirements 1. event triggered
2. time triggered
Classification of Embedded Systems

First Generation - 8 bit microprocessors

Second Generation - 16 bit µP & 8/16 bit µC

Third Generation - 32 bit µP / 16 bit µC

Fourth Generation - SoC / multicore / reconfigurable

Data Acquisition System (SCADA)

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Classification of Embedded Systems

Small Scale ES

Medium Scale ES

Large Scale ES

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Classification of Embedded Systems

 The application / task execution

behaviour for an ES can be either

 Deterministic
 Non deterministic

 Real Time ES are classified into

Hard
Soft

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Classification of Embedded Systems

Reactive systems can be either

1. Event triggered
2. Time triggered

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1.5. Major Application Areas of
ES The application areas and the products in the embedded domain
are countless. A few of the important domains and products are listed
below:
i. Consumer electronics: Camcorders, cameras, etc.

ii. Household appliances: Television, DVD players, washing machine, fridge,

microwave oven, etc.

iii. Home automation and security systems: Air conditioners,

sprinklers,
intruder detection alarms, closed circuit television cameras, fire alarms, etc.

iv. Automotive industry: Anti-lock breaking systems (ABS), engine control,

ignition systems, automatic navigation systems, etc.

v. Telecom: Cellular telephones, telephone switches, handset

multimedia
applications, etc. 13
1.5. Major Application Areas of
ES
vi. Computer peripherals: Printers, scanners, fax machines, etc.

vii. Computer Networking systems: Network routers, switches,

Hubs, firewalls, etc.

viii. Healthcare: Different kinds of scanners, EEG, ECG machines etc.

ix. Measurement & Instrumentation: Digital multi meters, digital CROs,

logic analyzers PLC systems, etc.

x. Banking & Retail: Automatic teller machines (ATM) and

currency counters, point of sales (POS).

xi. Card Readers: Barcode, smart card readers, hand held devices, etc.

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 •Embedded systems are used in various domains
like consumer electronics, home automation,
telecommunications, automotive industry,

1.6.
healthcare, control & instrumentation, retail and
banking applications, etc. Within the domain itself,
according to the application usage context, they
may have different functionalities. Each embedded

Purpose of system is designed to serve the purpose of any one

or a combination of the following tasks:

Embedded
• Data collection/Storage/Representation

• Data Communication

Systems
• Data processing

• Monitoring

• Control

• Application specific user interface

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(i) Data Collection/Storage/Representation
Embedded systems designed for the purpose of data collection performs acquisition of data from the external
world.

Data collection is usually done for storage, analysis, The term “data” refers all kinds of information, such as text, voice, image, video,
electrical signals and any other measurable quantities.
manipulation and transmission.

Embedded systems with analog data capturing techniques collect data directly in the
Data can be either analog (continuous) or digital form of analog signal whereas embedded systems with digital data collection
mechanism converts the analog signal to the digital signal using analog to digital (A/D)
(discrete). converters and then collects the binary equivalent of the analog data.

If the data is digital, it can be directly captured without The collected data may be stored directly in the system or may be transmitted to some
other systems or it may be processed by the system or it may be deleted instantly after
any additional interface by digital embedded systems. giving a meaningful representation.

These actions are purely dependent on the purpose for which the embedded system is designed.

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(i) Data Collection/Storage/Representation (Cont’d)

Embedded system designed for pure measurement applications without storage, used in control and instrumentation
domain, collects data and gives a meaningful representation of the collected data by means of graphical representation
or quantity value and deletes the collected data when new arrives at the data collection terminal.

Analog and digital CROs without storage memory are typical examples of this. Any measuring equipment used in the
medical domain for monitoring without storage functionality also comes under this category

A digital camera is a typical example of an embedded system with data collection/storage/representation of data. Images
are captured and the captured image may be stored within the memory of the camera. The captured image can also be
presented to the user through a graphic LCD unit.

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 • Embedded data communication systems are
deployed in applications from complex satellite communication
systems to simple home networking systems.
• The data collected by an embedded terminal may require
transferring of the same to some other system located
remotely.

(ii) Data • The transmission is achieved either by a wire-line medium or by

a wire-less medium.
Communication • Wire-line medium was the most common choice in all olden
days embedded systems.

• As technology is changing, wireless medium is becoming the

standard for data communication in embedded systems. It
offers cheaper connectivity solutions and make the
communication link free from the hassle of wire bundles.

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(ii) Data Communication (Cont’d)

 The data collecting embedded terminal itself can incorporate data communication units like Wireless
modules (Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, EDGE, GPRS, etc.) or wire-line modules (RS-232C, USB, TCP/IP,
PS2,etc).

 Certain embedded systems act as a dedicated transmission unit between the sending
and receiving terminals, offering sophisticated functionalities like data packetizing, encrypting and
decrypting.

 Network hubs, routers, switches, etc. are typical examples of dedicated data transmission embedded
systems.

 They act as mediators in data communication and provide various features like
data security, monitoring etc.

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 (iii) Data (Signal) Processing
 The data (voice, image, video, electrical signals and other measurable quantities) collected by embedded
systems may be used for various kinds of data processing.
 Embedded systems with signal processing functionalities are employed in applications demanding
signal
processing like speech coding, synthesis, audio video codec, transmission applications, etc.
 A digital hearing aid is a typical example of an embedded system employing data processing. Digital hearing
aid improves the hearing capacity of hearing impaired persons.

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(iv) Monitoring
 Almost all embedded products coming under the medical domain are with monitoring functions only.

 They are used for determining the state of some variables using input sensors. They cannot impose
control over variables.
 A very good example is the electro cardiogram (ECG) machine for monitoring the heartbeat of a patient.
The machine is intended to do the monitoring of the heartbeat of a patient but it cannot impose control over
the heartbeat. The sensors used in ECG are the different electrodes connected to the patient’s body.
 Other examples with monitoring function are measuring instruments like digital CRO, digital
multimeters, logic analyzers., etc. used in control & instrumentation applications. They are used for
knowing (monitoring) the status of some variables like current, voltage, etc. They cannot control the
variables in turn.

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(v) Control
 Embedded systems with control functionalities impose control over some variables according to the
changes in input variables.
 A system with control functionality contains both sensors and actuators.

 Sensors are connected to the input port for capturing the changes in environmental variable or measuring
variable.
 The actuators connected to the output port are controlled according to the changes in the input variable
to
put an impact on the controlling variable to bring the controlled variable to the specified range.
 Air conditioner system used in our home to control the room temperature to a specified limit is a typical
example for embedded system for control purpose. An air conditioner contains a room temperature sensing
element (sensor) which may be thermistor and a handheld unit for setting up (feeding) the desired
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temperature.
(v) Control (Cont’d)

 The handheld unit may be connected to the central embedded unit residing inside the air conditioner
through a wireless link or through a wired link.
 The air compressor unit acts as the actuator. The compressor is controlled according to the current room
temperature and the desired temperature set by the end user.
 The input variable is the current room temperature and the controlled variable is also the room
temperature. The controlling variable is cool air flow by the compressor unit.
 If the controlled variable and input variable are not at the same value, the controlling variable tries
to
equalize them through taking actions on the cool air flow.

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(vi) Applications specific user interface

 Buttons, switches, keypad, lights, speakers, display units, etc. are application-specific user interfaces.

 Mobile phone is an example of application specific user interface. In mobile phone, the user
interface is provided through the keypad, graphic LCD module, system speaker, vibration alert, etc.

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 • Embedded System electronic/ electro-
mechanical system
• Embedded system vs General purpose
computing system
• First modern embedded system
(History)
• Classifications of Embedded system

Summary (History)
• Embedded system - from simple
electronic toys to complex flight and
missile control systems
• Design to serve the purpose of any one or
a combination of data collection/ storage/
representation, data communication,
data (signal) processing, monitoring,
control or application specific user
interface
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Keywords (Note it!)
Embedded System

Microprocessor

Microcontroller

DSP

Sensor

Actuator

LED

Buzzer

Operating System

Electro Cardiogram

RAM

ADC

Bluetooth

Wi-Fi
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TUTORIAL: 1

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Understanding Test Questions I (6 Marks)

1. Embedded systems are

(a) General purpose (b) Special purpose
2. Embedded system is
(a) An electronic system (b) A pure mechanical system
(c ) An electro-mechanical system (d) (a) or
(c)
3. Which of the following is not true about embedded
systems?
(a) Built around specialized hardware
(b) Always contain an operating system
(c ) Execution behavior may be deterministic
(d) All of these
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 Understanding Test Questions I (Cont’d)
4. Which of the following is (are) an intended purpose(s) of embedded
systems?
(a) Data collection (b) Data processing (c ) Data
communication
(d) All of these
(e) None of these
5. Which of the following is an (are) example(s) of embedded system for data
communication?
(a) USB Mass storage device (b) Network router
(c ) Digital camera (d) Music player
(e) All of these (f) None of these
6. A digital multi meter is an example of an embedded system
for
(a) Data communication (b) Monitoring
(c) Control (d) All of these
(e) None of these
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 Review Questions I
1. What is an embedded system? Explain the different applications of embedded systems. (5 Marks)

2. Difference between embedded systems and general computing systems (5 Marks)

3. Describe the various purposes of embedded systems. Explain any two in detail with illustrative
examples. (10 Marks)

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