UNIT 1

INTRODUCTION TO EMBEDDED SYSTEM

1.1 History & Need of Embedded System

Embedded system was first used in “Building Apollo Guidance

System” by Charles Stark Draper at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of
Technology) in the year 1960; it is one of the modern embedded systems,
which is used for navigation and control of the respective crafts. Usage of the
Apollo Guidance System is a risk because it is developed by using a keypad
and numeric display. It was frequently used and refined in a lot of NASA’s
space missions. Then, the Autonetics D-17 Guidance Computer has come for
the Minuteman Missile- an ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) is used
by the United States Air Force. Let’s look at an overview of the advanced
embedded system basics and applications.

1.1.1 What is Embedded Systems?

Embedded system is defined as a way of working, performing or

organizing one or many tasks according to a fixed set of rules (or) an
arrangement in which all the units assemble and work together according to
the program or plan. Examples of embedded systems are a watch and
washing machine.

Fig 1.1Embedded System

An embedded system is a system that has software embedded in

computer hardware. It makes a system dedicated to a specific part of an
application or product of a larger system. Depending on the
application, embedded system may be programmable or non-programmable.
Examples of embedded systems include various products such as washing
machine, microwave ovens, cameras, printers and automobiles. They use
microprocessors and microcontrollers as well as specially designed
processors such as digital signal processors (DSP).

1.2 Basic components of Embedded System

The embedded systems basics include the components of embedded

system hardware, embedded system types and several characteristics. An
embedded system has three main components: Embedded system hardware,
embedded system software and Operating system.

Fig 1.2 Embedded System Block Diagram

1.2.1 Embedded System Hardware:

As with any electronic system, an embedded system requires a

hardware platform on which it performs the operation. Embedded system
hardware is built with a microprocessor or microcontroller. The embedded
system hardware has elements like input output (I/O) interfaces, user
interface, memory and the display. Usually, an embedded system consists of:

 Power Supply
 Processor
  Memory
 Timers
 Serial communication ports
 Output/Output circuits
 System application specific circuits

1.3 Programming Language

As mentioned earlier, Embedded Systems consists of both Hardware

and Software. If we consider a simple Embedded System, the main Hardware
Module is the Processor. The Processor is the heart of the Embedded System
and it can be anything like a Microprocessor, Microcontroller, DSP, CPLD
(Complex Programmable Logic Device) and FPGA (Field Programmable
Gated Array).
All these devices have one thing in common: they are programmable i.e. we
can write a program (which is the software part of the Embedded System) to
define how the device actually works.
Embedded Software or Program allows Hardware to monitor external events
(Inputs) and control external devices (Outputs) accordingly. During this
process, the program for an Embedded System may have to directly
manipulate the internal architecture of the Embedded Hardware (usually the
processor) such as Timers, Serial Communications Interface, Interrupt
Handling, and I/O Ports etc.
From the above statement, it is clear that the Software part of an Embedded
System is equally important to the Hardware part. There is no point in having
advanced Hardware Components with poorly written programs (Software).
There are many programming languages that are used for Embedded Systems
like Assembly (low-level Programming Language), C, C++, JAVA (high-
level programming languages), Visual Basic, JAVA Script (Application level
Programming Languages), etc.
In the process of making a better embedded system, the programming of the
system plays a vital role and hence, the selection of the Programming
Language is very important.

1.3.1 Factors for Selecting the Programming Language:

The following are few factors that are to be considered while selecting the
Programming Language for the development of Embedded Systems.
 Size: The memory that the program occupies is very important as
Embedded Processors like Microcontrollers have a very limited
amount of ROM.
  Speed: The programs must be very fast i.e. they must run as fast as
possible. The hardware should not be slowed down due to a slow
running software.
 Portability: The same program can be compiled for different
processors.
 Ease of Implementation
 Ease of Maintenance
 Readability

Earlier Embedded Systems were developed mainly using Assembly

Language. Even though Assembly Language is closest to the actual machine
code instructions, the lack of portability and high amount of resources spent
on developing the code, made the Assembly Language difficult to work with.
There are other high-level programming languages that offered the above
mentioned features but none were close to C Programming Language.

1.4 Classification of Embedded System

Embedded systems can be classified into different types based on

performance, functional requirements and performance of
the microcontroller.

Fig 1.3Types of Embedded systems

Embedded systems are classified into four categories based on their

performance and functional requirements:

 Stand alone embedded systems

 Real time embedded systems
 Networked embedded systems
 Mobile embedded systems
Embedded Systems are classified into three types based on the performance
of the microcontroller such as

 Small scale embedded systems

 Medium scale embedded systems
 Sophisticated embedded systems
 Stand Alone Embedded Systems

 Stand alone embedded systems :

It do not require a host system like a computer, it works by itself. It takes the
input from the input ports either analog or digital and processes, calculates
and converts the data and gives the resulting data through the connected
device-Which either controls, drives or displays the connected devices.
Examples for the stand alone embedded systems are mp3 players, digital
cameras, video game consoles, microwave ovens and temperature
measurement systems.

 Real Time Embedded Systems:

A real time embedded system is defined as, a system which gives a required
o/p in a particular time. These types of embedded systems follow the time
deadlines for completion of a task. Real time embedded systems are
classified into two types such as soft and hard real time systems.

 Networked Embedded Systems:

These types of embedded systems are related to a network to access the
resources. The connected network can be LAN, WAN or the internet. The
connection can be any wired or wireless. This type of embedded system is the
fastest growing area in embedded system applications. The embedded web
server is a type of system wherein all embedded devices are connected to a
web server and accessed and controlled by a web browser. Example for the
LAN networked embedded system is a home security system wherein all
sensors are connected and run on the protocol TCP/IP

 Mobile Embedded Systems:

Mobile embedded systems are used in portable embedded devices like cell
phones, mobiles, digital cameras, mp3 players and personal digital assistants,
etc.The basic limitation of these devices is the other resources and limitation
of memory.
 Small Scale Embedded Systems:
These types of embedded systems are designed with a single 8 or 16-bit
microcontroller that may even be activated by a battery. For developing
embedded software for small scale embedded systems, the main
programming tools are an editor, assembler, cross assembler and integrated
development environment (IDE).

 Medium Scale Embedded Systems:

These types of embedded systems design with a single or 16 or 32 bit
microcontroller, RISCs or DSPs. These types of embedded systems have both
hardware and software complexities. For developing embedded software for
medium scale embedded systems, the main programming tools are C, C++,
JAVA, Visual C++, RTOS, debugger, source code engineering tool,
simulator and IDE.

 Sophisticated Embedded Systems:

These types of embedded systems have enormous hardware and software
complexities that may need ASIPs, IPs, PLAs, scalable or configurable
processors. They are used for cutting-edge applications that need hardware
and software Co-design and components which have to assemble in the final
system.

1.5 Applications

Embedded systems are used in different applications like automobiles,

telecommunications, smart cards, missiles, satellites, computer networking
and digital consumer electronics.

Embedded Systems in Automobiles and in telecommunications:

 Motor and cruise control system

 Body or Engine safety
 Entertainment and multimedia in car
 E-Com and Mobile access
 Robotics in assembly line
 Wireless communication
 Mobile computing and networking
 Fig 1.4 Applications of Embedded systems

Embedded Systems in Smart Cards, Missiles and Satellites:

 Security systems
 Telephone and banking
 Defense and aerospace
 Communication

Embedded Systems in Peripherals & Computer Networking:

 Displays and Monitors

 Networking Systems
 Image Processing
 Network cards and printers

Embedded Systems in Consumer Electronics:

 Digital Cameras
 Set top Boxes
 High Definition TVs
 DVDs