Embedded Systems

Nalinikanth.M, Ravi Kumar.V

ECE, KIET
Korangi, India
[email protected]
[email protected]

Abstract— An embedded system can be defined as the computing transducers or commands from a human being such as
device that has computer hardware, either with software pressing of a button. The output can be electrical signals to
embedded in it as one of its most important component. It may drive another system, an LED or LCD display for displaying
be an independent system or a part of a larger system. The
of information to the users. Embedded Systems used in
emergence of embedded systems is a recent development. As a
scientific discipline it resembles the state of microelectronics (and
process control, automobiles, consumer electronic items etc.
VLSI design, in particular) around 1980. Today’s challenge is fall into this category in a process control system, the inputs
similar to back then, except that the stakes are probably higher. are from sensors that convert a physical entity such as
Embedded systems will appear in virtually all devices, and temperature or pressure into its equivalent electrical signal.
intelligent devices have the tendency to oust their "stupid" These electrical signals are processed by the system and the
counterparts from the market place, just like CD players have appropriate electrical signals are produced.
ousted gramophone players. Thanks to developments in
microelectronics, the computing power of the desktop computers 2.2. Real-time Systems:-
is now becoming available on the palmtops. Embedded systems
Embedded Systems in which some specific work has to be
are heterogeneous. Since they are mixtures of hardware and
software, trade-off is important design decisions: do we realize a done in specific time period are called real-time systems.
function in hardware or in software? But embedded systems are 2.3 Network Information Appliances:-
more heterogeneous than just combining computer science & Embedded systems that are provided with network
digital electronics. interfaces & accessed by networks such as Local Area
This paper presents an overview of existing modes of Embedded Network or the Internet are called networked information
Systems, architecture & their application. A look has also been appliances.
given to future deployment of Embedded Systems

Keywords— Put your keywords here, keywords are separated by

comma. 3.OVERVIEW OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM
ARCHITECTURE:-
I. INTRODUCTION
Every embedded system consists of custom – built
An embedded system can be defined as the computing hardware built around a Central Processing Unit (CPU). This
device that has computer hardware with software embedded in hardware also contains memory chips onto which software is
it as one of its most important component. It may be either an loaded. The software residing on the memory chip is called
independent system or a part of a larger system. As its the firmware. The embedded system architecture can be
software usually embeds in ROM ,it does not need secondary represented as a layered architecture as shown in fig-4. The
memories as in a computer. Nearly 99% of the processors operating system runs above the hardware and the application
manufactured end up in embedded systems. Embedded software run above the operating system.
systems find applications in every industrial segment.
Embedded systems can be categorized as stand-alone systems,
real-time systems, networked information appliances & 3.1 Building Block of hardware of an Embedded System:-
mobile devices. Just in the 10 years, such changes have
occurred more rapidly that they see more revolutionaries than Central Processing Unit (CPU):-
evolutionary. As these systems have brought about radical The CPU is a unit that centrally fetches
changes in Electronics and Computer, they have also begun to & processes a set of general-purpose instructions. The CPU
impact other human activities. instruction set includes instructions for data transfer
operations, ALU operations, stack operations, input &output
II. CATEGORIES OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM
operations & program control, sequencing & supervising
2.1 Stand-alone Embedded Systems:- operations.
As the name implies, stand-alone systems work in stand-
alone mode. They take inputs, process them & produce the
desired output. The input can be electrical signal from
 The CPU can be of the following:- Input devices:-
Microcontroller, microprocessor or Digital Signal Unlike the desktops, the I/P devices to an embedded system
Processor (DSP). have very limited capability.
A micro-controller is a low-cost processor. Its main
attraction is that on the chip itself, there will be many other Output devices:-
components such as memory, ADC The output devices of the embedded systems also have very
etc. on the other hand, microprocessors are more powerful, limited capability.
but you need to use many external computers with them. DSP
is mainly used for applications in which signal processing is Communication interfaces:-
involved. The embedded systems may need to interact with other
embedded systems or they may have to transmit data to a
Processor in the System:- desktop.
An embedded system processor chip or Core can be one of
the following. Application-specific circuitry:-
1. General Purpose Processor (GPP):- Sensors, transducers, special processing & control circuitry
a) Microprocessor may be required for an embedded system, depending on its
b) Microcontroller application. The circuitry interacts with the processor to carry
c) Embedded processor out the necessary work.
d) Digital signals processor (DSP)
e) Media Processor
4. SPECIALITIES OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS:-
2. Application Specific System Processor While designing the embedded systems, developers have to
(ASSP) As Additional Processor keep the below specialties in mind: -

3. Multiprocessor system using General 4.1 Performance:-

Purpose processors (GPPS) & Application Specific Many embedded systems have time constraints. For
Instruction Processors (ASIPs) instance, in a process control system, a constraint can be: “if
the temperature exceeds 40 degrees, open a valve within 10
4. GPP core(s) or ASIP core (s) integrated into either an milliseconds.” The system meets such deadlines. If the
Application Specific Integrated Circuit deadlines are missed, it may result in a catastrophe. You can
Circuit (ASIC) or a Very Large Scale imagine the damage that can be done if such deadlines are not
Integrated Circuit (VLSI) circuit or an FPGA core met in a safety system of a nuclear plant.
integrated with processor unit(s) in a VLSI (ASIC) chip.
4.2 Power Consumption:-
Block diagram of Component of the Embedded System Most of the embedded systems operate through a battery.
Hardware:- To reduce the battery drain & avoid frequent recharging of the
battery, the power consumption of an embedded system has to
Processor:- be very low.
A processor is the heart of the embedded system. For an
embedded system designer, knowledge of microprocessors & 4.3 Cost:-
Microcontrollers is a prerequisite. A processor has two For an embedded system used in safety applications of a
essential units: nuclear plant or in a spacecraft, cost may not be a very
1. Program flow Control Unit (CU) important factor. However, for an embedded system used in
2. Execution Unit (EU) consumer electronics or office automation, the cost is of
. utmost importance.
Microprocessor:- 4.4 Size:-
A microprocessor is a single VLSI chip Size is certainly a factor for many embedded systems. We
that has a CPU &may also have some other units (for e.g.: do not like a mobile phone that has to be carried on our backs.
floating-point processing arithmetic unit, pipelining &super- The size and the weight
scaling units) that are additionally present & that result in (i.e. compactness) are the important parameters in
faster processing of instructions. embedded systems used in aircraft, missiles etc. because in
such cases, every inch & every grain matters.
Memory:-
The memory is categorized as Random Access Memory 4.5 Software Up gradation capability:-
(RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM). The contents of Embedded systems are meant for a very specific task. So,
RAM will be erased if power is switched off. once the software is transferred to the embedded system, the
same software will run throughout its life.
 include diagnostic aids such as ECG, EEG, blood pressure
5. RECENT TRENDS IN EMBEDDED SYSTEMS:- measuring devices & X-ray scanners etc.
5.1 Processor Power:-
The growing importance of embedded systems can be 6.4 Computer Networking:- Computer networking products
gauged by the availability of processors about 150 varieties of such as bridges, routers, Integrated Services Digital Networks
processors are available from around 50 semiconductor (ISDN), Asynchronous Transfer Mode & relay switches are
vendors. the embedded systems that implement the necessary data
5.2 Mobile Devices:- communication protocols.
Mobile devices such as mobile phones, Personal Digital
Assistants, smart phones etc. are a special category of an 6.5 Wireless technologies:- Advances in mobile
embedded system. communications are paving way for many interesting
5.3 Operating Systems:- applications using embedded systems.
Unlike the desktop on which the options for an operating
system are limited, a very of operating systems are available 6.6 Instrumentation:- Testing & measurement are the
which can be ported on to the embedded system. fundamental requirements in all scientific and engineering
5.4 Communication Interfaces and Networking Capability:- activities. The measuring equipment we use in laboratories to
With the availability of low-cost chips, embedded systems can measure parameters such as weight, temperature, voltage,
be provided networking capability through communication current etc. are all embedded systems.
interfaces such as Ethernet, 802.11b wireless LAN & infrared.
6.7 Security:- Security of persons and information has
5.5 Programming Languages:- always been a major issue. We need to project our homes and
Fig. 6 offices, & also the information we transmit & store.
Development of embedded system was done mostly in Developing embedded systems for security applications is one
assembly languages. However, due to the availability of cross- of the most lucrative businesses nowadays.
compilers, most of the development is now done in high-level
languages such as C. the object-oriented languages like C++ 6.8 Finance:- Financial dealing through cash & cheques are
& Java are now catching up. now slowly paving way for transactions using smart cards and
ATM (Automatic Teller Machine, also expanded as Any Time
5.6 Development Tools:- Availability of a number of tools Money) machine. Smart card, of the size of a credit card, has a
for development, debugging & testing as well as for modeling small micro-controller and memory; & it interacts with the
the embedded systems is now paving way for the fast smart card reader / ATM machine & acts as an electronic
development of robust & reliable systems. wallet.

5.7 Programmable Hardware:- PLDs& FPGA pave the way 7. SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS:-
for reducing the components on an embedded system, leading 7.1 AUTOMATIC TELLER MACHINE (ATM):-
to small, low-cost systems.

10. CONCLUSION:-
6. APPLICATION AREAS:- In today’s world the An embedded system is closely integrated with the main
electronic devices have been dominated. The children need system
embedded systems to play smart video games & to operate It may not interact directly with the environment.
automatic chocolate Thus embedded systems contain programmed instruction
running via processor chips. They perform control, protection
& monitoring tasks. In broad terms embedded systems are
6.1 Consumer appliances:- programmable devices or systems which are generally used to
At home we use a number of embedded systems that control or monitor things like processes machinery,
include digital camera, digital diary, DVD player, electronic environmental equipment & communications. The range of
toy, microwave oven, remote controls for TV & air embedded system is vast & includes all industrial &
conditioner etc. commercial sectors. Embedded systems are rapidly becoming
6.2 Industrial automation:- Today a lot of industries use a catalyst for change in the computing, data communication,
embedded systems for process control. These include telecommunications, industrial control & entertainment sector.
pharmaceutical, cement, sugar, oil exploration, nuclear The objective of this study is to enlighten readers about the
energy, electricity generation & transmission. application of embedded systems; the embedded systems
technology; & the impact of the technology on various
6.3 Medical electronics:- Almost every medical equipment markets.
in the hospital is an embedded system. This equipment’s