SHREEJEE INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

Embedded System
• Guided By:- Mr.Prakash • By:- Krishna Rathor
Singh Panwar • EC BRANCH 1ST YEAR
 What is an Embedded system?
An embedded system is one that has computer
hardware
with software embedded in it as one of its
components. Or
We can define an embedded system as “A
microprocessor based system that does not look like
a computer”.
Or
we can say that it is “A combination of computer
hardware and software, and perhaps additional
mechanical or other parts, designed to perform a
dedicated function. In some cases, embedded
systems are part of a larger system or product, as is
the case of an antilock braking system in a car ”.
 COUN..
• An embedded system is a special-purpose
computer system designed to perform certain
dedicated functions. It is usually embedded as
part of a complete device including hardware
and mechanical parts.
 Significance
• Due to their compact size, low cost and simple
design aspects embedded systems are very
popular and encroached into human lives and
have become indispensable. They are found
everywhere from kitchen ware to space craft.
To emphasize this idea here are some
illustrations
 Embedded systems everywhere!
Embedded systems span all aspects of modern life and there
are many examples of their use.

a) Biomedical Instrumentation – ECG Recorder, Blood cell recorder,

patient monitor system

b) Communication systems – pagers, cellular phones, cable TV

terminals, fax and transreceivers, video games and so on.

c) Peripheral controllers of a computer – Keyboard controller, DRAM

controller, DMA controller, Printer controller, LAN controller, disk
drive controller.
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d) Industrial Instrumentation – Process
controller, DC motor controller, robotic
systems, CNC machine controller, close loop
engine controller, industrial moisture
recorder cum controller.

e) Scientific – digital storage system, CRT

display controller, spectrum analyser
Were the embedded systems existing
earlier ?
Yes / No, We have been enjoying the grace of embedded
system quite a long time. But they were not so popular
because in those days most of the systems were designed
around a microprocessor unlike today’s systems which were
built around a microcontroller.
As we know a microprocessor by itself do not possess any
memory, ports etc… So, everything must be connected
externally by using peripherals like 8255, 8257, 8259 etc. So
the embedded system designed using microprocessor was
not only complicated in design but also large in size.
At the same time the speed of a microprocessor is also a
Limitation for high end applications.
 Why a microcontroller ?
A microcontroller is a single silicon chip with memory and all
Input/Output peripherals on it. Hence a microcontroller is
also
popularly known as a single chip computer.

Normally, a single microcomputer has the following features :

 Arithmetic and logic unit

 Memory for storing program
 EEPROM for nonvolatile data storage
 RAM for storing variables and special function registers
 Input/output ports
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Timers and counters
Analog to digital converter
Circuits for reset, power up, serial
programming, debugging
Instruction decoder and a timing and control
unit
Serial communication port
What is inside an embedded system ?
Every embedded system consists of custom-built hardware
built around a Central Processing Unit (CPU). This
hardware also contains memory chips onto which the
software is loaded. The software residing on the memory
chip is also called the ‘firmware’.

The operating system runs above the hardware, and the

application software runs above the operating system. The
same architecture is applicable to any computer including a
desktop computer. However, there are significant
differences. It is not compulsory to have an operating
system in every embedded system.
 COUN..
For small appliances such as remote control units, air-conditioners,
toys etc., there is no need fir an operating system and we can write
only the software specific to that application. For applications
involving complex processing, it is advisable to have an operating
system.

In such a case, you need to integrate the application software with

the operating system and then transfer the entire software on to
the memory chip. Once the software is transferred to the memory
chip, the software will continue to run for a long time and you don’t
need to reload new software .

The next slide shows the layered architecture of an embedded

system.
COUN..
 Features of an embedded system
Embedded systems do a very specific task, they cannot be
programmed to do different things.
• Embedded systems have very limited resources,
particularly the memory. Generally, they do not have
secondary storage devices such as the CDROM or the
floppy disk.
• Embedded systems have to work against some
deadlines. A specific job has to be completed within a
specific time. In some embedded systems, called real-
time systems, the deadlines are stringent. Missing a
dead line may cause a catastrophe – loss of life or
damage to property.
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• Embedded systems are constrained for power, As many
embedded systems operate through a battery, the
power consumption has to be very low.

• Embedded systems need to be highly reliable. Once in

a while, pressing ALT-CTRL-DEL is OK on your desktop,
but you cannot afford to reset your embedded system.

• Some embedded systems have to operate in extreme

environmental conditions such as very high
temperatures and humidity.
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• Embedded systems that address the consumer
market (for example electronic toys) are very
cost-effective. Even a reduction of Rs.10 is lot of
cost saving, because thousands or millions
systems may be sold.

• Unlike desktop computers in which the hardware

platform is dominated by Intel and the operating
system is dominated by Microsoft, there is a wide
variety of processors and operating systems for
the embedded systems. So, choosing the right
platform is the most complex task
 Classification of Embedded Systems
Based on functionality and performance requirements,
embedded systems are classified as :

• Stand-alone Embedded Systems

• Real-time Embedded Systems
• Networked Information Appliances
• Mobile Devices
 Stand-alone Embedded Systems
As the name implies, stand-alone systems work in stand-
alone mode. They take inputs, process them and produce
the desired output.

The input can be electrical signals from transducers or

commands from a human being such as the pressing of a
button.

The output can be electrical signals to drive another system,

an LED display or LCD display for displaying of information
to the users.

Embedded systems used in process control, automobiles,

consumer electronic items etc. fall into this category
 Real-time Systems
Embedded systems in which some specific work has to be
done in a specific time period are called real-time systems.

For example, consider a system that has to open a valve

within 30 milliseconds when the humidity crosses a
particular threshold.

If the valve is not opened within 30 milliseconds, a

catastrophe may occur.

Such systems with strict deadlines are called hard real-

time systems.
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In some embedded systems, deadlines are imposed, but
not adhering to them once in a while may not lead to a
catastrophe.

For example, consider a DVD player. Suppose, you give a

command to the DVD player from a remote control, and
there is a delay of a few milliseconds in executing that
command.

But, this delay won’t lead to a serious implication. Such

systems are called soft real-time systems
 Networked Information Appliances
Embedded systems that are provided with network
interfaces and accessed by networks such as Local Area
Network or the Internet are called networked information
appliances.
Such embedded systems are connected to a network,
typically a network running TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocol suite, such as the
Internet or a company’s Intranet.
These systems have emerged in recent years. These
systems run the protocol TCP/IP stack and get connected
through PPP or Ethernet to an network and communicate
with other nodes in the network.
 Examples of this system
• A networked process control system consists of a
number of embedded systems connected as a local
area network.
• Each embedded system can send real-time data to a
central location from where the entire process control
system can be monitored.
• The monitoring can be done using a web browser such
as the Internet Explorer.
• A web camera can be connected to the Internet. The
web camera can send pictures in real-time to any
computer connected to the Internet.
• In such a case, the web camera has to run the HTTP
server software in addition to the TCP/IP protocol
stack.
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 The door lock of your home can be a small
embedded system with TCP/IP and HTTP server
software running on it.

 When your children stand in front of the door

lock after they return from school, the web
camera in the door-lock will send an alert to your
desktop over the Internet and then you can open
the door-lock through a click of the mouse.
 Languages for Programming
Embedded Systems
Assembly language was the pioneer for
programming embedded systems till recently.
Nowadays there are many more languages to
program these systems. Some of the languages
are C, C++, Ada, Forth, and Java together with its
new enhancement J2ME.

The presence of tools to model the software in

UML, SDL is sufficient to indicate the maturity of
embedded software programming
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The majority of software for embedded systems is
still done in C language. Recent survey indicates
that approximately 45% of the embedded
software is still being done in C language.

C++ is also increasing its presence in embedded

systems. As C++ is based on C language, thus
providing programmer the object oriented
methodologies to reap the benefits of such an
approach.
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C is very close to assembly programming and it
allows very easy access to underlying hardware. A
huge number of high quality compilers and
debugging tools are available for the C language.

Though C++ is theoretically more efficient than C,

but some of its compilers have bugs due to the
huge size of the language. These compilers may
cause a buggy execution.