Introduction to EMBEDDED

SYSTEM
 What is an embedded system
• An embedded system is an electronic/electro-
mechanical system designed to perform a
specific function and is a combination of both
hardware and firmware (software)
• An embedded system is some combination of
computer hardware and software, either fixed
in capability or programmable, that is
specifically designed for a particular function.
 EMBEDDED SYSTEM

•To perform a specific function

•Combination of both h/w and s/w
•May or may not contain an O.S
•The firmware of the embedded system is pre-
programmed and it is non alterable by the end
user
 CLASSIFICATION OF ES
• 1. Based on generation
• 2. Complexity & performance requirements
• 3. Based on deterministic behavior
• 4. Based on triggering
 1. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON GENERATION
• First generation : 8 bit µp like 8085- simple h/w – f/w in assembly
code
ex: Digital telephone keypads, Stepper motor control units etc...

• Second generation : 16 bit µp and 8/16 bit µc – instruction set

much more complex & powerful
Some may contain OS
ex: Data acquisition systems, SCADA system(supervisory control and
data acquisition is a type of industrial control system (ICS). Industrial control
systems are computer-controlled systems that monitor and control industrial
processes that exist in the physical world.) etc

• Third generation : 32 bit µp and 16 bit µc – DSP and ASIC came to

picture – pipelining evolved , may be embedded real time and
general purpose OS
ex: Robotics, media, industrial process control, networking

• Fourth generation : advent of SOC multi core processors- making

use of high performance RTES, ex: smart phone devices, mobile
internet devices etc...
2. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON COMPLEXITY AND
PERFORMANCE
• Small scale embedded system: Ex; electronic toy
Simple(built around low perf & low cost with 8/16 bit up/uc)
Not time critical
Low performance
Low cost
May or may not contain o.s
• medium scale embedded system: ( 16/32 bit)
Slight complex in h/w and s/w
Medium performance
Low cost
Usually contain an embedded o.s
• Large scale embedded system : (32/64 bit)
Highly complex h/w and s/w
Demanding high performance
May contain multi-core processors and co processors, reconfigurable soc
Usually contain RTOS for task scheduling and prioritization management
Ex. Decoding/encoding media, cryptographic etc....
 MAJOR APPLICATION AREAS
• Consumer electronics-camcorders, cameras etc
• House hold appliances-television,dvd, washing m/c ,
oven....
• Security systems-alarms, cameras, fire alarms....
• Automotive industry-antilock breaking s/m, engine control,
ignition s/ms, automatic navigation...
• Telecom-cellular telephones, switches, handset...
• Computer networking systems-printers, scanners, fax etc
• Healthcare-EEG,ECG, scanner...
• Measurement and instrumentation-DMM, CRO,s, logic
analyzer
• Banking & retail- ATM, currency counter...
• Card readers-Barcode, smart card readers....
 PURPOSE OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Each embedded system is designed to serve the purpose

of any one or a combination of the following tasks:
• Data collection/storage/representation-data could be
text, voice, image, video, electrical signals...(ADC/DAC)
• Data communication-wireless n/w router, satellite, wired
medium..
• Data processing-speech coding, synthesis, audio video
codec etc, digital hearing aid, medical applications.
• Monitoring –medical domain-EEG,ECG, CRO, DMM, logic
anylyzer.
• Control- contains both sensors & actuators...
• Application specific user interface- buttons, switches,
keypads, lights, bells, displays, mobile phones....
ELEMENTS OF AN EMBEDDED SYSTEM

communication
MEMORY interface

System O/P PORTS

I/O PORTS
core (ACTUATORS)
(SENSORS)

Other
supporting
IC s and
subsystem
s
 CORE OF THE EMBEDDED SYSTEM
• The core of the embedded system falls in to
any one of the following categories
1. general purpose and domain specific
processors ( µp, µC, DSP )
2. ASIC(Application specific IC)
3. programmable logic devices (PLD)
4. commercial off-the-shelf components
(COTS)
 GPP vs. ASIP
• General purpose processor :
Designed for general computational tasks
E.g.. Processor in the laptop
High volume production
Unit cost for a chip is low
• ASIP instruction set and architecture optimized
to specific application
• ASIP arises when the GPP are unable to meet the
application needs
 Formalization of System Design using
Top – Down approach
• Requirements and Specifications of
hardware and software
• Define architectures of hardware and
software
• Coding and implementation as per
architecture
• Testing, validation and verification of
system
Diagrammatic model - UML (Universal
Modeling Language)
• Conceptual design modeling
• Classes and Objects to describe identity,
attributes, components and behaviour
– Inheritances in classes and objects
– Interfaces with the objects and their
implementation in the objects,
• Structural description of the design
components
Behavioral description in terms of
states, state machine and signals

 Events description
 Characteristics of an embedded
system
• Unlike general purpose computing system, embedded system
posses certain specific characteristics and these are unique.
Application and domain specific: embedded systems are developed
to do the intended functions only
• They can not be used for any purpose
• You can not replace an embedded control unit developed for a
particular domain say telecom with another control unit designed
to sey another domain like consumer electronics
Reactive and real time: emb.sys. are in constant interaction to the
real world
• Any changes happening in the real world (event)are captured by
the sensors or i/p devices
• The event may be periodic or unpredicted one(should not miss)
• So emb.sys. are generally reactive
• Timing behavior or the system should be deterministic
• Should not miss deadlines
Operates in harsh environment: the environment in which the
emb.sys. deployed may be a dusty one or high temperature
zone
• System placed in such areas should be capable to with stand
all operating conditions
• Distributed: emb.sys. may be a part of larger system
• Automatic vending m/c contains card reader, vending unit etc.
• They are independent but work together to achieve a
common goal
Small size and weight: size, weight, shape etc will be one of the
deciding factors to choose a product
• Most applications demands small sized and low weight
products
Power concerns: designed in such a way as to minimize the heat
dissipation
• May require cooling fan which occupies additional space
• Even it’s a critical constraint battery operated systems, more
the power consumption the less the battery life
 Quality attributes of ES
• QA are the non-functional requirements that
need to be documented properly in any
system design.
• If the quality attributes are more concrete and
measurable it will give a positive impact on
the end product
• Operational QA
• Non-operational QA
 Operational quality attributes
• Attributes related to e.s when it is in the operational mode or online
mode
Response: quickness of the system
• How fast the system is tracking the changes in input variables
• In flight control application any response delay in the system will create
potential damages to the safety of the flight
• Response time for a toy is not time critical
Throughput: efficiency of the system
• Rate of production or operation of a defined process
• Rates can be expressed in terms of units of products , batched
produced, or any other meaningful measurements.
• Generally measured in terms of benchmark (reference point)
Reliability: how much % you can rely upon the proper functioning of sys.
Mean time between failure MTBF (frq of failure in hr/wk/mon) &
mean time to repair MTTR ( how long the system is allowed to be out
Maintainability: deals with the support and
maintenance to the end user in the case of
technical issues and failures or on the basis of a
routine checkup
• As reliability increases maintainability reduced
• Two types (preventive or corrective maintenance)
• User should replace the cartridge after n number of
printouts (scheduled / periodic /preventive)
• If paper feeding part of the printer fails required
immediate repairs (maintenance to unexpected
failure/ corrective)
• Ideal value for availability is expressed
A = MTBF / (MTBF + MTTR)
Security : confidentiality( from
unauthorized disclosure), integrity ( from
unauthorized modification) , availability (
from unauthorized users)

Safety: deals with the possible damages

that can happen to the operators or
public
• Eg. Due to breakdown or emission of
radioactive
 Non operational quality attributes
• Attributes that needs to addressed for the product not on
the basis of operational aspects
Testability: & debug ability: how easily one can test her design
and by which mean she can test it.
• h/w testing( peripherals and total h/w function) and
firmware testing
• Debugging the product as such for figuring out the probable
sources that create unexpected behavior in the system
• h/w level debugging ( issues created by h/w problems) and
firmware debugging ( errors that appear as a result of flaws
in the firmware)
Evolvability: related to biology.
• Ease with which the embedded product can be modified to
take advantage of new f/w or h/w technologies
Portability : measure of system independence
• If the product is capable of functioning as such
in various environments
processors/controllers/os
• Product can be ported to a new platform
• Should be flexible and portable
• Assembly language portability is poor
 Time to prototype and market
Time to market: time elapsed between the
conceptualization of a product and time at which
the product is ready for selling
• It’s a critical factor because embedded
technology is one where rapid technology change
is happening
Time to prototype: its an informal kind of rapid
product development in which the important
features of the product under consideration are
developed
• If prototype is developed faster, the actual
development time can be brought down
significantly.
Per unit cost and revenue : cost will be closely monitored
by both end users
• Proper market study should be carried out before
deciding per unit cost
• During design and development only investment no
returns
• Once the product is ready to sell and its introduced to
the market – product introduction stage
• In growth phase product grabs high market share
• During maturity phase the growth and sales will be
steady and revenue reaches at its peak
• Product retirement/decline phase starts with the drop
in sales volume, market share and revenue
• At some point of decline stage the manufacturer
announces discontinuing of the product
• Unit cost is very high during the introductory stage
Classification and Development
Skills Requirements for the
Embedded Systems
 Classification of ES
• Small Scale Embedded Systems

• Medium Scale Embedded Systems

• Sophisticated Embedded Systems

 Skills for ES
• Skills for Small Scale System
Full understanding of a microcontroller with a
basic knowledge of computer architecture,
digital electronic design, software
engineering, data communication, control
engineering, motors and actuators, sensors
and measurements, analog electronic design
and IC design and manufacture
 Cont………..
• Median Scale Embedded Systems

 'C'/C++/Java programming and RTOS programming and program modeling skills

 Programming the Tasks or threads and their scheduling by RTOS.

 Programming priorities and Cooperative and preemptive scheduling.

 Use of Inter processor communication functions.

 Use of shared data, and programming the critical sections and re-entrant
functions.

 Use of semaphores, mailboxes, queues, sockets and pipes.

 Handling of interrupt-latencies and meeting task deadlines.

 Use of various RTOS functions.

 Use of physical and virtual device drivers.

 Cont……………
• Sophisticated Scale Embedded Systems

 Team is needed to co-design and solve the high level

complexities of the hardware and software design.

 An embedded system hardware engineer should have

full skills in hardware units and basic knowledge of 'C'/C++
and Java, RTOS and other programming tools.

 Software engineer should have basic knowledge

in hardware and a through knowledge of 'C', RTOS
and other programming tools. A final optimum design
solution is then obtained by system integration.
Case Study:AUTOMATIC CHOCOLATE
VENDING MACHINE (AVCM)
 ACVM Specifications
• Alphanumeric keypad on the top of
the machine.
• A child interaction with it when
buying a chocolate.
• Owner commands and interaction
with the machine.
 Cont……….
• Three line LCD display unit on the
top of the machine.
• Displays menus, entered text,
pictograms, and welcome, thank and
other messages, and time and date.
• Child as well as the ACVM owner
• GUIs with the machine using keypad
and display.
 Coin insertion and delivery slots, and
Internet port
• Coin insertion slot so that the child
can insert the coins to buy a chocolate
• Delivery slot to collect the chocolate,
and coins if refunded
• Internet connection port so that owner can
interact with ACVM from remote
Basic system in ACVM
Reprogram of the codes and relocation
of the codes
• The system ROM or flash or EPROM whenever
the following happens:
(i) the price of chocolate increases,
(ii) the message lines or menus or
advertisement graphics needs to be changed
or
(iii) machine features change.
Class diagram for ACVM Part-1
Class diagram for ACVM Part-2
Block diagram of ACVM hardware
including Microcontroller
Software architecture (ISRs and Tasks)
for ACVM
Case Study: Digital Camera
 Specifications
• Camera records the pictures using a
chargecoupled devices (CCD) array.
• The array consisting of large number of
horizontal rows and vertical columns of
CCD cells for the picture
• In each row of cells, a number of CCD cell
unexposed to the picture but used for off-set
corrections in the each-row output from the
picture cells.
 Camera Picture resolution
• 2592 × 1944 pixels, there are 2592 ×
1944 = 5038848 set of cells.
• Each set of pixel has three cells, for the
red, green and blue components in a pixel.
• Each cell gets exposed to a picture
when shutter of camera opens on a user
command.
Controllers, LCD display, Switches and
buttons
• A set of controllers─ to control shutter, flash, auto
focus and eye-ball image control.
• LCD display for graphics and GUI
• Switches and buttons for inputs at camera.
• User gives commands for switching on the
camera, flash, shutter, adjust brightness,
contrast, color, save and transfer.
• When a button for opening the shutter is
pressed, a flash lamp glows and a self-timer
circuit switches off the lamp automatically
 Picture transfer Ports
• JPEG file for a picture can be copied or
transferred to a memory stick using a
controller
• Sony memory stick Micro (M2) size
15×12.5×1.2 mm, flash memory of 2 GB
and 160 Mbps data transfer rate.
• A picture jpg can be copied to a computer
connected through USB port controller.
Class diagram
Digital camera hardware architecture
Software architecture upper layers
Software architecture lower layers