Introduction to Embedded

systems
Unit-3
Syllabus
 Definition, key elements of an embedded system,
design metric challenges
 Processor technology: General purpose and
custom single purpose processors, ASIC.
 IC technology: PLD, VLSI and FPGA.
 Design technology: Hardware/software co-
design, integrated development environments
and tool chains.
 Embedded system- Overview
 Embedded computing systems
◦ Any sort of device which includes a programmable
computer but itself is not intended to be a general-
purpose computer
◦ Computing systems embedded within electronic devices
◦ Software embedded into a hardware module
◦ Nearly any computing system other than a desktop
computer
Block diagram
Types of embedded systems
 Real Time Embedded System
Ex. Traffic control system, Medical usage in health sector
 Stand Alone Embedded System
Ex. MP3 Players, Calculator, Microwave ovens
 Networked Embedded System
Ex. Home Security System, ATM Machine
 Mobile Embedded System
Ex. Mobile Phones, Digital Camera
A “short list” of embedded systems
Anti-lock brakes Modems
Auto-focus cameras MPEG decoders
Automatic teller machines Network cards
Automatic toll systems Network switches/routers
Automatic transmission On-board navigation
Avionic systems Pagers
Battery chargers Photocopiers
Camcorders Point-of-sale systems
Cell phones Portable video games
Cell-phone base stations Printers
Cordless phones Satellite phones
Cruise control Scanners
Curbside check-in systems Smart ovens/dishwashers
Digital cameras Speech recognizers
Disk drives Stereo systems
Electronic card readers Teleconferencing systems
Electronic instruments Televisions
Electronic toys/games Temperature controllers
Factory control Theft tracking systems
Fax machines TV set-top boxes
Fingerprint identifiers VCR’s, DVD players
Home security systems Video game consoles
Life-support systems Video phones
Medical testing systems Washers and dryers

And the list goes on and on

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Characteristics of embedded systems

 Single-functioned
◦ Executes a single program, repeatedly

 Tightly-constrained
◦ Cost, Power, Size, Speed etc.

 Reactive and real-time

◦ Continually reacts to changes in the system’s environment
◦ Must compute certain results in real-time without delay

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Contd…
 Application specific functionality
 Deadline constrained operation
 Resource challenged
 Power efficient
 Form factor
 Manufacturable
Design challenges
 Obvious design goal:
◦ Construct an implementation with desired functionality

 Key design challenge:

◦ Simultaneously optimize numerous design metrics

 Design metric
◦ A measurable feature of a system’s implementation

◦ Optimizing design metrics is a key challenge

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Design metrics
◦ Unit cost: Monetary cost of manufacturing each copy of the
system, excluding NRE cost

◦ NRE cost (Non-Recurring Engineering cost): The one

time monetary cost of designing the system

◦ Size: Physical space required by the system

◦ Performance: Execution time/ Throughput/ Accuracy of the

system

◦ Power: Amount of power consumed by the system

◦ Flexibility: Ability to change the functionality of the system

without incurring heavy NRE cost

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Contd…
◦ Time-to-prototype: the time needed to build a working version of
the system

◦ Time-to-market: the time required to develop a system to the point

that it can be released and sold to customers

◦ Maintainability: the ability to modify the system after its initial

release

◦ Correctness, safety, many more

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 Design metric competition -
improving one may worsen others
 Expertise with both software

Power
and hardware is needed to
optimize design metrics
Performance Size ◦ Not just a hardware or software
expert, as is common
NRE cost ◦ A designer must be comfortable
with various technologies in
order to choose the best for a
given application and constraints

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Time-to-market: a
demanding design metric
• Time required to develop a product
to the point it can be sold to
customers
• Market window
– Period during which the product
Revenues (Rs)

would have highest sales

• Average time-to-market constraint
is about 8 months
Time (months)
• Delays can be costly

18MHC205J MICROCONTROLLERS N EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

 Losses due to delayed market
entry
• Simplified revenue model
Peak revenue
– Product life = 2W, peak at W
Peak revenue from delayed entry
– Time of market entry defines a
Revenues (Rs)

On-time
triangle, representing market
Market fall
Market rise
penetration
Delayed
– Triangle area equals revenue
• Loss
D W 2W
– The difference between the on-time
On-time Delayed Time
entry entry and delayed triangle areas

18MHC205J MICROCONTROLLERS N EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

 NRE and unit cost metrics
• Costs:
– Unit cost: the monetary cost of manufacturing each copy of the system,
excluding NRE cost
– NRE cost (Non-Recurring Engineering cost): The one-time monetary cost
of designing the system
– total cost = NRE cost + unit cost * # of units
– per-product cost = total cost / # of units
= (NRE cost / # of units) + unit cost
• Example
– NRE=Rs2000, unit=Rs100
– For 10 units
– total cost = Rs2000 + 10*Rs100 = Rs3000
– per-product cost = Rs2000/10 + Rs100 = Rs300
18MHC205J MICROCONTROLLERS N EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Contd…
$ 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 $200
A A

$ 1 6 0 ,0 0 0 $160
B B

p er p rod uc t c
$ 1 2 0 ,0 0 0 $120 C
C
tota l c ost
(x1000)

$ 8 0 ,0 0 0 $80

ost
$ 4 0 ,0 0 0 $40

$0 $0
0 800 1600 2400 0 800 1600 2400
N u m b e r of units (v o lu m e) N u m b e r of units (v ol um e )

• Compare technologies by costs -- best depends on quantity

– Technology A: NRE=$2,000, unit=$100
– Technology B: NRE=$30,000, unit=$30
– Technology C: NRE=$100,000, unit=$2
• But, must also consider time-to-market

18MHC205J MICROCONTROLLERS N EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

 Challenges in embedded
system design
• How much hardware do we need?
– How big is the CPU? Memory?
• How do we meet our deadlines?
– Faster hardware or cleverer software?
• How do we minimize power?
– Turn off unnecessary logic? Reduce memory accesses?

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 Challenges, etc.
• Does it really work?
– Is the specification correct?
– Does the implementation meet the spec?
– How do we test for real-time characteristics?
– How do we test on real data?
• How do we work on the system?
– Observability, controllability?
– What is our development platform?

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Challenges for implementation in
hardware
• Early embedded systems frequently implemented in hardware (boards).
• Mask cost for specialized application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)
becomes very expensive.
• Lack of flexibility (changing standards).
• Trend towards implementation in software (or possibly FPGAs).

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Challenges for ES Software
• Dynamic environments
• Capture the required behaviour
• Validate specifications
• Efficient translation of specifications into implementations!
• How can we check that we meet real time constraints?
• How do we validate embedded real time software? (large volumes of data,
testing may be safety-critical)

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