EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

An Introduction

CONTENTS
What is an Embedded system? Classification of Embedded Systems Application Areas and Examples Characteristics of Embedded Systems Architecture Design and Development of Embedded Systems

WHAT IS AN EMBEDDED SYSTEM?

DEFINITION
An Embedded System is a microprocessor based system that is embedded as a sub-system, in a larger system (which may or may not be a computer system.). Any device that includes a computer but is not itself a general purpose computer.

EMBEDDING A COMPUTER

THE SIMPLEST MODEL

CLASSIFICATION OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

CLASSIFICATION
Small Scale Embedded System

Medium Scale Embedded System

Sophisticated Embedded System

SMALL SCALE EMBEDDED SYSTEM

Single 8 bit or 16 bit microcontroller. Little hardware and software complexity. Can be battery operated. Usually C is used for developing these systems. There is a need to limit power dissipation when system is running continuously. Programming tools: Editor, Assembler and Cross Assembler.

MEDIUM SCALE EMBEDDED SYSTEM

Single or few 16 or 32 bit microcontrollers or Digital Signal Processors (DSP) or Reduced Instruction Set Computers (RISC). Both hardware and software complexity. Programming tools: RTOS, Source Course Engineering Tool, Simulator, Debugger and Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

SOPHISTICSTED EMBEDDED SYSTEM

Enormous hardware and software complexity. Need scalable processor or configurable processor and programming logic arrays. Constrained by the processing speed available in their hardware units. Programming tools: May not be readily available at a reasonable cost or may not be available at all. A compiler or retarget able compiler might have to be developed for this.

APPLICATION AREAS AND EXAMPLES

APPLICATION AREAS
Automotive electronics
Aircraft electronics Trains Telecommunication

APPLICATION AREAS
Medical systems
Consumer electronics Fabrication equipment Smart buildings.

EXAMPLES
Personal digital assistant (PDA) Printer Cell phone Automobile: engine, brakes, dash, etc. Television Household appliances Surveillance systems

AUTOMOTIVE EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Todays high-end automobile may have 100 microprocessors:
4-bit microcontroller checks seat belt; Microcontrollers run dashboard devices; 16/32-bit microprocessor controls engine.

EXAMPLE: AUTOMOBILE

TYPES OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM

Similar to General Computing
PDA, Video games, Set-top boxes, automatic teller machine.

Control Systems
Feedback control of real time systems Vehicle engines, flight control, nuclear reactors

Signal Processing
Radar, Sonar, DVD players

Communication and Networking

Cellular phones, Internet appliances

Nature of System Functions

Control laws Sequencing Logic Signal Processing Application Specific Interfacing Fault Response

CHARACTERISTICS OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

CHARACTERISTICS OF EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Sophisticated functionality Real-time operation (always?) Low manufacturing cost Application dependent processor Restricted memory Low power
Power consumption is critical in battery-powered devices.
Excessive power consumption increases system cost even in wall-powered devices.

MANUFACTURING COST
Manufacturing cost has different components.
Non-recurring Engineering cost for design and development; Cost of production and marketing each unit;

Best technology choice will depend on the number of units we plan to produce.

REAL-TIME OPERATION
Must finish operations by deadlines.
Hard real time: missing deadline causes failure. Soft real time: missing deadline results in degraded performance.

Many systems are multi-rate: must handle operations at widely varying rates.

APPLICATION DEPENDENT REQUIREMENTS

Fault-tolerance
Continue operation despite hardware or software faults.

Safe
Systems to avoid physical or economic damage to person or property

MORE FEATURES
Dedicated systems
Predefined functionality accordingly hardware or software designed. Programmability rarely used during lifetime of the system. Real-time, fault-tolerant, safe.

ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE

IMPLEMENTING EMBEDDED SYSTEM

Hardware
Processing Element Peripherals
Input and output devices Interfacing Sensors & Actuators Interfacing Protocols

Memory Bus

HARDWARE SOFTWARE PARTIONING OF TASKS

Software
System Software Application

HARDWARE EVOLUTION
Systems-on-chip Application Specific Processors Digital Signal Processing General Purpose Microprocessors & Microcontrollers
FASTER CLOCK RATE HIGHER DEGREE OF INTEGRATION

SOFTWARE
Programs must be logically and temporally correct. Must deal with inherent physical concurrency.
Reactive Systems

Reliability and fault-tolerance are critical issues Application specific and single purpose.

Challenges in Embedded System Design

How much hardware do you need? What is word size of the CPU? Size of Memory? How do we meet our deadlines? Faster Hardware or Cleverer Software?

EMBEDDED SYSTEM DESIGN

Multi-Objective Dependability Affordability Safety Security Scalability Timelines Multi-Discipline Electronic Hardware Software Mechanical Hardware Control Algorithms Humans Society/ Institutions Life Cycle Requirements Design Manufacturing Deployment Logistics Retirement

Design Goals
Performance Overall speed, deadlines. Functionality and user interface Manufacturing cost Power consumption Other requirements (physical size etc.)

Functional vs. Non-functional Requirements

Functional requirements:
Output as a function of input

Non-functional requirements:
Time required to compute output; Size, weight etc. Power consumption Reliability

Design and Development Process

REQUIREMENTS

SPECIFICATIONS

ARCHITECTURE

COMPONENT DESIGN

SYSTEM INTEGRATION

CONCLUDING REMARKS
Embedded computers are all around us. Many systems have complex embedded hardware and software. Embedded systems pose many design challenges: design time, deadlines, power etc. Design methodologies help us manage the design process.

REFERENCES
www.engstuff.info