Embedded Systems – Definition

Embedded systems vs general computing systems,

Classification of Embedded Systems,
Major application areas of Embedded Systems
Elements of an Embedded System
Core of the Embedded System
Microprocessor vs Microcontroller, RISC vs CISC, Harvard vs Von-
Neumann.
Module 3
Syllabus Sensors and Interfacing
Instrumentation and control systems, Transducers, Sensors.
Actuators
LED, 7-Segment LED Display, Stepper Motor, Relay, Piezo
Buzzer, Push Button Switch, Keyboard.
Communication Interface
UART, Parallel Interface, USB, Wi-Fi, GPRS.
Sensors and Interfacing
Instrumentation: Instrumentation and
Technology of measurement Control Systems
An instrument is a device
that
measures or manipulates
process physical variables
such as
flow, temperature, level, or
pressure etc.

Fig. shows the arrangement of an instrumentation system.

The physical quantity to be measured (e.g. temperature) acts

upon a sensor that produces an electrical output signal.
Instrumentation and Control Systems cont.,
This signal is an electrical analogue of the physical input but
◦ there may not be a linear relationship between the
◦ physical quantity and its electrical equivalent.

Also, the output produced by the sensor may be small or may suffer from the presence of
noise (i.e. unwanted signals)
further signal conditioning will be required before
◦ the signal will be at an acceptable level and in an acceptable form
◦ for signal processing, display and recording.

the signal processing may use digital rather than analogue signals
◦ an additional stage of analogue-to-analogue conversion may be required.
Control System
Fig. shows the arrangement of a control system.
This uses negative feedback in order to regulate and stabilize the output.
It thus becomes possible to set the input or demand (i.e. what we desire the output to be)
& leave the system to regulate itself by comparing it with a signal derived from the output (via
a sensor and appropriate signal conditioning).
A comparator is used to sense the difference in these two signals and where any discrepancy
is detected the input to the power amplifier is adjusted accordingly.
This signal is referred to as an error signal (it should be zero when the output exactly matches
the demand).
The input (demand) is often derived from a simple potentiometer connected across a stable
d.c. voltage source while the
controlled device can take many forms (e.g. a d.c. motor, linear actuator, heater, etc.).
 Transducers
Transducers are devices that convert energy in the form of sound, light, heat, etc.,
into an equivalent electrical signal, or vice versa.
Examples:
 A loudspeaker is a transducer that converts low frequency electric current into
audible sounds.
 A microphone, is a transducer that performs the reverse function, i.e. that of converting
sound pressure variations into voltage or current.
 Loudspeakers and microphones can thus be considered as complementary transducers.
Transducers may be used both as inputs to electronic circuits & outputs from them.
 a loudspeaker is an output transducer designed for use in conjunction with an audio system.
 A microphone is an input transducer designed for use with a recording or sound reinforcing
system.
Some Examples of Input Transducers

Physical quantity: Sound (pressure change)

Input transducer: Dynamic microphone
Diaphragm attached to a coil is suspended in
a magnetic field.
Movement of the diaphragm causes current
to be induced in the coil.
Physical quantity: Temperature Input transducer: Thermocouple
Small emf generated at the junction between two dissimilar metals (e.g. copper & constantan)
Requires reference junction and compensated cables for accurate measurement.
Physical Input transducer Notes
quantity
Angular Rotary potentiometer Fine wire resistive element is wound around
position a circular former.
Slider attached to the control shaft makes
contact with the resistive element.
A stable d.c. voltage source is connected
across the ends of the potentiometer.
Voltage appearing at the slider will then be
10 ohms potentiometer proportional to angular position.
 Some examples of output transducers
Physical Output Notes
quantity transducer
Sound Loudspeaker Diaphragm attached to a coil is suspended in a magnetic field.
(pressure Current in the coil causes movement of the diaphragm which
change) alternately compresses and rarefies the air mass in front of it.
Physical Output Notes
quantity transducer
Temperature Heating element Metallic conductor is wound onto a ceramic or mica
(resistor) former.
Current flowing in the conductor produces heat.

Angular Rotary Multi-phase motor provides precise rotation in discrete

position potentiometer steps of 15° (24 steps per revolution), 7.5° (48 steps per
revolution) and 1.8° (200 steps per revolution).
Sensors
A sensor is a special kind of transducer that is used to generate an input signal to a
measurement, instrumentation or control system.

The signal produced by a sensor is an electrical analogy of a physical quantity,

such as distance, velocity, acceleration, temperature, pressure, light level, etc.

The signals returned from a sensor, together with control inputs from the user or
controller (as appropriate) will subsequently be used to determine the output from
the system.

The choice of sensor is governed by a number of factors including accuracy,

resolution, cost and physical size.
Sensors can be categorized as either active or passive.
An active sensor generates a current or voltage output.
A passive transducer requires a source of current or voltage and it modifies this in some
way (e.g. by virtue of a change in the sensor’s resistance). The result may still be a voltage
or current but it is not generated by the sensor on its own.

Sensors can also be classed as either digital or analogue.

The output of a digital sensor can exist in only two discrete states, either ‘on’ or ‘off’,
‘low’ or ‘high’, ‘logic 1’ or ‘logic 0’, etc.
The output of an analogue sensor can take any one of an infinite number of voltage or
current levels. It is thus said to be continuously variable.
Table 15.3 provides details of some common types of sensor.
Rotary track
potentiometer
with linear law produces
analogue voltage
proportional to angular
position.
Optical Shaft Encoder
Encoded disk interposed between optical
transmitter and receiver (infrared LED and
photodiode or photo-transistor).
The optical encoder's disc is made of
glass or plastic with transparent and
opaque areas. A light source and
photo detector array reads the optical
pattern that results from the disc's
position at any one time.[8] The
Gray code is often used. This code can
be read by a controlling device, such
as a microprocessor or microcontroller
to determine the angle of the shaft.
Physical quantity: Angular velocity

Input transducer: Tachogenerator

Small d.c. generator with linear output characteristic.
Analogue output voltage proportional to shaft speed.

Input transducer: Toothed rotor tachometer

Magnetic pick-up responds to the
movement of a toothed ferrous disk.
The pulse repetition frequency of the
output is proportional to the angular velocity.
Physical quantity: Flow
Input transducer: Rotating vane
flow sensor (see Fig. 15.9)
Turbine rotor driven by fluid.
Turbine interrupts infra-red beam.
Pulse repetition frequency of output is
proportional to flow rate.
Physical quantity: Linear position

Input transducer: Resistive linear position sensor

Linear track potentiometer with linear law produces analogue voltage
proportional to linear position. Limited linear range.

Input transducer: Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)

Miniature transformer with split secondary windings and moving core
attached to a plunger. Requires a.c. excitation and phase-sensitive detector.

Input transducer: Magnetic linear position sensor

Magnetic pick-up responds to movement of a toothed ferrous track.
Pulses are counted as the sensor moves along the track.
Physical quantity: Light Level
Physical quantity: Liquid Level
Physical quantity: Pressure
Physical quantity: Proximity
Physical quantity: Strain

Physical quantity: Weight

Physical quantity: Temperature
Physical quantity: Vibration
Actuators
1. LED
2. 7-Segment LED Display
3. Stepper Motor
4. Relay
5. Piezo Buzzer
6. Push Button Switch
7. Keyboard
 Actuator
A form of transducer device (mechanical or electrical) which converts
signals to corresponding physical action (motion).
Actuator acts as an output device
Eg. Micro motor actuator which adjusts the position of the cushioning
element in the Smart Running shoes from adidas

Wearable Devices – certain smart watches use Ambient Light sensors to

detect surrounding light intensity and adjust the screen brightness for
better readability using electrical / electronic actuators.
Interfacing a LED
Light Emitting Diode (LED) emits
light when forward biased.
When the port pin P1.2 goes high
in Fig., the LED is forward biased
and emits light.
When the pin P1.2 goes low, LED is
off.
 7-Segment LED Display
The 7 – segment LED display is an output device for displaying alpha
numeric characters
It contains 8 light-emitting diode (LED) segments arranged in a special l
form.
Out of the 8 LED segments, 7 are used for displaying alpha numeric
characters and 1 is used for representing decimal point.
The LED segments are named A to G and the decimal point LED segment is
named as DP
The LED Segments A to G and DP should be lit accordingly to display
numbers and characters
The 7 – segment LED displays are available in two different configurations,
namely; Common anode and Common cathode
 7-segment
display
arrangement
An array of LEDs arranged in a
two-dimensional plane to
display numbers (0–9 and A–F)
is the 7-segment display.
The array of LEDs with all the
anodes connected together, is
called common-anode display.
Similarly, with all the cathodes
connected together, it is called
a common-cathode display.
In the Common anode configuration,
the anodes of the 8 segments are connected
commonly
To display ‘0’, the inputs a, b, c, d, e, f should be
made “low” to forward bias the corresponding
LEDs, as the anodes are already connected to Vcc.

In the Common cathode configuration,

the 8 LED segments share a common
cathode line (connected to ground).
To display the number 0 (zero),
LEDs A, B, C, D, E, F should be switched
“on” and LEDs G and DP should be made
“off” in the 7-segment display.
7-Segment LED Display
Based on the configuration of
the 7 – segment LED unit,
the LED segment anode or
cathode is connected to the
Port of the processor/
controller in the order
 ‘A’ segment to the Least
significant port Pin and
DP segment to the most
significant Port Pin.
OR vice versa
Display numbers 0–9
on a common-anode
7-segment display
 The current flow through each of the LED segments should be limited to the
maximum value supported by the LED display unit
The typical value for the current falls within the range of 20mA
The current through each segment can be limited by connecting a current
limiting resistor to the anode or cathode of each segment
Stepper Motor
A Stepper motor is an electro-mechanical device which generates discrete displacement
(motion) in response to dc electrical signals.
It differs from the normal dc motor in its operation.
The dc motor produces continuous rotation on applying dc voltage whereas a stepper
motor produces discrete rotation in response to the dc voltage applied to it.
Stepper motors are widely used in industrial embedded applications, consumer
electronic products and robotics control system, for position control applications (paper
feed mechanism) such as dot matrix printers, disk drives, etc.
Based on coil winding arrangements, a two phase stepper motor is classified into two
types:
1. Unipolar
2. Bipolar
Stepper Motor Interfacing to
8051
Unipolar
A unipolar stepper motor contains two windings per phase.
2-Phase Unipolar
The direction of rotation (clockwise or anticlockwise) of a
stepper motor is controlled by changing the direction of current stepper motor
flow.
Current in one direction flows through one coil and in the
opposite direction flows through the other coil.
It is easy to shift the direction of rotation by just switching the
terminals to which the coil are connected.
The coils are represented as A, B, C and D.
Coils A and C carry current in opposite directions for phase 1
(only one of them will be carrying current at a time).
Similarly, B and D carry current in opposite directions for phase
2 (only one of them will be carrying current at a time).
Bipolar
A bipolar stepper motor contains single winding per phase.
For reversing the motor rotation, the current flow through the windings is
reversed dynamically.
It requires complex circuitry for current flow reversal.
Fig. shows the stator winding details for a two phase bipolar stepper motor
The stepping of stepper motor can be implemented in different ways by
changing the sequence of activation of the stator winding.
The different stepping modes supported by the stepper motor are explained.
Full Step
In the full step mode both the phases are energised simultaneously.
The coils A,B,C and D are energised as shown in the Table.
It should be noted that out of the two windings, only one winding of a phase is
energised at a time.

Step Coil A Coil B Coil C Coil D

1 H H L L
2 L H H L
3 L L H H
4 H L L H
Step Coil A Coil B Coil C Coil D
1 H H L L
2 L H H L
3 L L H H
4 H L L H
Wave Step
In the wave step mode only one phase is energised at a time and each
coils of the phase is energised alternatively.
The coils A, B, C and D are energised in the following order:

Step Coil A Coil B Coil C Coil D

1 H L L L
2 L H L L
3 L L H L
4 L L L H
Half Step: It uses the combination of wave and full step.
It has the highest torque and stability.

Step Coil A Coil B Coil C Coil D

1 H L L L
2 H H L L
3 L H L L Coil
4 L H H L energising
5 L L H L sequence for
6 L L H H half step
7 L L L H
8 H L L H
• The rotation of the stepper motor can be reversed by reversing the order in
which the coil is energised.
• Two-phase unipolar stepper motors are the popular choice for embedded
applications.
• The current requirement for stepper motor is little high and hence the port
pins of a microcontroller/processor may not be able to drive them directly.
• Also, the supply voltage required to operate stepper motor varies normally in
the range 5V to 24 V.
• Depending on the current and voltage requirements, special driving circuits
are required to interface the stepper motor with microcontroller/processors.
• Commercial off-the-shelf stepper motor driver ICs are available in the market
and they can be directly interfaced to the microcontroller port.
• ULN2803 is an octal peripheral driver array available from Texas Instruments
and ST microelectronics for driving a 5V stepper motor.
• Simple driving circuit can also be built using transistors
Interfacing of a Stepper Motor through a Driver Circuit
The following circuit diagram illustrates the interfacing of a stepper motor through a
driver circuit connected to the port pins of a microcontroller/processor
for interfacing the stepper motor to 8051, we need to connect the four
winding leads to four-port pins, say, P1.0 to P1.3.
Since the port pins do not have the sufficient current, to drive the stepper
motor windings (needs > 10 mA) a driver such as ULN 2003 is used.

ULN 2003 consists of 4

sets of power
transistors (to supply
more current) and
associated diodes (to
provide a freewheeling
path to each winding
when it is made off).

Here, separate power supplies

are used.
One for 8051 and another for
ULN 2003 and stepper motor.
 Relay
An electromechanical device
In an embedded application, the ‘Relay Unit’ acts as dynamic path selectors
for signals and power
The ‘Relay’ unit contains a relay coil made up of insulated wire on a metal
core and a metal armature with one or more contacts.

Relay Coil
Relay Coil

Relay Coil

Relay Configurations

Single Pole Single Single Pole Single Single Pole Double

Throw Normally Throw Normally Throw
Open Closed
‘Relay’ has a relay coil on a metal core and a metal
armature with one or more contacts.

‘Relay’ works on electromagnetic principle.

When a voltage is applied to the relay coil,
current flows through the coil,
which in turn generates a magnetic field.

The magnetic field attracts the armature core and

moves the contact point.

The movement of the contact point changes the

power/signal flow path.
• Single Pole Single Throw configuration has only one path for information
flow.
• The path is either open or closed in normal condition.
• For Normally Open SPST relay, circuit is normally open and it becomes
closed when relay is energized.
• Vice versa for NC SPST relay
• Single Pole Double throw relay, there are two paths for information flow &
they are selected by energizing and de-energizing the relay

Relay Coil
Relay Coil

Relay Coil
Single Pole Single Single Pole Single Single Pole Double
Throw Normally Throw Normally Throw
Open Closed
Relay Driver Circuit
Vcc
The Relay is normally controlled using a relay

Freewheeling Diode
driver circuit connected to the port pin of the
processor/controller

Relay Coil
Load
A transistor can be used as the relay driver. The Port Pin

transistor can be selected depending on the

relay driving current requirements Relay Unit

A free-wheeling diode – to protect the relay &

transistor – used to free-wheel the voltage Transistor based Relay driving Circuit
produced in the opposite direction when the
relay coil is de-energized.

Industrial relays are bulky, requires high voltage to operate

‘Reed’ relays – special relays – for embedded application requiring switching of low voltage
DC signals.
Piezo Buzzer
Piezo buzzer is a piezoelectric device for generating audio indications in
embedded application.
A piezoelectric buzzer contains a piezoelectric diaphragm which produces
audible sound in response to the voltage applied to it.
Piezoelectric buzzers are available in two types:
1. Self driving
2. External driving
• The 'Self-driving’ circuit contains all the necessary components to
generate sound at a predefined tone.
• It will generate a tone on applying the voltage.
• External driving piezo buzzers supports the generation of different tones.
• The tone can be varied by applying a variable pulse train to the
piezoelectric buzzer.
• A piezo buzzer can be directly interfaced to the port pin of the processor /
control.
• Depending on the driving current requirements, the piezo buzzer can also
be interfaced using a transistor based driver circuit as in the case of a
"Relay”.
Push Button Switch
Push Button switch is an input device
Push button switch comes in two configurations, namely ‘Push to Make’
and ‘Push to Break’
The switch is normally in the open state and it makes a circuit contact
when it is pushed or pressed in the ‘Push to Make’ configuration
In the ‘Push to Break’ configuration, the switch is normally in the closed
state and it breaks the circuit contact when it is pushed or pressed
The push button stays in the ‘closed’ (For Push to Make type) or ‘open’
(For Push to Break type) state as long as it is kept in the pushed state and
it breaks/makes the circuit connection when it is released
Push button is used for generating a momentary pulse.
In embedded application push button is generally used as reset and
start switch and pulse generator.
The Push button is normally connected to the port pin of the host
processor
Keyboard
Keyboard is an input device for user interfacing.
If the number of keys required is very limited, push button switches
can be used and they can be directly interfaced to the port pins for
reading.
Matrix keyboard is an optimum solution for handling large key
requirements. It greatly reduces the number of interface connections.
Ex: For interfacing 16 keys, in the direct interfacing technique 16 port
pins are required, whereas in the matrix keyboard only 8 lines are
required. The 16 Keys are arranged in a 4 column, 4 Rows matrix.
Fig illustrates the connection of keys in a matrix keyboard.
Interfacing Keyboard / Matrix Keypad to
8051
• In a matrix keyboard, the keys are arranged in matrix fashion (i.e., they are connected in a
row and column style).
• For detecting a key press, the keyboard uses the scanning technique, where each row of
the matrix is pulled low and the columns are read.
• After reading the status of each columns corresponding to a row, the row is pulled high &
• the next row is pulled low and the status of the columns are read.
• This process is repeated until the scanning for all rows are completed.
When a row is pulled low and
if a key connected to the row is pressed,
reading the column to which the key is connected will give logic 0.
• Since keys are mechanical devices, there is a possibility for de-bounce
issues, which may give multiple key press effect for a single key press.
• To prevent this, a proper key de-bouncing technique should be applied.
• Hardware key de-bouncer circuits and software key de-bounce techniques
are the key de-bouncing techniques available.
• The software key de-bouncing technique doesn't require any additional
hardware and is easy to implement.
• In the software de-bouncing technique, on detecting a key press, the key is
read again after a de-bounce delay.
• If the key press is a genuine one, the state of the key will remain as
'pressed’ on the second read also.
• Pull-up resistors are connected to the column lines to limit the current
that flows to the Row line on a key press.
Communication Interface
Communication interface is essential for communicating with various
subsystems of the embedded system and with the external world
For an embedded product, the communication interface can be
viewed in two different perspectives; namely;
1.Device/board level communication interface (Onboard
Communication Interface)
2.Product level communication interface (External Communication
Interface)
Embedded product is a combination of different types of
components (chips/devices) arranged on a Printed Circuit Board
(PCB).

The communication channel which interconnects the various

components within an embedded product is referred as Device/board
level communication interface (Onboard Communication Interface)

Serial interfaces like I2C, SPI, UART, 1-Wire etc and Parallel bus
interface are examples of ‘Onboard Communication Interface’
Communication Interface
 The ‘Product level communication interface’ (External Communication
Interface) is responsible for data transfer between the embedded system and
other devices or modules
 The external communication interface can be either wired media or wireless
media and it can be a serial or parallel interface. Infrared (IR), Bluetooth (BT),
Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Radio Frequency waves (RF), GPRS etc are examples for
wireless communication interface
 RS-232C/RS-422/RS 485, USB, Ethernet (TCP-IP), IEEE 1394 port, Parallel port,
CF-II Slot, SDIO, PCMCIA etc are examples for wired interfaces
 Mobile Communication Equipment – an example of an embedded system
with external communication interface
On-board Communication Interface –
Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART)
UART based data transmission is an asynchronous form of serial data
transmission
The serial communication settings (Baudrate, No. of bits per byte, parity, No. of
start bits and stop bit and flow control) for both transmitter and receiver should
be set as identical
The start and stop of communication is indicated through inserting special bits
in the data stream
While sending a byte of data, a start bit is added first and a stop bit is added at
the end of the bit stream. The least significant bit of the data byte follows the
start bit.
The ‘Start’ bit informs the receiver that a data byte is about to arrive. The
receiver device starts polling its ‘receive line’ as per the baudrate settings
On-board Communication Interface – Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART)

If parity is enabled for communication, the UART of the transmitting device adds a
parity bit .
The UART of the receiving device calculates the parity of the bits received and
compares it with the received parity bit for error checking.
The UART of the receiving device discards the ‘Start’, ‘Stop’ and ‘Parity’ bit from the
received bit stream and converts the received serial bit data to a word.

TXD TXD
UART UART
RXD RXD

TXD: Transmitter Line

RXD: Receiver Line
Parallel interface is normally used for communicating with peripheral devices
which are memory mapped to the host of the system.
The host processor/controller of the embedded system contains a parallel bus
and the device which supports parallel bus can directly connect to this bus
system
The communication through the parallel bus is controlled by the control signal
interface between the device and the host.
The ‘Control Signals’ for communication includes ‘Read/Write’ signal and device
select signal.
The device normally contains a device select line and the device becomes active
only when this line is asserted by the host processor.
The direction of data transfer (Host to Device or Device to Host) can be
controlled through the control signal lines for ‘Read’ and ‘Write’. Only the host
processor has control over the ‘Read’ and ‘Write’ control signals
On-board Communication Interface – Parallel Interface

D0 to Data Bus
Dx-1 Peripheral Device
RD\ RD\ (Eg: ADC)
WR\ WR\
Host Control Signals CS\
(Microprocessor/
Controller) Chip Select

A0 to Address Bus Address De-coder

Ay-1 Circuit

x: Data bus width

y: Address Bus width
 External Communication Interface – Universal Serial Bus (USB)
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a wired high speed serial bus for
data communication
The USB communication system follows a star topology with a Peripheral
USB host at the center and one or more USB peripheral Device 2
devices/USB hosts connected to it
A USB host can support connections up to 127, including slave
peripheral devices and other USB hosts Peripheral
Peripheral USB Host
USB transmits data in packet format. Each data packet has a Device 1 (Hub) Device 3
standard format. The USB communication is a host initiated one
The USB Host contains a host controller which is responsible for
controlling the data communication, including establishing
connectivity with USB slave devices, packetizing and formatting USB Host
the data packet. (Hub)
There are different standards for implementing the USB Host
Control interface; namely Open Host Control Interface (OHCI) Peripheral Peripheral
and Universal Host Control Interface (UHCI) Device 4 Device 5
External Communication Interface – Universal Serial Bus (USB)
The Physical connection between a USB peripheral device and master device is
established with a USB cable
The USB cable supports communication distance of up to 5 meters
The USB standard uses two different types of connectors namely ‘Type A’ and
‘Type B’ at the ends of the USB cable for connecting the USB peripheral device
and host device
‘Type A’ connector is used for upstream connection (connection with host) and
‘Type B’ connector is used for downstream connection (connection with slave
device) Pin No: Pin Name Description
1 VBUS Carries power (5V)
2 D- Differential data carrier line
3 D+ Differential data carrier line
4 GND Ground signal line
 External Communication Interface –
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
Each USB device contains a Product ID (PID) and a Vendor ID (VID)
The PID and VID are embedded into the USB chip by the USB device
manufacturer
The VID for a device is supplied by the USB standards forum.
PID and VID are essential for loading the drivers corresponding to a USB
device for communication.
USB supports four different types of data transfers, namely; Control, Bulk,
Isochronous and Interrupt.
Control transfer is used by USB system software to query, configure and issue
commands to the USB device
Bulk transfer is used for sending a block of data to a device. Bulk transfer
supports error checking and correction. Transferring data to a printer is an
example for bulk transfer.
Isochronous data transfer is used for real time data communication. In
Isochronous transfer, data is transmitted as streams in real time. Isochronous
transfer doesn’t support error checking and re-transmission of data in case of
any transmission loss
Interrupt transfer is used for transferring small amount of data. Interrupt
transfer mechanism makes use of polling technique to see whether the USB
device has any data to send
The frequency of polling is determined by the USB device and it varies from 1
to 255 milliseconds. Devices like Mouse and Keyboard, which transmits fewer
amounts of data, uses Interrupt transfer.
External Communication Interface – Wi-Fi
Popular wireless communication technique for networked communication of
devices. Wi-Fi follows the IEEE 802.11 standard.
Wi-Fi is intended for network communication and it supports Internet Protocol
(IP) based communication – each device identified an IP address – unique to
each device on the network. (Required – device identities in a multipoint
communication to address specific devices)
Wi-Fi based communications require an intermediate agent called Wi-Fi
router/ Wireless Access point to manage the communications.
The Wi-Fi router is responsible for
restricting the access to a network,
 assigning IP address to devices on the network,
routing data packets to the intended devices on the network.
External Communication Interface – Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Router

Device 1
Device 2 Device 3
Wi-Fi enabled devices contain a wireless adaptor for transmitting and
receiving data in the form of radio signals through an antenna.
Wi-Fi operates at 2.4GHZ or 5GHZ of radio spectrum and they co-exist with
other ISM band devices like Bluetooth.
A Wi-Fi network is identified with a Service Set Identifier (SSID). A Wi-Fi
device can connect to a network by selecting the SSID of the network
Wi-Fi networks implements different security mechanisms for
authentication and data transfer.
Wireless Equivalency Protocol (WEP), Wireless Protected Access (WPA) etc
are some of the security mechanisms supported by Wi-Fi networks in data
communication
• For communicating with devices over a Wi-Fi network,
• the device when its Wi-Fi radio is turned ON,
• searches the available Wi Fi network in its vicinity and
• lists out the Service Set Identifier (SSID) of the available networks.
• If the network is security enabled,
• a password may be required to connect to a particular SSID.
• for securing the data communication, Wi-Fi employs different security
mechanisms like
• Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP)
• Wireless Protected Access (WPA), etc.
• Wi-Fi supports data rates ranging from 1 Mbps to 1300Mbps (Growing
towards higher rates as technology progresses), depending on the standards
(802.11a/b/g/n/ac) and access / modulation method.
• Depending on the type of antenna and usage location (indoor / outdoor),
Wi-Fi offers a range of 100 to 1000 feet
External Communication Interface –
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), 3G, 4G, LTE
A communication technique for transferring data over a mobile communication
network like GSM & CDMA
Data is sent as packets. The transmitting device splits the data into several
related packets. At the receiving end the data is re-constructed by combining the
received data packets
GPRS supports a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 171.2kbps
In GPRS communication, the radio channel is concurrently shared between
several users instead of dedicating a radio channel to a cell phone user. The GPRS
communication divides the channel into 8 timeslots and transmits data over the
available channel
GPRS supports Internet Protocol (IP), Point to Point Protocol (PPP) and X.25
protocols for communication.
GPRS is mainly used by mobile enabled embedded devices for
data communication. The device should support the necessary
GPRS hardware like GPRS modem and GPRS radio. Also, the carrier
network should support GPRS communication.
GPRS is an old technology and it is being replaced by new
generation data communication techniques like 3G, High Speed
Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), 4G, LTE, etc which offers higher
bandwidths for communication
3G – data rates – 144Kbps to 2Mbps or higher
4G – 2 to 100+ Mbps depending on network & underlying
technology.