introduction to embedded system basics o

20/11/2024
EDUGENE TECHNOLOGIES PVT.LTD
INTRODUCTION TO
EMBEDDED SYSTEM

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SYSTEM
 A system is an arrangement in which all its unit assemble work together according to a set of
rules.
 It can also be defined as a way of working, organizing or doing one or many tasks according
to a fixed plan.
 For example, a watch is a time displaying system. Its components follow a set of rules to show
time. If one of its parts fails, the watch will stop working. So we can say, in a system, all its
subcomponents depend on each other.

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EMBEDDED
 Embedded means including something with anything for a reason. Or simply we can say
something which is integrated or attached to another thing.

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EMBEDDED SYSTEM
 Embedded System is an integrated system that is formed as a combination of computer hardware
and software for a specific function.
 It can be said as a dedicated computer system has been developed for some particular reason. But it
is not our traditional computer system or general-purpose computers, these are the Embedded
systems that may work independently or attached to a larger system to work on a few specific
functions. These embedded systems can work without human intervention or with little human
intervention.
 Three main components of Embedded systems are:
 Hardware
 Software
 Firmware (It has Real Time Operating system (RTOS) that supervises the application software and provide
mechanism to let the processor run a process as per scheduling by following a plan to control the latencies.
RTOS defines the way the system works. It sets the rules during the execution of application program. A
small scale embedded system may not have RTOS)

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EXAMPLES
 Digital watches
 Washing Machine
 Toys
 Televisions
 Digital phones
 Laser Printer
 Cameras
 Industrial machines
 Electronic Calculators
 Automobiles
 Medical Equipment

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APPLICATION AREAS OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM:
 Mostly Embedded systems are present everywhere. We use it in our everyday life
unknowingly as in most cases it is integrated into the larger systems. So, here are
some of the application areas of Embedded systems:
 Home appliances
 Transportation
 Health care
 Business sector & offices
 Defense sector
 Aerospace
 Agricultural Sector

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IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EMBEDDED SYSTEM:
 Performs specific task: Embedded systems perform some specific function or tasks.
 Low Cost: The price of an embedded system is not so expensive.
 Time Specific: It performs the tasks within a certain time frame.
 Low Power: Embedded Systems don’t require much power to operate.
 High Efficiency: The efficiency level of embedded systems is so high.
 Minimal User interface: These systems require less user interface and are easy to use.
 Less Human intervention: Embedded systems require no human intervention or very less human intervention.
 Highly Stable: Embedded systems do not change frequently mostly fixed maintaining stability.
 High Reliability: Embedded systems are reliable they perform tasks consistently well.
 Use microprocessors or microcontrollers: Embedded systems use microprocessors or microcontrollers to
design and use limited memory.
 Manufacturable: The majority of embedded systems are compact and affordable to manufacture. They are
based on the size and low complexity of the hardware.

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BLOCK STRUCTURE DIAGRAM OF
EMBEDDED SYSTEM:

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ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
 Advantages of Embedded System:
 Small size.
 Enhanced real-time performance.
 Easily customizable for a specific application.
 Disadvantages of Embedded System:
 High development cost.
 Time-consuming design process.
 As it is application-specific less market available.

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EMBEDDED SYSTEMS - PROCESSORS
 Processor is the heart of an embedded system. It is the basic unit that takes inputs and produces an
output after processing the data. For an embedded system designer, it is necessary to have the
knowledge of both microprocessors and microcontrollers.
 Processors in a System
 A processor has two essential units −
 Program Flow Control Unit (CU)
 Execution Unit (EU)
 The CU includes a fetch unit for fetching instructions from the memory. The EU has circuits that
implement the instructions pertaining to data transfer operation and data conversion from one form
to another.
 The EU includes the Arithmetic and Logical Unit (ALU) and also the circuits that execute
instructions for a program control task such as interrupt, or jump to another set of instructions.
 A processor runs the cycles of fetch and executes the instructions in the same sequence as they are
fetched from memory.

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TYPES OF PROCESSORS
 Processors can be of the following categories −
 General Purpose Processor (GPP)
 Microprocessor
 Microcontroller
 Embedded Processor
 Digital Signal Processor
 Media Processor
 Application Specific System Processor (ASSP)
 Application Specific Instruction Processors (ASIPs)
 GPP core(s) or ASIP core(s) on either an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or a
Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) circuit.

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MICROPROCESSOR
 A microprocessor is a single VLSI
chip having a CPU. In addition, it may
also have other units such as
coaches, floating point processing
arithmetic unit, and pipelining units
that help in faster processing of
instructions.
 Earlier generation microprocessors’
fetch-and-execute cycle was guided
by a clock frequency of order of ~1
MHz. Processors now operate at a
clock frequency of 2GHz

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MICRO CONTROLLER
 A microcontroller is a single-chip
VLSI unit (also
called microcomputer) which,
although having limited
computational capabilities,
possesses enhanced input/output
capability and a number of on-
chip functional units.
 Microcontrollers are particularly
used in embedded systems for
real-time control applications with
on-chip program memory and
devices.

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MICROPROCESSOR VS MICROCONTROLLER

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EMBEDDED SYSTEMS - ARCHITECTURE TYPES
 When data and code lie in different memory blocks, then the architecture is referred as
Harvard architecture.
 In case data and code lie in the same memory block, then the architecture is referred as Von
Neumann architecture

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VON NEUMANN
ARCHITECTURE
 The Von Neumann architecture was first
proposed by a computer scientist John von
Neumann. In this architecture, one data
path or bus exists for both instruction and
data. As a result, the CPU does one
operation at a time. It either fetches an
instruction from memory, or performs
read/write operation on data. So an
instruction fetch and a data operation cannot
occur simultaneously, sharing a common
bus.
 Von-Neumann architecture supports simple
hardware. It allows the use of a single,
sequential memory. Today's processing
speeds vastly outpace memory access times,
and we employ a very fast but small amount
of memory (cache) local to the processor.

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HARVARD ARCHITECTURE
 The Harvard architecture offers
separate storage and signal buses for
instructions and data. This architecture
has data storage entirely contained
within the CPU, and there is no access
to the instruction storage as data.
Computers have separate memory
areas for program instructions and data
using internal data buses, allowing
simultaneous access to both
instructions and data.
 Programs needed to be loaded by an
operator; the processor could not boot
itself. In a Harvard architecture, there is
no need to make the two memories
share properties.

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VON-NEUMANN ARCHITECTURE VS HARVARD
ARCHITECTURE
 The following points distinguish the Von Neumann Architecture from the
Harvard Architecture.

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CISC AND RISC
 CISC is a Complex Instruction Set Computer. It is a computer that can
address a large number of instructions.
 In the early 1980s, computer designers recommended that computers
should use fewer instructions with simple constructs so that they can be
executed much faster within the CPU without having to use memory. Such
computers are classified as Reduced Instruction Set Computer or RISC.

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CISC VS RISC

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EMBEDDED SYSTEMS - TOOLS & PERIPHERALS
 Compilers and Assemblers
 Compiler
 A compiler is a computer program (or a set of programs) that transforms the source code written in a programming
language (the source language) into another computer language (normally binary format). The most common
reason for conversion is to create an executable program. The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that
translate the source code from a high level programming language to a low-level language (e.g., assembly language
or machine code).
 Cross-Compiler
 If the compiled program can run on a computer having different CPU or operating system than the computer on
which the compiler compiled the program, then that compiler is known as a cross-compiler.

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 De-compiler
 A program that can translate a program from a low-level language to a high-level language is
called a de-compiler
 Language Converter
 A program that translates programs written in different high-level languages is normally called a
language translator, source to source translator, or language converter.
 A compiler is likely to perform the following operations −
 Preprocessing
 Parsing
 Semantic Analysis (Syntax-directed translation)
 Code generation
 Code optimization

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ASSEMBLERS
 An assembler is a program that takes basic computer instructions (called as assembly
language) and converts them into a pattern of bits that the computer's processor can use to
perform its basic operations. An assembler creates object code by translating assembly
instruction mnemonics into opcodes, resolving symbolic names to memory locations.
Assembly language uses a mnemonic to represent each low-level machine operation (opcode).

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DEBUGGING TOOLS IN AN EMBEDDED SYSTEM
 Debugging is a methodical process to find and reduce the number of bugs in a computer
program or a piece of electronic hardware, so that it works as expected. Debugging is difficult
when subsystems are tightly coupled, because a small change in one subsystem can create
bugs in another. The debugging tools used in embedded systems differ greatly in terms of their
development time and debugging features. We will discuss here the following debugging tools
−
 Simulators
 Microcontroller starter kits
 Emulator

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SIMULATORS
 Code is tested for the MCU / system by simulating it on the host computer used for code development. Simulators try to model the behavior of the complete
microcontroller in software.
 Functions of Simulators A simulator performs the following functions −
 Defines the processor or processing device family as well as its various versions for the target system.
 Monitors the detailed information of a source code part with labels and symbolic arguments as the execution goes on for each single step.
 Provides the status of RAM and simulated ports of the target system for each single step execution.
 Monitors system response and determines throughput.
 Provides trace of the output of contents of program counter versus the processor registers.
 Provides the detailed meaning of the present command.
 Monitors the detailed information of the simulator commands as these are entered from the keyboard or selected from the menu.
 Supports the conditions (up to 8 or 16 or 32 conditions) and unconditional breakpoints.
 Provides breakpoints and the trace which are together the important testing and debugging tool.
 Facilitates synchronizing the internal peripherals and delays

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MICROCONTROLLER STARTER
KIT
 A microcontroller starter kit consists of −
 Hardware board (Evaluation board)
 In-system programmer
 Some software tools like compiler, assembler, linker, etc.
 Sometimes, an IDE and code size limited evaluation version of a compiler.
 A big advantage of these kits over simulators is that they work in real-time and thus allow for
easy input/output functionality verification. Starter kits, however, are completely sufficient and
the cheapest option to develop simple microcontroller projects.

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EMULATORS
 An emulator is a hardware kit or a software program or can be both which
emulates the functions of one computer system (the guest) in another
computer system (the host), different from the first one, so that the
emulated behavior closely resembles the behavior of the real system (the
guest).
 Emulation refers to the ability of a computer program in an electronic
device to emulate (imitate) another program or device. Emulation focuses
on recreating an original computer environment. Emulators have the ability
to maintain a closer connection to the authenticity of the digital object. An
emulator helps the user to work on any kind of application or operating
system on a platform in a similar way as the software runs as in its original
environment

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PERIPHERAL DEVICES IN EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
 Embedded systems communicate with the outside world via their peripherals, such as following &mins;
 Serial Communication Interfaces (SCI) like RS-232, RS-422, RS-485, etc.
 Synchronous Serial Communication Interface like I2C, SPI, SSC, and ESSI
 Universal Serial Bus (USB)
 Multi Media Cards (SD Cards, Compact Flash, etc.)
 Networks like Ethernet, LonWorks, etc.
 Fieldbuses like CAN-Bus, LIN-Bus, PROFIBUS, etc.
 imers like PLL(s), Capture/Compare and Time Processing Units.
 Discrete IO aka General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO)
 Analog to Digital/Digital to Analog (ADC/DAC)
 Debugging like JTAG, ISP, ICSP, BDM Port, BITP, and DP9 ports

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CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING MICROCONTROLLER
 While choosing a microcontroller, make sure it meets the task at hand and that it is cost
effective. We must see whether an 8-bit, 16-bit or 32-bit microcontroller can best handle the
computing needs of a task. In addition, the following points should be kept in mind while
choosing a microcontroller −
 Speed − What is the highest speed the microcontroller can support?
 Packaging − Is it 40-pin DIP (Dual-inline-package) or QFP (Quad flat package)? This is important in
terms of space, assembling, and prototyping the end-product.
 Power Consumption − This is an important criteria for battery-powered products.
 Amount of RAM and ROM on the chip.
 Count of I/O pins and Timers on the chip.
 Cost per Unit − This is important in terms of final cost of the product in which the microcontroller is
to be used.

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MICROCONTROLLER AND ITS
TYPES
 A microcontroller (MCU) is a small computer on a single integrated circuit that is
designed to control specific tasks within electronic systems. It combines the
functions of a central processing unit (CPU), memory, and input/output interfaces,
all on a single chip.
 Microcontrollers are widely used in embedded systems, such as home appliances,
automotive systems, medical devices, and industrial control systems. They are also
used in consumer electronics products, such as gaming systems, digital cameras,
and audio players.

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TYPES OF MICROCONTROLLER:
 8-bit Microcontrollers: These are the most basic type of microcontrollers, typically used in
simple applications such as toys, small appliances, and remote controls. They have a limited
processing power and memory capacity, but they are easy to use and cost-effective.
 16-bit Microcontrollers: These are more advanced than 8-bit microcontrollers and are capable
of performing more complex tasks. They are commonly used in applications such as medical
devices, automotive systems, and industrial control systems.
 32-bit Microcontrollers: These are the most powerful and feature-rich microcontrollers, capable
of handling large amounts of data and performing high-speed processing. They are used in
applications such as gaming systems, multimedia devices, and high-end industrial automation.
 ARM Microcontrollers: These microcontrollers are based on the ARM architecture and are
widely used in a variety of applications, including mobile devices, automotive systems, and
industrial control systems.

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 PIC Microcontrollers: These microcontrollers are manufactured by Microchip Technology and
are commonly used in a wide range of applications, including home appliances, automotive
systems, and medical devices.
 AVR Microcontrollers: These microcontrollers are manufactured by Atmel Corporation and are
commonly used in applications such as robotics, industrial control systems, and consumer
electronics.
 FPGA-based Microcontrollers: These microcontrollers use field-programmable gate arrays
(FPGAs) to provide highly customizable and flexible processing capabilities. They are commonly
used in applications such as digital signal processing, video processing, and high-speed
networking.

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ISSUES IN MICROCONTROLLER :
Some of the most common issues that can arise with microcontrollers:
 Timing Issues: Microcontrollers rely on precise timing to execute instructions and perform tasks. Any
issues with timing can cause errors and malfunctions, which can be difficult to diagnose and fix.
 Power Issues: Microcontrollers require a stable and consistent power supply to operate correctly. Any
fluctuations or disruptions in the power supply can cause the microcontroller to malfunction or fail.
 Heat Issues: Microcontrollers generate heat during operation, and excessive heat can damage the
device or cause it to malfunction. Heat issues can be caused by poor design, inadequate cooling, or
high ambient temperatures.

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Noise Issues: Microcontrollers can be affected by electromagnetic
interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) from other
electronic devices, which can cause errors and malfunctions.
Code Issues: The programming code used to control the
microcontroller can contain errors and bugs, which can cause the
device to malfunction or fail.
Security Issues: Microcontrollers can be vulnerable to security
breaches, including unauthorized access, data theft, and malware
attacks.
Compatibility Issues: Microcontrollers may not be compatible with
other electronic components or devices, which can cause errors and
malfunctions

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USES OF MICROCONTROLLER :
 Microcontrollers are used in a wide range of electronic devices and systems, including:
 Home Appliances: Many home appliances, such as washing machines, refrigerators, and air
conditioners, use microcontrollers to perform various functions, such as temperature control,
timing, and monitoring.
 Automotive Systems: Microcontrollers are used in automotive systems, such as engine control
units, anti-lock braking systems, and airbag systems, to control various functions and ensure safe
and efficient operation.
 Medical Devices: Medical devices, such as insulin pumps, heart monitors, and blood glucose
meters, use microcontrollers to perform various functions and provide accurate and reliable results.
 Industrial Control Systems: Microcontrollers are used in industrial control systems, such as
robotics, process control systems, and manufacturing equipment, to control and monitor various
processes and operations.

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 Consumer Electronics: Many consumer electronics devices, such as digital cameras,
gaming systems, and audio players, use microcontrollers to perform various functions
and provide advanced features and capabilities.
 IoT Devices: Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as smart home systems, wearables,
and environmental sensors, use microcontrollers to connect to the internet and
perform various functions.
 Aerospace and Defense Systems: Microcontrollers are used in aerospace and
defense systems, such as satellites, avionics, and missiles, to control and monitor
various functions and ensure safe and efficient operation.

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