Sameer M.

Patil Dnyanprassarak Mandals College and Research Centre, Assagao Goa Department of Electronics

Introduction to embedded system

Embedded System
An embedded system can be thought of as a computer hardware system having
software embedded in it. It can be an independent system or it can be a part of a large
system. An embedded system is a microcontroller or microprocessor based system
which is designed to perform a specific task. For example, a fire alarm is an embedded
system; it will sense only smoke.

An embedded system has three components −

• It has hardware.
• It has application software.
• 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.
So we can define an embedded system as a Microcontroller based, software driven,
reliable, real-time control system.

General purpose computer system

The general purpose computer system consists of microprocessor, memory, and
input and output modules. They are interconnected by a system bus in order for all the
parts to communicate and execute a program as shown in fig below.
Sameer M. Patil Dnyanprassarak Mandals College and Research Centre, Assagao Goa Department of Electronics

Architecture of an Embedded System

Below figure shows a typical embedded system consisting of two main parts:
embedded hardware and embedded software. The embedded hardware primarily
includes the processor, memory, bus, peripheral devices, I/O ports, and various
controllers. The embedded software usually contains the embedded operating system
and various applications.

In the embedded system, the hardware and software collaborate to deal with various
input signals from the outside and output the processing results through some form. The
input signal may be a device such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch screen or the output
of a sensor circuit in another embedded system. The output may be in the form of
sound, light, electricity, or another analog signal, or a record or file for a database.

In embedded systems, the microprocessor's role and function are usually the same as
those of the CPU in a general-purpose computer: control computer operation, execute
instructions, and process data. In many cases, the microprocessor in an embedded
system is also called the CPU. Memory is used to store instructions and data. I/O
modules are responsible for the data exchange between the processor, memory, and
external devices. External devices include secondary storage devices such as flash and
hard disk, communications equipment, and terminal equipment. The system bus
provides data and controls signal communication and transmission for the processor,
memory, and I/O modules.

There are basically two types of architecture that apply to embedded systems: Von
Neumann architecture and Harvard architecture.
Sameer M. Patil Dnyanprassarak Mandals College and Research Centre, Assagao Goa Department of Electronics

Von Neumann Architecture

The most important feature of Von Neumann architecture is that the software and data
use the same memory as shown in the fig below.

In the Von Neumann architecture, an instruction and data share the same bus. In this
architecture, the transmission of information becomes the bottleneck of computer
performance and affects the speed of data processing; so, it is often called the Von
Neumann bottleneck. In reality, cache and branch-prediction technology can effectively
solve this issue.

Harvard Architecture
The Harvard architecture has two outstanding features. First, instructions and data
are stored in two separate memory modules. Second, two independent buses are used
as dedicated communication paths between the CPU and memory. The Harvard
architecture is shown in fig below
Because the Harvard
architecture has separate program
memory and data memory, it can
provide greater data-memory
bandwidth, making it the ideal
choice for digital signal processing.
Most systems designed for digital
signal processing (DSP) adopt the
Harvard architecture. The Von
Neumann architecture features
simple hardware design and
flexible program and data storage
and is usually the one chosen for
general-purpose and most
embedded systems.
 Sameer M. Patil Dnyanprassarak Mandals College and Research Centre, Assagao Goa Department of Electronics

To efficiently perform memory reads/writes, the processor is not directly connected to

the main memory, but to the cache. Commonly, the only difference between the
Harvard architecture and the Von Neumann architecture is single or dual L1 cache. In
the Harvard architecture, the L1 cache is often divided into an instruction cache (I
cache) and a data cache (D cache), but the Von Neumann architecture has a single
cache.

Basic Structure of an Embedded System

The following illustration shows the basic structure of an embedded system –

• Sensor − It measures the physical quantity and converts it to an electrical signal which
can be read by an observer or by any electronic instrument like an A2D converter. A
sensor stores the measured quantity to the memory.
• A-D Converter − An analog-to-digital converter converts the analog signal sent by the
sensor into a digital signal.
• Processor & ASICs − Processors process the data to measure the output and store it
to the memory.
• D-A Converter − A digital-to-analog converter converts the digital data fed by the
processor to analog data
• Actuator − An actuator compares the output given by the D-A Converter to the actual
(expected) output stored in it and stores the approved output.

Classifications of Embedded Systems

Embedded systems can be classified into different types based on performance,
functional requirements and performance of the microcontroller.
Sameer M. Patil Dnyanprassarak Mandals College and Research Centre, Assagao Goa Department of Electronics

Embedded systems are classified into four categories based on their performance and
functional requirements:

Stand Alone Embedded Systems

Stand alone embedded systems do not require a host system like a computer, it works
by itself. It takes the input from the input ports either analog or digital and processes,
calculates and converts the data and gives the resulting data through the connected
device which either controls, drives and displays the connected devices. Examples for
the stand alone embedded systems are mp3 players, digital cameras, video game
consoles, microwave ovens and temperature measurement systems.

Real Time Embedded Systems

A real time embedded system is defined as, a system which gives a required o/p in a
particular time. These types of embedded systems follow the time deadlines for
completion of a task. Real time embedded systems are classified into two types such as
soft and hard real time systems.

Networked Embedded Systems

These types of embedded systems are related to a network to access the resources.
The connected network can be LAN, WAN or the internet. The connection can be any
wired or wireless. This type of embedded system is the fastest growing area in
embedded system applications. The embedded web server is a type of system wherein
all embedded devices are connected to a web server and accessed and controlled by a
web browser. Example for the LAN networked embedded system is a home security
system wherein all sensors are connected and run on the protocol TCP/IP

Mobile Embedded Systems

Mobile embedded systems are used in portable embedded devices like cell phones,
mobiles, digital cameras, mp3 players and personal digital assistants, etc. The basic
limitation of these devices is the other resources and limitation of memory.

Embedded Systems are classified into three types based on the performance of
the microcontroller such as

Small Scale Embedded Systems

These types of embedded systems are designed with a single 8 or 16-bit microcontroller
that may even be activated by a battery. For developing embedded software for small
scale embedded systems, the main programming tools are an editor, assembler, cross
assembler and integrated development environment (IDE).

Medium Scale Embedded Systems

These types of embedded systems design with a single or 16 or 32 bit microcontroller,
RISCs or DSPs. These types of embedded systems have both hardware and software
complexities. For developing embedded software for medium scale embedded systems,
the main programming tools are C, C++, JAVA, Visual C++, RTOS, debugger, source
code engineering tool, simulator and IDE.
 Sameer M. Patil Dnyanprassarak Mandals College and Research Centre, Assagao Goa Department of Electronics

Sophisticated Embedded Systems

These types of embedded systems have enormous hardware and software complexities
that may need ASIPs, IPs, PLAs, scalable or configurable processors. They are used
for cutting-edge applications that need hardware and software Co-design and
components which have to assemble in the final system.

Applications of Embedded Systems

Embedded Systems in Automobiles and in telecommunications

• Motor and cruise control system
• Body or Engine safety
• Entertainment and multimedia in car
• E-Com and Mobile access
• Robotics in assembly line
• Wireless communication
• Mobile computing and networking

Embedded Systems in Smart Cards, Missiles and Satellites

• Security systems
• Telephone and banking
• Defense and aerospace
• Communication

Embedded Systems in Peripherals & Computer Networking

• Displays and Monitors
• Networking Systems
• Image Processing
• Network cards and printers

Embedded Systems in Consumer Electronics

• Digital Cameras
• Set top Boxes
• High Definition TVs
• DVDs