Robotics and

Embedded System
Week 2
 At the end of this discussion, students will be able to:

Identify uses of Embedded Systems.

Understand the key differences between
computers and embedded systems.
Identify various embedded systems platforms.

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 EMBEDDED
SYSTEMS Computers and machines
have simplified our daily lives on a
monumental scale. Ancient people used
simple machines such as wheel to
make transport and travel easier and
faster, but modern technology took that
development and multiplied it a hundred
times over with the invention of
automobiles, many of which are now
operated using computers.

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 EMBEDDED Embedded systems are
SYSTEMS essentially computing devices or
computers. Computers take in
information, process the information
based on instructions, and send out this
processed information. Embedded
systems are computers placed into
things, unlike typical computers, and are
programmed to perform specific tasks
which may be wide and varied. You
might be surprised to find out that
embedded systems are everywhere in
your daily life.

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 PROCESS of
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

(The motor will
(You turn on the switch) (Program Code) start to rotate)

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 APPLICATIONS of If you have ever paid for your
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS fare by tapping a plastic card onto a
reader, you have made one embedded
system talk to another to complete your
payment transaction. The embedded
system in the radio frequency ID (RFID)
card contains enough information to
identify you to the system. The
embedded system in the reader
interprets the radio signals sent from the
card into useful information that a regular
computer can understand.

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 APPLICATIONS of A Point-of-Sales (PoS) machine
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS or cash register is another commonplace
embedded system application. Most of
the newer ones seen in malls and shops
are low-end computers that run a
specialized operating system like Linux
or Microsoft Windows. Instead of this
computer being able to edit documents,
browse the world-wide web, or play
games, it is reduced to managing the
cash and credit card transactions,
opening the cash drawer, and displaying
advertisements to the customer.

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 APPLICATIONS of
Your cellular phone is also an
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
embedded system, whether it is a newer
smartphone or an older model. When
you sent a text message to someone,
the embedded system takes care of
associating your message with that
someone’s phone number. When you
receive a notification, the embedded
system files the incoming message and
searches your contact list for the name
associated with the phone number.

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 APPLICATIONS of
Even your desktop and
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
notebook computers have a several
embedded systems. They are used in
hard disk, solid-state, and optical media
drivers to manage the conversion from
the data stored on the medium to useful
data for the computer. The graphical
processing unit (GPU) of computers is a
very high-end embedded system that
specializes in processing mathematical
data.

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 EMBEDDED
SYSTEMS
vs
REGULAR
COMPUTERS
Since embedded systems are
expected to be in every single aspect
of your life, they feature two important
traits: low cost and specific
functionality.
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 LOW COST
allows you to have a very prolific distribution of embedded system in
sensing the environment or medical equipment

SPECIFIC
FUNCTIONALITY
means that the computer needs to do a small set of tasks really well,
and these tasks are not expected to change much over time

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 Metric Regular Computers Embedded Systems
Computing Speed High (usually in GHz) Low (usually in KHz or MHz)
Working Memory (RAM) High (1 Gb of more) Low (typically measured in Kb)
High (500 Gb or more, usually hard disk Low (typically measured in Kb, usually
Secondary Memory (non-volatile storage)
drives) flash memory)
Power Consumption High (30W or more) Low (typically measured in nW or mW)
Operating System (Microsoft Windows,
Software Linux, Mac OS X) Applications (ie. Office Firmware
Suites, Web Browsers, Games)
None provided or needed: constructed or
Display Video Connectivity
coded if required
None provided or needed: constructed or
User Input Keyboard/Mouse
coded if required
Cost PHP 10,000 or higher PHP 10 and higher
Obsolescence measured in years or
Expected useful lifespan for each unit Obsolescence measured in months
decades

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 MICROPROCESSOR
vs
MICROPROCESSOR
MICROCONTROLLER
Regular desktop and portable
computers use a microprocessor to interpret
given instructions and perform these
instructions. However, microprocessors need
additional devices not built into them, called
peripherals, to work. Working memory, and
input/output ports like USB connections and
video outputs are examples of such
peripherals.

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 MICROPROCESSOR
vs MICROCONTROLLER
MICROCONTROLLER Many embedded systems use a
microcontroller, which is a single integrated
circuit that contains the microprocessor and
some useful peripherals built into the chip.
While a microprocessor would need dozens
of additional integrated circuits just to work, a
microcontroller can work fine on its own. The
reduction in the number of external
components leads to a similar reduction in
cost for development and production, but this
comes at the expense of computing
performance.

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 In order to make prototyping with
microcontrollers easier, there are
development boards available. These boards
have a microcontroller with just enough
peripherals to allow you to easily place your
program into the system and try out your
designs without breaking out your soldering
iron.

DEVELOPMENT
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BOARDS
 This is an ARM-based
RASPBERRY PI development board that, for all intents and
purposes, can replace many desktop and
notebook computers for simple tasks. While
it has an HDMI port for video connections
and later models have both Bluetooth and
Wi-Fi connectivity, the Raspberry Pi also
allows those with an interest in electronics to
connect to some sensors and components
via more “traditional” microcontroller
peripheral connections. The Raspberry Pi
supports many flavors of Linux, as well as
Microsoft Windows IoT (Internet of Things)
Core.

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 BEAGLEBOARD

This is another popular ARM-

based development board similar in nature to
the Raspberry Pi, but with the support of
Linux and Android. The BeagleBoard was
designed to have additional boards mounted
on top of the main board to add functionality.

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 MINNOWBOARD
If you prefer a more PC-like
experience for your embedded systems, the
MinnowBoard is an x86-based platform that
works with the regular PC version of
Microsoft Windows 10, as well as Linux, and
Android. Like the Raspberry Pi and
BeagleBoard, the MinnowBoard has a
section that allows connections of various
sensors and components that can be used
by the running program.

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 While many development boards
ARDUINO center around exposing a few connections to
the outside world to a computer, the Arduino
allows for a lot more connections at a lower
price (and performance). Using the AVR
family of microcontrollers, the Arduino boards
and their countless clones, like Genuino, are
an excellent way to bridge the gap between
electronics and programming in order to add
smarts to your projects. Processing power is
very limited, thus there are no operating
systems for the Arduino; you create your own
every time you program one.

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 End of presentation.

Any questions?

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