Sri Venkateswara Engineering College

PAPER PRESENTAION ON`

Embedded Systems

Arun kumar . R, Bharath .V

04631A0504, 04631A0506,
Computer Science Dept, Computer Science Dept,
arunrudra@gmail.com bharathvasa@yahoo.co.in
Mobile: 9885027341
 INDEX

ABSTRACT

2) HISTORY

3) CHARACTERISTICS

4) BUILDING BLOCKS OF EMBEDDEDSYSTEM

5) DESIGN OF EMBEDDEDSYSTEM

6) DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

7) INSIDE AN EMBEDDEDSYSTEM

8) FUNCTIONS OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM

9) CONCLUSION
 ABSTRACT
Last few decades have seen the rise of computers to a position of prevalence in human
affairs. It has made its mark in every field ranging personal home affairs, business,
process automation in industries, communications, entertainment, defense etc…. . AM
embedded system is various type of computer system or computing device that performs
a dedicated function and/or is designed for use with a specific embedded software
application.

An embedded system is a combination of hardware and software and perhaps other

mechanical devices designed to perform a specific task/function. Microwave oven is a
good example of one such system. The primary goal of embedded system is “Human
centered computing”. That is providing service anywhere, any time and automatically.

This paper elucidates a detailed view on the design of embedded systems. That is
what are the different interfaces used, what are the various cpu architectures used in it’s
design, various tools used in developing embedded system software, how debugging is
performed etc… .This paper also emphasizes on the various characteristics of the
embedded systems that is how embedded systems are classified depending on there
characteristics namely application specific systems, reactive systems, distributed systems
and so on. I have also specified about the software architecture of embedded system like
The control loop, Non-preemptive multitasking, Preemptive timers and Exotic custom
operating systems etc…. .

In this paper I also tried to explain various functions of embedded systems,

Various requirements of embedded systems and also three technologies like processor, IC
And design technologies used in the embedded systems. Many categories of embedded
systems, from communication devices to home appliances to control systems and there
examples also covered.

HISTORY
 The first recognizably modern embedded system was the Apollo Guidance
Computer, developed by Charles Stark Draper at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory.
Each flight to the moon had two. They ran the inertial guidance systems of both the
command module and LEM.

The first mass-produced embedded system was the guidance computer for the
Minuteman missile in 1961. It was the Autonetics D-17 guidance computer, built using
discrete transistor logic and a hard disk for main memory. When the Minuteman II went
into production in 1966, the D-17 was replaced with a new computer that used integrated
circuits, and was the first volume use of them. This program greatly contributed to
integrated circuits reaching a usable price-point for consumer devices.
The crucial design features of the Minuteman computer were that its guidance algorithm
could be reprogrammed later in the program, to make the missile more accurate, and the
computer could also test the missile, saving cable and connector weight.
Since these early applications in the 1960s, where cost was no object, embedded systems
have come down in price along with an enormous rise in processing power and
functionality. The so-called Moore's Law has proven itself over a sustained period since
these early systems. The first consumer-oriented microprocessor was the Intel 4004,
which found its way into calculators and other small systems. However, it still required
external memory chips and other external support logic. By the end of the 1970s, 8-bit
microprocessors were the norm, but in general still required external memory chips and
decoding logic, as well as any interfacing to the external world. However, prices were in
freefall and more and more applications were adopting this approach as opposed to the
more established custom logic designs. Some of the more visible applications were in
instrumentation and more expensive devices.
By the mid-1980s, higher levels of integration meant that most of the previously external
system components moved onto the same chip as the processor. Such integrated systems
were called microcontrollers rather than microprocessors, and widespread adoption
became feasible. At such low costs per part, it became a very attractive alternative to
building dedicated logic systems. There was an explosion in both the numbers of
embedded systems reaching every level of the market, and in the number of parts
supplied by different manufacturers to assist designs taking this approach. For example,
many new special function ICs started to come with a serial programming interface rather
than the more traditional parallel ones, for interfacing to a microcontroller with fewer
interconnections. The I2C bus also appeared at this time. By the end of the 80s,
embedded systems were the norm rather than the exception for almost all electronics
devices, a trend which has continued since.
 CHARACTERISTICS

Most commercial embedded systems are designed to do some task at low cost. Most, but
not all have real-time system constraints that must be met. They may need to be very fast
for some functions, while most other functions will probably not have strict timing
requirements. These systems meet their real-time constraints with a combination of
special purpose hardware and software tailored to the system requirements.
It is difficult to characterize embedded systems by speed or cost, but for high volume
systems, minimizing cost is usually the primary design consideration. Often embedded
systems have low performance requirements. This allows the system hardware to be
simplified as a way of reducing costs. A minimalist design approach is used to select
hardware that is just “good enough” to implement the necessary functions.
For example, a digital set-top box for satellite television has to process tens of megabits
of continuous-data per second, but most of the processing is done by custom hardware
that parses, directs, and decodes the multi-channel digital video. The embedded CPU
processes the data efficiently at precisely the right times, and displays menu graphics, etc.
for the set-top's look and feel.
The software written for many embedded systems, especially those without a disk drive is
sometimes called firmware. Firmware is software that is embedded in hardware devices,
e.g. in one or more ROM or Flash memory IC chips.
Programs on an embedded system often run with limited hardware resources: often there
is no disk drive, operating system, keyboard or screen. The software may not have
anything remotely like a file system, or if one is present, a flash drive may replace
rotating media. If a user interface is present, it may be a small keypad and liquid crystal
display.
Embedded systems reside in machines that are expected to run continuously for years
without errors. Therefore the software is usually developed and tested more carefully
than Software for Personal computers. Many embedded systems avoid mechanical
moving parts such as Disk drives, switches or buttons because these are unreliable
compared to solid-state parts such as Flash memory.
In addition, the embedded system may be outside the reach of humans (down an oil well
borehole, launched into outer space, etc.), so the embedded system must be able to restart
itself even if catastrophic data corruption has taken place. This is usually accomplished
with a standard electronic part called a watchdog timer that resets the computer unless the
software periodically resets the timer.
 BUILDING BLOCKS OF EMBEDDEDSYSTEM

Micro Processors / Micro Controllers:

• A microprocessor is a general purpose central processing unit of a digital
computer
– A chip on a computer
• E.G. Intel 8086, Intel 80186 , etc
• A micro controller is a true computer on a chip
– A computer on a chip.
• E.G intel 8051, PIC 16F873

Advance C:

Ways of accessing the hardware through C

• Using runtime library functions, getch( ).
• Using ROM-BIOS functions.
• Using DOS functions.
Directly programming the hardware

Bus Standards
• Bus standard provides a easy way of communication mechanism between the chips
in the computer.
• It reduces the number of control lines extended between the chips so Electro
magnetic induction is greatly reduced in the circuit
• Speed of data transmission between the chips is greatly increased. E.G 3.4 MBPS in
I2c bus operating in high speed mode.
• E.G
I2c, PCI, USB, EISA etc

PCB Design:

• PCB design is a technique of position hundreds of components and thousands of

tracks into an intricate design that meets a whole host of physical and electrical
requirements.
• PCB design gives the basic thumb rule for placing the components and routing an
effective path between the components within a small place.It must also be
remembered that PCB traces have resistance, inductance, and capacitance, just like
your circuit does.
Real Time Systems:
• Systems that respond in a predictable way to unpredictable external stimuli
• Computer system with timing constraints
• RTS depends upon

 logical correctness of computation

 time at which result is produced

In RTS “ a late answer is a wrong answer”

DESIGN OF EMBEDDEDSYSTEM
User interfaces:

User interfaces for embedded systems vary widely, and thus deserve some special
Comment. Interface designers at PARC, Apple Computer, Boeing and HP discovered
the principle that one should minimize the number of types of user actions.
In embedded systems this principle is often combined with a drive to lower costs.
Another basic trick is to minimize and simplify the type of output.
Designs sometimes use a status light for each interface plug, or failure condition,
to tell what failed. A cheap variation is to have two light bars with a printed matrix
of errors that they select- the user can glue on the labels for the language that he speaks.
For example, most small computer printers use lights labeled with stick-on labels that can
be printed in any language. In some markets, these are delivered with several sets of
labels,
so customers can pick the most comfortable language.

Platform:
There are many different CPU architectures used in embedded designs such as

ARM, MIPS, Coldfire/68k, PowerPC, X86, PIC, 8051, Atmel AVR, Renesas H8,

SH, V850, FR-V, M32R etc.

Most frequently used platforms are ARM and PIC.

Tools:

Like typical computer programmers, embedded system designers

 use compilers, assemblers, and debuggers to develop embedded system software.
However, they also use a few tools that are unfamiliar to most programmers. Software
tools can come from several sources: Software companies that specialize in the embedded
market Ported from the GNU
software development tools (see cross compiler) Sometimes, development toolsfor a
personal computer can be used if the embedded processor is a close relative to a common
PC processor

Debugging:

Debugging is usually performed with an in-circuit emulator, or some type of debugger

that can interrupt the microcontroller's internal microcode.
The microcode interrupt lets the debugger operate in hardware in which only the CPU
works. The CPU-based debugger can be used to test and debug the electronics of the
computer from the viewpoint of the CPU. This feature was pioneered on the PDP-11.

Built-in Self-Test:

Most embedded systems have some degree or amount of built-in self-test. There are
several basic types:
1) Testing the computer: CPU, RAM, and program memory. These often run once at
power-up. In safety-critical systems, they are also run periodically (within the safety
interval), or over time.

2) Tests of peripherals: These simulate inputs and read-back or measure outputs. A

surprising number of communications, analog and control systems can have these tests,
often very cheaply.

1) Tests of power: These usually measure each rail of the power supply, and
may check the input (battery or mains) as well. Power supplies are often
highly stressed, with low margins, and testing them is therefore valuable.

Reliability regimes:

Reliability has different definitions depending on why people want it. Interestingly, there
are relatively few types of reliability, and system with similar types employ similar types
of embedded system designs and built-in-self tests:
1) The system is too unsafe, or inaccessible to repair. (Space systems, undersea cables,
navigational beacons, bore-hole systems, and oddly, automobiles and mass-produced
products) Generally, the embedded system tests subsystems, and switches redundant
spares on line, or incorporates "limp modes" that provide partial function. Often mass-
produced equipment for consumers (such as cars, PCs or printers) falls in this category
because repairs are expensive and repairmen far away, when compared to the initial cost
of the unit. The system cannot be safely shut down. (Aircraft navigation, reactor control
systems, some chemical factory controls, engines on single-engine aircraft) Like the
Above, but "limp modes" are less tolerable. Often the backups are selected by an
operator.
DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

1) IC technology:

We are going to VLSI technique in the design of IC.because of the drawbacks in

CUSTOM &SEMI-CUSTOM technologies.

2) Processor technology:

We are going to use a special purpose i.e. a micro-controller.

INSIDE AN EMBEDDEDSYSTEM
Simple embedded system:
This is a simple view of embedded system. It looks like this I.e. just having a
processor and memory, which accepts input and gives output.

memory

Input
Processor Output
 Typical embedded system:
This figure shows the typical structure of a embedded system.Here all the components
interacts with the cpu.

SOFTWARE
FPGA/ASIC
MEMORY

A/D
D/A
CONVERSION
CPU CONVERTERS

HUMAN ACTIVATOR
SENSOR INTERFACE S
S
DIAGNOSTIC AUXLIARY
PORT SYSTEMS

ELECTROMECHANICAL
BACKUP&SAFETY

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

FUNCTIONS
These three are the main functions of the RMBRDDED SYSTEM.

1) Monitor the environment (Sensing)

2) Control the environment (Controlling).

3) Transform the information (Actuating)

Senso
Senso
r Senso
r
r

Real -time
Control system
 Conclusion
Actuator Actuator
Actuator
An embedded system is a special-purpose system in which the computer is completely
encapsulated by the device it controls. As opposed to a general-purpose computer, such
as a personal computer, an embedded system performs pre-defined tasks, usually with
very specific requirements. In an application where the system is dedicated to a specific
task, design engineers are able to optimize the system extensively, thus considerably
reducing the size and cost of the end product. Due to the low-cost advantage, embedded
systems are commonly built into products designed for mass production.

EXAMPLE OF EMBEDDED DEVICES:

Automotive electronics

Aircraft electronics

Trains

Telecommunication

Medical systems

Military applications

Authentication circuits

Consumer electronics

Fabrication equipment

Robotics

LIMITATIONS:

Unlike all other technologies and trends EMBEDDED SYSTEM doesn’t have any
drawbacks. But it has some limitations they are

1) Programming is very hard in embedded system it deals with machine level

operations.
2) Here the main limitation is the late output is considered as wrong output (even though
it is correct)
FUTURE:
In the future I think all the home appliances and all electronic devices are embedded
only. In the future with the combination of ARTIFITIAL INTELLIGENCE and
NANOTECHNOLOGY, Embedded system is going to play a major role in the world.
I.e. using robotics, we can prepare any specific device (embedded device) for any
purpose. So I think in the future all are the embedded devices only.

BIBILOGRAPHY:

1) www.answers.com

2) www.wikipedia.org

3) www.britanica.com