Unit– 1

INTRODUCTION TO
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Vikas Kumar Tiwari

Assistant Professor – ECE
Vignan Institute of Technology & Sciences
Email: [email protected]
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/vikas-tiwari-9a5b7843
 What is an Embedded System?
Embedded Systems :-
 An embedded system is an electronic/electro-mechanical
system designed to perform a specific function and is a
combination of both hardware and firmware (software).

Every embedded system is unique, and the hardware as well as the

firmware is highly specialized to the application domain. Embedded systems
are becoming an inevitable part of any product or equipment in all fields
including household appliances, telecommunications, medical equipment,
industrial control, consumer products, etc.
 Why Embedded system ?
• Performance
– Technology Advances
• CMOS VLSI dominates older technologies (TTL, ECL)
– Computer architecture improvements
• RISC, superscalar, RAID (Redundant array of
independent disks), …

• Price
– Simpler development
• CMOS VLSI: smaller systems, fewer components
– Higher volumes
• CMOS VLSI : same device cost 10,000 vs. 10,000,000
units
Examples
Embedded System Vs General Purpose Computer System
Parameter Computer System Embedded System
An embedded device is a part of an integrated
A computer is a combination of hardware
system which is formed as a combination of
and software resources which integrate
Description together and provides various
computer hardware and software for a specific
function and which can operate without human
functionalities to the user.
interaction.

Human A computer needs Human Interaction to Embedded device does not need Human Interaction
Interaction perform tasks. to perform tasks.

Analog computer, Digital computer,

Small Scale Embedded System,
Types based on Hybrid computer, Harvard architecture,
Medium Scale Embedded Systems,
architecture Von Neumann architecture, Reduced
Sophisticated or Complex Embedded Systems
instruction set computer

Parts It has 2 parts: Hardware and Software. It has 3 parts: Hardware, Firmware and Software.

Tasks It can perform many tasks. It performs limited tasks.

The user incurs lesser cost for an embedded

Cost to user The user has to pay more for a computer.
system.
Embedded System Vs General Purpose Computer System
Parameter Computer System Embedded System
Embedded Devices have peripherals such as
Computers have peripherals such as
Serial Communication Interfaces (SCI),
keyboard and mouse, display,
Peripherals printer, Hard disk drives, floppy disk
Synchronous Serial Communication Interface,
Universal Serial Bus (USB), Multi Media Cards
drives, optical disc drives etc.
(SD cards, Compact Flash) etc.

Computers can be reprogrammed to Embedded Devices are made only for a specific
Purpose for a new purpose. set of purposes.

Power Computer needs more operational Embedded Device needs lesser operational power
Consumption power than Embedded Devices. than a Computer.

Computers are more complex Embedded Devices are less complex devices than
Complexity devices than Embedded Devices. Computers.

Computers may be installed in other

Need of another Embedded Devices only exist inside other
devices but are self-sufficient to
device Systems.
exist.
Embedded System Vs General Purpose Computer System

Parameter Computer System Embedded System

Computers are more Difficult when used,

Usage Difficulty compared to an Embedded System.
Embedded are easier to use than Computers.

For certain category of embedded systems like

Response requirements are not time
Time Specificity critical
mission critical systems, the response time
requirement is highly critical

Computers are usually bigger in size with

Embedded Devices are smaller in size than
Size larger hardware and input output devices
Computers, with limited hardware.
attached to it.

Computers have larger memory

Memory
requirement due to a lot of storage of Embedded Devices need lesser Memory.
Requirement data.

GPOS Contain a General Purpose Operating May or may not contain an operating system
Requirement System (GPOS) for functioning
Embedded System Vs General Purpose Computer System
Parameter Computer System Embedded System
Applications are alterable
(programmable) by user (It is possible
Programming The firmware of the embedded system is pre-
for the end user to re-install the
Flexibility programmed and it is non-alterable by end-user
Operating System, and add or remove
user applications)

Performance is the key deciding factor Application specific requirements (like

Selection
on the selection of the system. Always, performance, power requirements, memory usage
Criterion “Faster is Better” etc) are the key deciding factors

Execution behavior is deterministic for certain

Execution Need not be deterministic in execution
type of embedded systems like “Hard Real Time”
Behavior behavior
systems

Digital cameras, Digital wristwatches, MP3

Desktop PC, Laptop PC, Palmtop PC, players, Calculators
Examples Tablet computer Appliances, such as refrigerators, washing
machines, and microwave ovens

Developed by Charles Babbage Charles Stark Draper

 Apollo Guidance computer

The Apollo Guidance Computer, the first recognizable

modern embedded system developed by Charles Stark
Draper at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory
 Apollo Guidance computer
 It ran the inertial guidance systems of both the Command Module (CM)
and the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM).

 The final configuration was 36K words of fixed memory and 2K words
of erasable memory.

 The clock frequency of the first microchip proto model used in AGC was
1.024 MHz and it was derived from a 2.048 MHz crystal clock.

 The computing unit of AGC consisted of approximately 11 instructions

and 16 bit word logic.

 Around 5000 ICs (3-input NOR gates, RTL logic) supplied by Fairchild
Semiconductor were used in this design.

 The user interface unit of AGC is known as DSKY (display/keyboard).

DSKY looked like a calculator type keypad with an array of numerals.
 Other developments

First Microprocessor By mid 1980’s micro

Intel 4004 controllers came into
Required external existence
memory and support
chips
cost of a By the end of the 80s,
microcontroller fell embedded systems
below $1 were the norm rather
than the exception
Classification of Embedded Systems

Embedded Systems are classified as:

Based on Generation
Based on Complexity & Performance Requirements
Based on deterministic behavior
Based on Triggering
Classification of Embedded Systems

Classification based on Generation

First Generation
Second Generation
Third Generation
Fourth Generation
Classification of Embedded Systems

Classification based on Complexity &

Performance

Small Scale
Medium Scale
Large/ Complex/ Sophisticated Scale
Classification of Embedded Systems

Classification based on deterministic behavior

Soft Real time Systems

Hard Real time Systems
Classification of Embedded Systems

Classification based on Triggering

Event Triggered
Time Triggered
 Major Application Areas of
Embedded Systems

Embedded Systems play a vital role in our

day-to-day life, starting from home to
Computer/IT industry. The application and
the products in the embedded systems are
countless.

A few of the important domains and

products are listed in following
slides:
 Major Application Areas of
Embedded Systems
Consumer Electronics
Household Appliances
Home Automation and Security Systems
Automotive Industry
Telecom
Computer Peripherals
Computer Networking Systems
Health Care
Measurement & Instrumentation
Banking & Retail
Card Readers
Entertainment, Gaming and Toys
Purpose of Embedded Systems

Each Embedded Systems is designed to serve

the purpose of any one or a combination of the
following tasks.

Data Collection/Storage/Representation
Data Communication
Data (Signal) Processing
Monitoring
Control
Application Specific User Interface
Characteristics of Embedded Systems

Embedded systems possess certain specific

characteristics and these are unique to each
embedded system.

Application and domain specific

Reactive and Real Time
Operates in harsh environments
Distributed
Small Size and weight
Power concerns
Single-functioned
Complex functionality
Tightly-constrained
Safety-critical
 Quality Attributes of Embedded
Systems
Quality attributes are the non-functional
requirements that need to be documented properly
in any system design. Quality attributes that need to
be addressed in any embedded system can be
classified as:
 
I. Operational quality attributes
II. Non-operational quality attributes
 Quality Attributes of Embedded
Systems

Operational quality attributes

Response
Throughput
Reliability
Maintainability
Security
Safety
 Quality Attributes of Embedded
Systems

Non - Operational quality attributes

Testability and Debug-ability

Evolvability
Portability
Time-to-Prototype and Market
Per Unit Cost and Revenue
 Embedded System Design Metrics

Common Design Metrics:

It is a measurable feature of a system’s
implementation

Design Metric Competition – Improving one may Worsen other

NRE cost  Non-Recurring Engineering Cost