Our world is unimaginable without the electronic gadgets. They help us to perform many mundane tasks of our daily life with greater ease. Whether its a washing machine for a complete laundry solution or microwave for a faster and easier way to cook food, their contribution is in every realm of our life. Such gadgets are nothing, but electronic embedded systems.
What is an Embedded system?
An embedded system is an electronic system consisting of integrated hardware, embedded with software that runs on the real-time operating system (RTOS). It performs a specific set of tasks according to the instructions coded in its brain, that is a micro-controller chip. It may sound similar to a computer, but an embedded system is not exactly same. More specifically an embedded system has a computer embedded in it.
Components of Embedded System
Such a system consists of power supply, dedicated program memory and data memory with interrupt controllers,timers, input device interfacing driver circuits, output device interfacing driver circuits, oscillators and I/O ports.
Types of Embedded System
The Embedded system can be classified on the basis of:
- Functional requirements and performance – it can be further divided into real-time, standalone, networked or mobile embedded systems.
- Performance of the Microcontroller – on this basis the electronic system is further subdivided into small-scale, medium-scale and sophisticated embedded system.
Designing an Embedded System
Various parameters are taken into consideration while designing an embedded system. These parameters are mainly based on the purpose of the embedded system to be designed. Software simulation helps in testing and designing the hardware to get the desired result. Power rating is an important criteria to be checked as it determines the type and range of electronic components to be used.
Characteristics of Embedded system
Such electronic systems have higher portability and are resource efficient, using lesser space, energy and time to execute the set tasks. They have higher accuracy as there is no possibility of human error. Embedded systems can be designed to be versatile in nature, making them resistant to external damages.
Uses of Embedded System
Almost all modern gadgets are embedded systems. Whether its a personal gadget like a digital watch, or home appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, or industrial components like automated manufacturing units. Embedded systems are used for ensuring greater resource efficiency, higher productivity and greater quality in every realm of society.
Learning and understanding of Embedded System
To understand and learn skills related to an embedded system, one must have in-depth knowledge of applied electronics engineering. As it an implementation based field of study, it requires greater theoretical knowledge about the hardware to be integrated into the system. Understanding and coding in machine-level language, as well as, a high-level language like C or C++, is required to set instructions into the micro-controller of the embedded system.
Thus the embedded system is one of the primary pillars supporting the technology of the world. There is still a lot of development and research required to reach the pinnacle of its potential to serve mankind.