info about Embedded System, Embedded System Part, Demand for Embedded Systems, electronic embedded system, Embedded System Research, embedded system history, embedded system characteristics

What is an Embedded System?

An embedded system is a large or small computer system that is built into a product, a piece of equipment or another computer system, and that performs some task useful to the product, equipment or system. It is a computer system that is programmed to perform a particular task.

This leads to the notion of an embedded system as a component. Just like a logic gate or other electronic component, an embedded systems has a single task to perform. Again, the task may be extremely complex or extremely simple, but in either case the task is performed by a computer system programmed appropriately. An embedded system is a component of a larger system of some sort. Indeed, embedded systems may be nested within other embedded systems to arbitrary depth. Generally, the "higher level" embedded system is the more complex one, but this is not necessarily the case.

An example of nested embedded systems might be a walking, or legged, robot. Each motor on each joint of each leg might be controlled by its own embedded system that implements some form of motor control strategy such as pulse width modulation or stepper motor control as appropriate, and acquires sensory input (probably joint angles and forces). In a multi-legged robot, these low-level embedded systems could be controlled by a higher-level embedded system that issues commands for each leg to implement the desired robot motion. Thus, these two levels of embedded system implement a motion control platform, to which commands are sent by a yet higher-level system that performs robot path planning and computes the overall motion for the robot. This system may not be at the top of the embedded system hierarchy; it is entirely possible that a still-higher level system controls the path planner. In this example, we see a hierarchy of four levels of nested embedded systems.

Embedded systems come in a tremendous variety of "sizes and flavours". An embedded system may be as small as a single 8-pin integrated circuit that performs the functions of a few logic gates, or may be as large as a system with 256 megabytes of memory, a small disc (20 gigabytes or so), a Pentium processor and a host of intelligent peripherals. The range of physical and "computing" sizes is huge, but all embedded systems have these features:

they perform a very well-defined task for the product, equipment or system in which they are found;
they do not permit user interaction with their operation except where such interaction may be the task of the embedded system, and
they are considered to be a component of the (usually much larger) product, equipment or system.
Examples of embedded systems include:

Are the embedded systems for these applications similar in any way? In fact, they are more similar than different. They differ in scale but not in concept.

Continue to know more about embedded system, please visit idlab.dal.ca

parts of embedded system

Embedded systems are usually designed to perform selected functions at a low cost. The system may need to be very fast for some functions, but most of its other functions will probably not need speed.

So, often many parts of an embedded system will have low performance. The slowness is not just clock speed. The whole architecture of an embedded system is often intentionally simplified to lower costs compared to general-purpose computing hardware. For example, embedded systems often use peripherals controlled by synchronous serial interfaces, which are ten to hundreds of times slower than comparable peripherals used in PCs.

Since many embedded systems are mass-produced by the millions, reducing cost is a major concern. Some embedded systems do not require great processing power or resources and this allows production costs to be minimized by using a (relatively) slow processor and a small memory size.

Firmware is the name for software that is embedded in hardware devices, e.g. in one or more ROM/Flash memory IC chips.

Programs on an embedded system often run with real-time constraints 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. Firmware is usually developed and tested more carefully than software for personal computers. Most 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.

Learn more about embedded system from wikipedia.org

RFID Edge Embedded System

Data integrity is everything when deploying an RFID system. The EPCodeTM Edge Embedded System (ES) is designed to address the most critical challenge when simultaneous identification of RFID tags occurs. It is a common practice that goods are packed in cases that flow within the supply chains on a pallet or a container. Materials will flow through various business process checkpoints, from production lines to within the four walls of warehouses, through the points of sale at retail stores.

Typical implementation of RFID reading at each checkpoint is to install multiple readers to increase the readability. This complex and expensive deployment, however, does not guarantee the 100% accuracy and integrity of collected data, since each reader may return different sets of data from many RFID tags at the same time.

Filtering logic can help remove the duplication and unwanted data, yet not the ultimate solution to report the integrity of data and to handle exceptions. The costs to locate and correct the errors are very high due to missing or wrongly identified RFID tags when data integrity cannot be guaranteed.

The EPCodeTM ES a multi-tier embedded system to guarantee the frontline data integrity and collection accuracy for any RFID applications and to enable the cross-enterprise global data interchange for EPC implementation. It requires minimum readers setup to achieve the highest data integrity at each checkpoint.

EPCodeTM ES features RFID reading/encoding capabilities with integration of digital I/O control and interface to application server and EPC Information Service (EPC-IS). This unique system is empowered by Eprogistics’ cutting-edge “Count-By-Wire” technology and “Reader-Agnostic” gateway function. “Count-By-Wire” is an intelligent firmware and software components to safeguard the reading accuracy and data integrity.

Source about embedded system from eprogistics.com

Embedded Systems and Java at UCSC

The embedded systems group at UCSC is investigating programming language and operating system issues related to network appliances. These applicances can range from network computers to network routers, from pocket pagers to multifunction peripherals (e.g. fax+email+telephone), or from remote weather stations to automobile traffic monitoring devices. Our primary projects at the moment are extending Java's Jini technology to very small systems, incapable of supporting a JVM, and compiling Java to native code for embedded systems. Other projects include a port of a JVM to an embedded systems running a small OS developed specifically to support a JVM on a small embedded processor.
The primary features of Java that make it attractive for embedded systems are platform independence (write-once run-everywhere), remote update/execution, plus the advanced software development features of object oriented programming, garbage collection, safe pointers, and strong typing.

One of Sun's latest additions to the Java family is Jini. We are developing a simple protocol and supporting software, that will allow a very small embedded system, to join a "Jini Federation". The main idea is to provide a "proxy server" that listens for the embedded system to broadcast a registration request (using our simple protocol). The proxy server then locates the Jini proxy and registers it with a Jini lookup service, on behalf of the embedded system. The Jini proxy, is a standard Jini proxy, and as far as the client is concerned, the embedded server is a standard Jini server.

Although Sun is pushing agressively towards smaller JVMs for embedded systems with its Java Micro Edition, we believe some embedded systems will continue to be below the threshold for even these reduced virtual machines. We are therefore building a Java to native compiler, targetting very small memory systems. The primary obstacle is that typical Java to native compilers create very large executables. This is a result of Java's late binding semantics and dynamic method invocation. We are developing algorithms that can be used to resolve at compile time exactly what methods might be called during the execution of a specific application. This allows us to create much smaller executables.

Source form soe.ucsc.edu

electronic embedded system

Any electronic system that uses a CPU chip, but that is not a general-purpose workstation, desktop or laptop computer. Such systems generally use microprocessors, or they may use custom-designed chips or both. They are used in automobiles, planes, trains, space vehicles, machine tools, cameras, consumer and office appliances, cellphones, PDAs and other handhelds as well as robots and toys. The uses are endless, and billions of microprocessors are shipped every year for a myriad of applications. Although there are embedded versions of popular operating systems, low-cost consumer products can use chips that cost less than a dollar and have very limited storage for instructions. In such cases, the OS and application may be combined into one program.

In embedded systems, the software is permanently set into a read-only memory such as a ROM or flash memory chip, in contrast to a general-purpose computer that loads its programs into RAM each time. Sometimes, single board and rack mounted general-purpose computers are called "embedded computers" if used to control a single printer, drill press or other such device. See smart car, Windows XP Embedded, Embedded Linux and embedded language.

Welcome to Embedded Systems

Embedded systems are computers that do not look like computers which are "hidden" in everyday electronic devices from mobile phones and hi-fi equipment to cars and planes. These devices, appliances, vehicles and equipment include "embedded" computing, communication and control elements that make them work more effectively. They are often designed for a particular kind of activity that is required to work under some constraints such as: (low) power, real-time operation, memory, processing capacity, dependability, security, etc ...

Embedded systems impact many industrial sectors including automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, communications, medical and manufacturing - these are sectors where European industry remains strong. This is in contrast with the personal computer market which is dominated by a few non-European players. Embedded technologies are the fastest growing sector in IT today - this is still an open field with many opportunities.

Source from cordis.lu

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Embedded, Real-Time, and Operating Systems

ERTOS focuses on technology that reduces the cost and improves the reliability and trustworthiness of embedded systems. ERTOS uses microkernel technology for enabling the application of software-engineering techniques and formal methods to embedded software.

Introduction

Embedded systems are computer systems that form part of a larger system. These systems are ubiquitous and diverse, and include mobile phones, entertainment devices, automobiles, toys, smart cards, medical devices, network switching equipment, sensors, and industrial robots. Many embedded systems are real-time systems and have to react to external events within a defined period of time. Other constraints such as size, energy supply and unit price often severely limit the design space, affecting costs and reliability. This has resulted in an emerging trend to integrate previously isolated systems. As embedded systems are increasingly networked and expected to execute downloaded code, they have become subject to attacks by hackers or viruses. This means that they now face many of the resource management and security issues associated with traditional computing systems, and makes operating systems, and compilers and language techniques increasingly relevant in the embedded domain.

Reliable and Trustworthy Embedded Software

Because embedded systems are increasingly employed in circumstances where a malfunction could put lives at risk, one of the core concerns is reliability. The long-term goal of the program is to develop reliable embedded systems that can be mathematically proven (using formal methods) to satisfy certain safety criteria. This is a daunting task for software systems that can consist of hundreds of thousands of lines of code, including low-level systems code that directly interfaces, or even configures, hardware.

Researchers are approaching this by breaking down the whole system into components small enough to make them tractable for formal methods. A combination of operating systems and language techniques will then be used to ensure that system components, as well as foreign code, interact with the rest of the system only via well-defined interfaces. Due to the complexity of the hardware-software interface, and the challenge this represents for verification, the part of the system that operates in privileged mode must be reduced to the absolute minimum. This implies the use of a microkernel as the lowest software layer.

Other Research Issues

The basic approach of using small and strongly encapsulated components, running on top of a microkernel, benefits embedded software development in other ways. It supports good software engineering techniques and thus helps to reduce software life-cycle costs. It provides hardware abstraction, which enables portability and hardware independence. It is essential to providing security, via traditional operating system techniques, as well as language and compiler techniques. A small, well-structured system is also easier to analyse for its ability to meet real-time and energy requirements.

Many applications for embedded systems are of a domain-specific nature. NICTA researchers will support the efficient use of domain knowledge by developing a general-purpose infrastructure that reduces the cost of implementing domain-specific languages. Furthermore, reconfigurable hardware allows developers to build a large number of diverse devices from a small number of basic components, or even to adapt hardware to changing operating conditions on the fly. This can reduce both the time to market, and development and unit costs. The use of reconfigurable hardware extends reliability issues from the software into the hardware domain.

Source about embedded system from nicta.com.au

Embedded system technology

All appliances that make use of embedded systems are pre-programmed to perform a dedicated or narrow range of functions as part of a larger system, usually with minimal end-user interaction. For example, an entire operating system like Windows 98 is not required for controlling a car's valve that has only certain types of movements, or a washing machine, which uses only specific cleaning routines.

Embedded systems are used in navigation tools like global positioning systems (GPS), automated teller machines (ATMs), networking equipment such as routers and switches, digital videos and cameras, mobile phones, aerospace applications, telecom applications, etc. Even toys make use of embedded systems (see box, 'What goes into an embedded system?').

Embedded systems are usually low in cost and are easily available off the shelf for most applications. They usually have low design risks, since it is easy to verify the designs using evaluation boards. The easy availability of good design tools (many of them in the freeware domain) and software engineers have been two key factors in fuelling the growth of embedded systems.

Embedded systems have received a major shot in the arm over the past two or three years due to three factors. The first was the development of standard run-time platforms like Java, which enabled their use in myriad ways that were unimaginable in the past. The second factor was the emergence of several integrated software environments, which simplified the development of these applications. The third factor was the coming together of embedded systems and the Internet, which made possible the networking of several embedded systems to operate as part of a large system across networks be it a LAN, WAN or the Internet. This convergence of embedded systems with the Internet is going to transform the way we live.

For more info about embedded system technology form dcetech.com

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Embedded system Characteristics

Embedded systems are usually designed to perform selected functions at a low cost. The system may need to be very fast for some functions, but most of its other functions will probably not need speed.

So, often many parts of an embedded system will have low performance. The slowness is not just clock speed. The whole architecture of an embedded system is often intentionally simplified to lower costs compared to general-purpose computing hardware. For example, embedded systems often use peripherals controlled by synchronous serial interfaces, which are ten to hundreds of times slower than comparable peripherals used in PCs.

Since many embedded systems are mass-produced by the millions, reducing cost is a major concern. Some embedded systems do not require great processing power or resources and this allows production costs to be minimized by using a (relatively) slow processor and a small memory size.

Firmware is the name for software that is embedded in hardware devices, e.g. in one or more ROM/Flash memory IC chips.

Programs on an embedded system often run with real-time constraints 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. Firmware is usually developed and tested more carefully than software for personal computers. Most 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.

Source from en.wikipedia.org