Module-4

Syllabus:
Embedded Systems – Definition, Embedded systems vs general computing systems,
Classification of Embedded Systems, Major application areas of Embedded Systems,
Elements of an Embedded System, Core of the Embedded System, Microprocessor vs
Microcontroller, RISC vs CISC Sensors and Interfacing – Instrumentation and control
systems, Transducers, Sensors, Actuators, LED, 7-Segment LED Display.

UNIT-1: Embedded Systems:

• An embedded system is an electronic/electro-mechanical system designed to perform
a specific function and 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.
• Embedded system is a combination of 3 things
1. Hardware
2. Software
3. Mechanical component & it is supposed to do only one specific task only
Example1: Washing Machine

A washing machine from an embedded systems point of view has:

a. Hardware: Buttons, displays & buzzer, electronic circuitry.

b. Software: It has a chip on the circuit that holds the software which drives
controls & monitors various operations possible.
c. Mechanical components: the internals of a washing machine which actually
wash the clothes control the input and output of water.
Example-2: Air Conditioner
An Air Conditioner from an embedded systems point of view has:
a. Hardware: Remote, display & buzzer, infrared Sensors, electronic circuitry
b. Software: It has a chip on the circuit that holds the software which drives
control & monitors the various operations possible. The software monitors the

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 external temperature through the sensos and then releases the coolant or
suppresses it.
c. Mechanical components: The internals of an air conditioner the motor, the
outlet, etc.
Differences between General Purpose computing system and
Embedded system:

Criteria General Purpose Embedded system

computing system
Contents A system which is a combination A system which is a
of a generic hardware and combination of special-purpose
general-purpose operating hardware and embedded
system for executing a variety of operating system & for executing
applications specific set of
applications
OS It contains a general-purpose It may or may not contain an
operating system (GPOS) operating system for
functioning
Alterations Applications are alterable The firmware of the Embedded
(programmable) by the user. (It system is pre-programmed and it
is possible for end user to re- is non-alterable by the end user.
install the OS and also add or
remove user applications)
Key Factor Performance is the key deciding Application specific
factor in the selection of the requirements (like performance,
system. Faster is better. power requirements, memory
usage etc) are the key deciding
factor.
Power More Less
consumption
Response Not Critical Critical for some applications
Time
Execution Need not be deterministic Deterministic for certain types
of ES like ‘Hard real time
systems’.

Classification of Embedded Systems:

The classification of embedded system is based on following criteria's:
• On generation
• On complexity & performance
• On deterministic behavior
• On triggering
On generation:
1. First generation (1G):
• Built around 8bit microprocessor & microcontroller.

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 • Simple in hardware circuit & firmware developed.
• Examples: Digital telephone keypads.
2. Second generation (2G):
• Built around 16-bit µp & 8-bit µc.
• They are more complex & powerful than 1G µp & µc.
• Examples: SCADA systems
3. Third generation (3G):
• Built around 32-bit µp& 16-bit µc.
• Concepts like Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Application Specific
IntegratedCircuits (ASICs) evolved.
Examples: Robotics, Media, etc.
4. Fourth generation (4G):
• Built around 64-bit µp & 32-bit µc.
• The concept of System on Chips (SoC), Multicore Processors evolved.
• Highly complex & very powerful. Examples: Smart Phones.
On complexity & performance:
1. Small-scale:
• It is suitable for simple applications.
• Performance not time-critical.
• It may oy may not contain OS.
• Built around low performance & low cost 8 or 16 bit µp/µc.
• Example: an electronic toy

2. Medium-scale:
• Slightly complex in hardware & firmware requirement.
• Built around medium performance & low cost 16 or 32 bit µp/µc.
• Usually contain operating system.
• Examples: Industrial machines.
3. Large-scale:
• Highly complex hardware & firmware.
• Built around 32- or 64-bit RISC µp/µc or PLDs or Multicore Processors.
• Response is time-critical.
• Examples: Mission critical applications.
On deterministic behavior:
• It is applicable for Real Time systems.
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• The application/task execution behavior for an embedded system can be either
deterministic or non-deterministic. These are classified in to two types

1. Soft Real Time Systems: Missing a deadline may not be critical & can be
tolerated to a certain degree

2. Hard Real Time systems: Missing a program/task execution time deadline

can have catastrophic consequences (financial, human loss of life, etc.
On triggering:
These are classified into two types
1. Event triggered: Activities within the system (e.g., task run-times) are dynamic
and depend upon occurrence of different events.
2. Time triggered: Activities within the system follow a statically computed
schedule (i.e., they are allocated time slots during which they can take place)
and thus by nature are predictable.

Major Application Areas of Embedded Systems:

The application areas and the products in the embedded domain are countless. A
few of the important domains and products are listed below:
• Consumer electronics: Camcorders, cameras, etc.
• Household appliances: Television, DVD players, washing machine,
fridge ,microwave oven, etc.
• Home automation and security systems: Air conditioners, sprinklers,
intruder detection alarms, closed circuit television cameras, fire alarms, etc.
• Automotive industry: Anti-lock braking systems (ABS), engine control,
ignition systems, automatic navigation systems, etc.
• Telecom: Cellular telephones, telephone switches, handset multimedia
applications, etc.
• Computer peripherals: Printers, scanners, fax machines, etc.
• Computer networking systems: Network routers, switches, hubs, firewalls,
etc.
• Healthcare: Different kinds of scanners, EEG, ECG machines etc.
Measurement & Instrumentation: Digital multi meters, digital CROs, logic
analyzers PLC systems, etc.
• Banking & Retail: Automatic teller machines (ATM) and currency counters,
point of sales (POS).

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 • Card Readers: Barcode, smart card readers, hand held devices, etc.
Elements of an embedded system:
• An embedded system is a combination of 3 things, Hardware Software Mechanical
Components and it is supposed to do one specific task only.
• A typical embedded system contains a single chip controller which acts as the
master brain of the system. Diagrammatically an embedded system can be
represented as follows:

Fig 1: Elements of an Embedded system

• Embedded systems are basically designed to regulate a physical variable (such
Microwave Oven) or to manipulate the state of some devices by sending some signals
to the actuators or devices connected to the output port system (such as temperature
in Air Conditioner), in response to the input signal provided by the end users or
sensors which are connected to the input ports. Hence the embedded systems can be
viewed as a reactive system.
• The control is achieved by processing the information coming from the sensors
and user interfaces and controlling some actuators that regulate the physical variable.
• Keyboards, push button, switches, etc. are Examples of common user interface
input devices and LEDs, LCDs, Piezoelectric buzzers, etc. examples for common

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 user interface output devices for a typical embedded system.
• The requirement of type of user interface changes from application to application
based on domain.
• Some embedded systems do not require any manual intervention for their operation.
• They automatically sense the input parameters from real world through sensors
which are connected at input port.
• The sensor information is passed to the processor after signal conditioning and
digitization.
• The core of the system performs some predefined operations on input data with
the help of embedded firmware in the system and sends some actuating signals to the
actuator connect connected to the output port of the system.
• The memory of the system is responsible for holding the code (control algorithm and
other important configuration details).
• There are two types of memories are used in any embedded system.
• Fixed memory (ROM) is used for storing code or program. The user cannot change the
firmware in this type of memory.
• The most common types of memories used in embedded systems for control
algorithm storage are OTP, PROM, UVEPROM, EEPROM and FLASH.
• Sometimes the system requires temporary memory for performing arithmetic
operations or control algorithm execution and this type of memory is known as
“working memory”.
• Random Access Memory (RAM) is used in most of the systems as the working memory.
• Various types of RAM like SRAM, DRAM, and NVRAM are used for this purpose.
• In a controller based embedded system, the controller may contain internal
memory for storing code such controllers are called Micro-controllers with on-chip
ROM. eg. Atmel AT89C51.
The Core of the Embedded Systems:
The core of the embedded system falls into any one of the following categories.
1. General Purpose and Domain Specific Processors
• Microprocessors
• Microcontrollers
• Digital Signal Processors

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 2. Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)
3. Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs)
4. Commercial off the shelf Components (COTS)
➢ General Purpose and Domain Specific Processor:
Almost 80% of the embedded systems are processor/ controller based. The
processor may
be microprocessor or a microcontroller or digital signal processor, depending on
the domain
and application.
Microprocessor:
• A silicon chip representing a Central Processing Unit (CPU), which is capable
of performing arithmetic as well as logical operations according to a pre- defined
set of Instructions, which is specific to the manufacturer.
• In general, the CPU contains the Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU), Control Unit
and Working registers.
• Microprocessor is a dependent unit and it requires the combination of other
hardware like Memory, Timer Unit, and Interrupt Controller etc. for proper
functioning.
• Intel claims the credit for developing the first Microprocessor unit Intel 4004,
a 4 bit processor which was released in Nov 1971
Developers of microprocessors:
➢ Intel – Intel 4004 – November 1971(4-bit)
➢ Intel – Intel 4040.
➢ Intel – Intel 8008 – April 1972.
➢ Intel – Intel 8080 – April 1974(8-bit).
➢ Intel – Intel 8085 – 1976.
Microcontroller:
• A highly integrated silicon chip containing a CPU, scratch pad RAM, Special and
General-purpose Register Arrays, On Chip ROM/FLASH memory for program
storage, Timer and Interrupt control units and dedicated I/O ports.
• Microcontrollers can be considered as a super set of Microprocessors.
• Since a microcontroller contains all the necessary functional blocks for
independent working, they found greater place in the embedded domain in place
of microprocessors.
• Microcontrollers are cheap, cost effective and are readily available in the
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 market.
• Texas Instruments TMS 1000 is considered as the world’s first microcontroller.

Differences between Microprocessor and Microcontroller:

Microprocessor Microcontroller
1. Microprocessor are widely used in 1. Microcontroller is widely used in
computer systems. embedded systems.
2. It has only a CPU embedded into it 2 It has a CPU, a fixed amount of RAM,
ROM and other peripherals all
embedded on it.
3. In case of microprocessors we have to 3. As all the components are internally
connect all the components externally so connected in microcontroller so the
the circuit becomes large and complex. circuit size is less.
4. It consumes more power. 4. It consumes less power than a
microprocessor.
5. It has very less internal register storage 5. It has many registers so processing
so it has to rely on external storage. So, time is less.
all memory based external commands
which results in high processing time.

Difference between CISC and RISC Processor:

CISC RISC

1. Complex instructions. 1. Simple instructions.

2. Main focus is hardware. 2. Main focus is software.

3. Complexity lies in Processor. 3. Complexity lies in Compiler.

4. Multiple clock cycle. 4. Single clock cycle.

5. Transistors are used to store 5. Transistors are used for storing

complex instructions. memory.
6. CISC has 100-300 minimum 6. RISC uses few instructions (30-
Instructions. 40).

7. 8-10 Addressing modes. 7. Few Addressing modes.

8. Variable size/length instructions. 8. Fixed size/length instructions.

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UNIT-2: Sensors and Interfacing:
Instrumentation systems:
• Fig.(a) shows the arrangement of an instrumentation system.
• The physical quantity to be measured (e.g. temperature) acts upon a sensor that
produces an electrical output signal.
• This signal is an electrical analogue of the physical input but note that there may
not be a linear relationship between the physical quantity and its electrical
equivalent.
• Because of this and since the output produced by the sensor may be small or may
suffer from the presence of noise (i.e. unwanted signals) further signal conditioning
will be required before the signal will be at an acceptable level and in an acceptable
form for signal processing, display and recording.
• Furthermore, because the signal processing may use digital rather than analogue
signals an additional stage of analog-to-digital conversion may be required.

Control Systems:
• Fig. (b) shows the arrangement of a control system.
• This uses negative feedback in order to regulate and stabilize the output.
• It thus becomes possible to set the input or demand (i.e. what we desire the output to
be) and leave the system to regulate itself by comparing it with a signal derived from
the output (via a sensor and appropriate signal conditioning).
• A comparator is used to sense the difference in these two signals and where any
discrepancy is detected the input to the power amplifier is adjusted accordingly.
• This signal is referred to as an error signal (it should be zero when the output exactly
matches the demand).

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• The input (demand) is often derived from a simple potentiometer connected across a
stable d.c. voltage source while the controlled device can take many forms (e.g. a
d.c. motor, linear actuator, heater, etc.).
Transducers:
• Transducers are devices that convert energy in the form of sound, light, heat, etc.,
in to an equivalent electrical signal, or vice versa.
• A loudspeaker is a transducer that converts low frequency electric current into
audible sounds.
• A microphone, on the other hand, is a transducer that performs the reverse
function i.e. that of converting sound pressure variations into voltage or current.
• Loudspeakers and microphones can thus be considered as complementary
transducers.
• Transducers may be used both as inputs to electronic circuits and outputs from
them.
• From the two previous examples, it should be obvious that a loudspeaker is an output
transducer designed for use in conjunction with an audio system. A microphone is an
input transducer designed for use with a recording or sound reinforcing system.

Fig 4: Transducer

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Sensors:
• A sensor is a special kind of transducer that converts energy from one form to
another for any measurement or control purpose ex. A Temperature sensor.

• The signal produced by a sensor is an electrical analogy of a physical quantity,

such as distance, velocity, acceleration, temperature, pressure, light level, etc.

• The choice of sensor is governed by a number of factors including accuracy,

resolution, cost and physical size.

• Sensors can be categorized as either active or passive.

• An active sensor generates a current or voltage output.

• A passive transducer requires a source of current or voltage and it modifies

this in some way (e.g. by virtue of a change in the sensor’s resistance).The result may
still be a voltage or current but it is not generated by the sensor on its own.
• Sensors can also be classed as either digital or analogue.
• The output of a digital sensor can exist in only two discrete states, either ‘on’
or ‘off’, ‘low’ or ‘high’, ‘logic 1’ or ‘logic 0’, etc.

• The output of an analogue sensor can take any one of an infinite numberof
voltage or current levels. It is thus said to be continuously variable.

Actuator:
• Actuator is used for output. It is a transducer that may be either mechanical or
electrical which converts signals to corresponding physical actions.

• A form of transducer device (mechanical or electrical) which converts signals to

corresponding physical action (motion).

• E.g. Micro motor actuator which adjusts the position of the cushioning element in
the Smart Running shoes from Adidas.

• Ex: Stepper motor, DC Motor, Relay motor, LED, LCDs etc

Light Emitting Diode (LED):

• Light Emitting Diode (LED) is an output device for visual indication in any
embedded system.
• LED can be used as an indicator for the status of various signals or situations.
• Typical examples are indicating the presence of power conditions like “Device ON”,
“Battery low” or “Charging of battery” for a battery operated handheld embedded

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 devices.
• LED is a p-n junction diode and it contains an anode and a cathode.
• For proper functioning of the LED, the anode of it should be connected to +ve
terminal of the supply voltage and cathode to the –ve terminal of supply voltage.
• The current flowing through the LED must be limited to a value below the
maximum current that it can conduct.
• A resistor is used in series between the power supply and the resistor to limit the
current through the LED.

Fig 5: LED Interfacing

• LEDs can be interfaced to the port pin of a processor/controller in two ways.
• In the first method, the anode is directly connected to the port pin and the port
pin drives the LED.
• In this approach the port pin ‘sources’ current to the LED when the port pin is at logic
High (Logic ‘1’).
• In the second method, the cathode of the LED is connected to the port pin of the
processor/controller and the anode to the supply voltage through a current
limiting resistor.
• The LED is turned on when the port pin is at logic Low (Logic ‘0’).
• Here the port pin ‘sinks’ current.
• If the LED is directly connected to the port pin, depending on the maximum
current that a port pin can source, the brightness of LED may not be to the
required level.
• In the second approach, the current is directly sourced by the power supply and
the port pin acts as the sink for current.
• Here we will get the required brightness for the LED.

7-Segment LED Display:

• The 7 – segment LED display is an output device for displaying alpha numeric
characters.

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• It contains 8 light-emitting diode (LED) segments arranged in a special form.
• Out of the 8 LED segments, 7 are used for displaying alpha numeric characters.
• The LED segments are named A to G and the decimal point LED segment is named
as DP.
• The LED Segments A to G and DP should be lit accordingly to display numbers
and characters.
• The 7 – segment LED displays are available in two different configurations,
namely; Common anode and Common cathode.
• In the Common anode configuration, the anodes of the 8 segments are connected
commonly whereas in the Common cathode configuration, the 8 LED segments
share a common cathode line.

Fig 6: 7-Segment LED Display

• The current flow through each of the LED segments should be limited to the
maximum value supported by the LED display unit.
• The typical value for the current falls within the range of 20mA.
• The current through each segment can be limited by connecting a current limiting
resistor to the anode or cathode of each segment.

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 QUESTION BANK

1. Define embedded system. Give classification of embedded system. And also mention
the Applications of embedded system.

2. Differentiate the Embedded systems and general computing systems.

3. Explain Elements of an Embedded System with the neat diagram.

4. Explain in detail the core of the Embedded System.

5. Differentiate the following

a. Microprocessor and Microcontroller.

b. RISC and CISC processor.
c. Harvard and Von-Neumann Architecture.
6. Explain the arrangement of an instrumentation and control system with neat
diagram.

7. Explain how 7 segment Display can be used to Display the data and write a brief
note on operation of LED.
8. Write a short note on
i. Transducers
ii. Sensors
iii. Actuators

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