Hello Friends. In this article, I will tell you about what is embedded system is? What is the evolution of the embedded systems in today’s world? How much importance do they have in the digital world? So, friends without wasting any time let’s start.
What is Embedded System?
An embedded system is defined as the computer system that resides inside the device and it controls it. It is a combination of computers that are designed in such a way to perform a specific function. Such kind of system can be programmable and used in industrial machines, the automobile industry, airplanes, medical equipment, toys, cars, and household appliances.
Examples of Embedded System
Embedded systems are widely used in our daily life. Following are some examples of an embedded system:
Mobile phones
The mobile phones use software such as GUI and have embedded systems such as operating systems (OSes), microphones, cameras, USB, and I/O (input/output).
Automobile
In automobile industry has wide use of embedded systems. They are most commonly used in cruise control, navigation system, and suspension control.
Industrial Machine
Many industrial machine uses embedded automation systems that perform numerous functions such as control functions and monitoring.
Types of Embedded System Based on Performance and Functional Requirement
Following are important types of embedded system:
1.Real-Time Embedded System
Such kind of embedded system give output in a specified time interval. They are widely used in industrial, medical and military field.
2. Mobile Embedded System
Such kind of embedded system is used in the small-size system and is used in a digital camera.
3. Standalone Embedded System
The embedded systems are specified for a particular task. They belong to a host system and used in MP3 player and calculators.
4. Network Embedded System
Such kind of embedded system is connected to a network to provide output to another system. Point of sale (POS) and home security systems are examples of network embedded systems.
Types of Embedded System Based on Performance of Microcontroller
Embedded systems are categorized according to the performance of the microcontroller and the types are listed below:
Small-scale Embedded System
The embedded system are used in 8-bit microcontroller.
Medium-Scale Embedded System
The embedded system are used in large microcontroller (16-32 bit).
Sophisticated-Scale Embedded System
The embedded system use algorithms which results in hardware and Softwares. These hardware and software complexities require complex software and a configurable processor.
Why there is need of Embedded System?
The embedded systems are assigned different tasks and many engineers (specifically design and software engineers) use them for the optimization of the cost and size of the specific product. An increase in performance can make a mass product that helps economically. People become more technology-focused when there is soo much feasibility in the field.
How Evolution in Embedded System take place?
Embedded systems are creating innovations day by day. The evolution is not overnight obviously it’s a long process. It all started from a system that each device had (purpose-built using close architecture). These systems run an operating system such as VxWorks that have fixed time constraints.
Now the questions is how such systems are so easy to use. So here is the answer. The below mentioned diagram shows that how embeeded system in car runs multiple tasks. There is a separate system for radar, barking, connectivity and telematices. Each of the system defines its own dedicated OS, certification process.
It’s been using this approach for years but with each passing year, there is a revolution as they are now defining software define architecture. With the help of these, embedded systems can be designed for commercial off-the-shelf products, hardware, PC platforms, and much more. It is also budget-friendly and helps in many fields.
Change in Design of Embedded System
There is a lot of improvement in the hardware along with software development methodologies. In hardware, we are not bound to work with a single CPU but we can use multiple at the same time. For this, we need to host one application, a new multi-core system in the chip (SoCs) that will support multiple applications on the platform of single hardware. This helps in cost and performance also. In the case of software development methods, there are many software define systems and improvement in this field.
Conclusion
So after reading this article you might be wondering why there is no device in which an embedded system is not present. Every electronic product has an embedded system already in it. So if you want to build anything along with the set of hardware and software then you should know the embedded system.
