Embedded application India | embedded system application India

often refers to Embedded Systems - hardware and software together forming a component of some larger system. The CompactPCI (and accompanying PICMG 2.16) platform is an embedded system and Performance Technologies' IPnexus product family has been designed to maximize these form factors.

An embedded system is a special purpose computer that is used inside of a device. For example, a microwave contains an embedded system that accepts input from the panel, controls the LCD display, and turns on and off the heating elements that cook the food. Embedded systems generally use microcontrollers that contain many functions of a computer on a single device.

An embedded design, is an electronic design that contains an embedded micro-controller. The design will therefore consist of electronic hardware, including a micro-controller, and well as embedded software (also known as firmware).

An embedded system design consists of a few stages, some of which can be done in parallel.

It all starts with a system or product specification. More often than not, the client is less technical and has only a one line product description.Through discussion and asking the correct questions, a detailed product desctiption is established. This in turn, is translated into a design specfication, detailing the crucial aspects of the design including operation, cost, functionallity etc.

The design is generally divided into logical stages. A firm quote is detailed for the first stage of the design, with estimates for the following stages. On completion of the first stage, a fixed quote is detailed for the next stage, with revised (if nescessary) quotes for the remaining stages. All documents and design files are complete at the end of each stage, so the client is always free to pass the design on to another design house if preferred.

PLATFORM :

There are many different CPU architectures used in embedded designs. This in contrast to the desktop computer market, which as of this writing (2003) is limited to just a few competing architectures, mainly the Intel/AMD x86, and the Apple/Motorola/IBM PowerPC, used in the Apple Macintosh.

One common configuration for embedded systems is the system on a chip, an application-specific integrated circuit, for which the CPU was purchased as intellectual property to add to the IC's design.

TOOLS :

Like a typical computer programmer, embedded system designers use compilers, assemblers and debuggers to develop an embedded system.

Those software tools can come from several sources:

. Software companies that specialize in the embedded market

. Ported from the GNU software development tools.

. Sometimes, development tools for a personal computer can be used if the embedded processor is a close relative to a common PC processor.

. Embedded system designers also use a few software tools rarely used by typical computer programmers.

. Some designers keep a utility program to turn data files into code, so that they can include any kind of data in a program.

. Most designers also have utility programs to add a checksum or CRC to a program, so it can check its program data before executing it.

OPERATING SYSTEM :

They often have no operating system, or a specialized embedded operating system (often a real-time operating system), or the programmer is assigned to port one of these to the new system.

START-UP :

All embedded systems have start-up code. Usually it disables interrupts, sets up the electronics, tests the computer (RAM, CPU and software), and then starts the application code. Many embedded systems recover from short-term power failures by restarting (without recent self-tests). Restart times under a tenth of a second are common.

Many designers have found one of more hardware plus software-controlled LEDs useful to indicate errors during development (and in some instances, after product release, to produce troubleshooting diagnostics). A common scheme is to have the electronics turn off the LED(s) at reset, whereupon the software turns it on at the first opportunity, to prove that the hardware and start-up software have performed their job so far. After that, the software blinks the LED(s) or sets up light patterns during normal operation, to indicate program execution progress and/or errors. This serves to reassure most technicians/engineers and some users.

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