What is Embedded Systems and Its Real Time Applications

In our day-to-day life we frequently use many electrical and electronic circuits and kits which are designed using embedded systems technology. The electrical and electronics engineering students and electronics and communications engineering students are required to design final year projects to gain hands on experience with the real time embedded systems and also to fulfill the engineering graduation criteria. The engineering final year electronics projects are designed using embedded systems and applications. The computers, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, digital electronic systems, and other electrical and electronic gadgets are designed using embedded systems. So, let us know what is embedded system and 

What is Embedded System?

The electronic system which integrates the hardware circuitry with the software programming techniques for project solutions is called as embedded systems. By using this e the complexity of the circuits can be reduced to a great extent which further reduces the cost and size. Embedded system was primarily developed by Charles Stark for reducing the size and weight of the project circuitry.

An embedded system is basically an electronic system that can be programmed or non-programmed to operate, organize, and perform single or multiple tasks based on the application. In the real time embedded systems, all the assembled units work together based on the program or set of rules or code embedded into the microcontroller. But, by using this microcontroller programming techniques only a limited range of problems can be solved.

Embedded Systems Hardware

Every electronic system consists of hardware circuitry, similarly, embedded system consists of hardware such as power supply kit, central processing unit, memory devices, timers, output circuits, serial communication ports, and system application specific circuit components & circuits.

Embedded Systems Software

An embedded system is integration of hardware and software, the software used in the embedded system is set of instructions which is termed as a program. The microprocessors or microcontrollers used in the hardware circuits of embedded systems are programmed to perform specific tasks by following the set of instructions. These programs are primarily written using any programming software like Proteus or Lab-view using any programming languages such as C or C++ or embedded C. Then, the program is dumped into the microprocessors or microcontrollers .

Embedded systems are primarily classified into different types based on complexity of hardware & software and microcontroller (8 or 16 or 32-bit). Thus, based on the performance of the microcontroller, embedded systems are classified into three types such as:

• Small scale embedded systems
• Medium scale embedded systems
• Sophisticated embedded systems

Digital energy meter is used for designing innovative embedded projects, this digital energy meter blinking LED will flash around 3200 times for one unit, this LED signal and microcontroller are interfaced using a light dependent resistor (LDR). Thus, whenever LED flashes, this blinking will activate the LDR sensor, that sends an interrupt signal to the microcontroller for each flash of LED. Based on the interrupts received by the microcontroller, it will display the reading of energy meter on an LCD display which is interfaced it.