Thursday 21 November 2013

Embedded system Characteristics


Embedded system Characteristics

Embedded systems are designed to do some specific task, rather than be a general-purpose computer for multiple tasks. Some also have real-time performance constraints that must be met, for reasons such as safety and usability; others may have low or no performance requirements, allowing the system hardware to be simplified to reduce costs.
Embedded systems are not always standalone devices. Many embedded systems consist of small, computerized parts within a larger device that serves a more general purpose. For example, the Gibson Robot Guitar features an embedded system for tuning the strings, but the overall purpose of the Robot Guitar is, of course, to play music. Similarly, an embedded system in an automobile provides a specific function as a subsystem of the car itself.


User interface

The program instructions written for embedded systems are referred to as firmware, and are stored in read-only memory or Flash memorychips. They run with limited computer hardware resources: little memory, small or non-existent keyboard or screen.



Embedded systems range from no user interface at all — dedicated only to one task — to complex graphical user interfaces that resemble modern computer desktop operating systems. Simple embedded devices use buttons, LEDs, graphic or character LCDs (for example popularHD44780 LCD) with a simple menu system.
More sophisticated devices which use a graphical screen with touch sensing or screen-edge buttons provide flexibility while minimizing space used: the meaning of the buttons can change with the screen, and selection involves the natural behavior of pointing at what's desired.Handheld systems often have a screen with a "joystick button" for a pointing device.
Some systems provide user interface remotely with the help of a serial (e.g. RS-232, USB, I²C, etc.) or network (e.g. Ethernet) connection. This approach gives several advantages: extends the capabilities of embedded system, avoids the cost of a display, simplifies BSP, allows us to build rich user interface on the PC. A good example of this is the combination of an embedded web server running on an embedded device (such as an IP camera) or a network routers. The user interface is displayed in a web browser on a PC connected to the device, therefore needing no bespoke software to be installed.

Processors in embedded systems

Embedded processors can be broken into two broad categories. Ordinary microprocessors (μP) use separate integrated circuits for memory and peripherals. Microcontrollers (μC) have many more peripherals on chip, reducing power consumption, size and cost. In contrast to the personal computer market, many different basic CPU architectures are used, since software is custom-developed for an application and is not a commodity product installed by the end user. Both Von Neumann as well as various degrees of Harvard architectures are used. RISC as well as non-RISC processors are found. Word lengths vary from 4-bit to 64-bits and beyond, although the most typical remain 8/16-bit. Most architectures come in a large number of different variants and shapes, many of which are also manufactured by several different companies.

Numerous microcontrollers have been developed for embedded systems use. General-purpose microprocessors are also used in embedded systems, but generally require more support circuitry than microcontrollers.

Ready made computer boards

PC/104 and PC/104+ are examples of standards for ready made computer boards intended for small, low-volume embedded and ruggedized systems, mostly x86-based. These are often physically small compared to a standard PC, although still quite large compared to most simple (8/16-bit) embedded systems. They often use MSDOS, Linux, NetBSD, or an embedded real-time operating system such as MicroC/OS-II,QNX or VxWorks. Sometimes these boards use non-x86 processors.

In certain applications, where small size or power efficiency are not primary concerns, the components used may be compatible with those used in general purpose x86 personal computers. Boards such as the VIA EPIA range help to bridge the gap by being PC-compatible but highly integrated, physically smaller or have other attributes making them attractive to embedded engineers. The advantage of this approach is that low-cost commodity components may be used along with the same software development tools used for general software development. Systems built in this way are still regarded as embedded since they are integrated into larger devices and fulfill a single role. Examples of devices that may adopt this approach are ATMs and arcade machines, which contain code specific to the application.
However, most ready-made embedded systems boards are not PC-centered and do not use the ISA or PCI busses. When a System-on-a-chip processor is involved, there may be little benefit to having a standarized bus connecting discrete components, and the environment for both hardware and software tools may be very different.
One common design style uses a small system module, perhaps the size of a business card, holding high density BGA chips such as an ARM-based System-on-a-chip processor and peripherals, external flash memory for storage, and DRAM for runtime memory. The module vendor will usually provide boot software and make sure there is a selection of operating systems, usually including Linux and some real time choices. These modules can be manufactured in high volume, by organizations familiar with their specialized testing issues, and combined with much lower volume custom mainboards with application-specific external peripherals.

ASIC and FPGA solutions

A common array of n configuration for very-high-volume embedded systems is the system on a chip (SoC) which contains a complete system consisting of multiple processors, multipliers, caches and interfaces on a single chip. SoCs can be implemented as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

Peripherals


Embedded Systems talk with the outside world via peripherals, such as:

Tools

As with other software, embedded system designers use compilers, assemblers, and debuggers to develop embedded system software. However, they may also use some more specific tools:

  • In circuit debuggers or emulators (see next section).
  • Utilities to add a checksum or CRC to a program, so the embedded system can check if the program is valid.
  • For systems using digital signal processing, developers may use a math workbench such as Scilab / Scicos, MATLAB / Simulink, EICASLAB, MathCad, Mathematica,or FlowStone DSP to simulate the mathematics. They might also use libraries for both the host and target which eliminates developing DSP routines as done in DSPnano RTOS and Unison Operating System.
  • A model based development tool like VisSim lets you create and simulate graphical data flow and UML State chart diagrams of components like digital filters, motor controllers, communication protocol decoding and multi-rate tasks. Interrupt handlers can also be created graphically. After simulation, you can automatically generate C-code to the VisSimRTOS which handles the main control task and preemption of background tasks, as well as automatic setup and programming of on-chip peripherals.
  • Custom compilers and linkers may be used to optimize specialized hardware.
  • An embedded system may have its own special language or design tool, or add enhancements to an existing language such as Forth or Basic.
  • Another alternative is to add a real-time operating system or embedded operating system, which may have DSP capabilities like DSPnano RTOS.
  • Modeling and code generating tools often based on state machines
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
As the complexity of embedded systems grows, higher level tools and operating systems are migrating into machinery where it makes sense. For example, cellphones, personal digital assistants and other consumer computers often need significant software that is purchased or provided by a person other than the manufacturer of the electronics. In these systems, an open programming environment such as Linux, NetBSD, OSGi or Embedded Java is required so that the third-party software provider can sell to a large market.

Debugging

Embedded debugging may be performed at different levels, depending on the facilities available. From simplest to most sophisticated they can be roughly grouped into the following areas:

  • Interactive resident debugging, using the simple shell provided by the embedded operating system (e.g. Forth and Basic)
  • External debugging using logging or serial port output to trace operation using either a monitor in flash or using a debug server like the Remedy Debugger which even works for heterogeneous multicore systems.
  • An in-circuit debugger (ICD), a hardware device that connects to the microprocessor via a JTAG or Nexus interface. This allows the operation of the microprocessor to be controlled externally, but is typically restricted to specific debugging capabilities in the processor.
  • An in-circuit emulator (ICE) replaces the microprocessor with a simulated equivalent, providing full control over all aspects of the microprocessor.
  • A complete emulator provides a simulation of all aspects of the hardware, allowing all of it to be controlled and modified, and allowing debugging on a normal PC. The downsides are expense and slow operation, in some cases up to 100X slower than the final system.
  • For SoC designs, the typical approach is to verify and debug the design on an FPGA prototype board. Tools such as Certus are used to insert probes in the FPGA RTL that make signals available for observation. This is used to debug hardware, firmware and software interactions across multiple FPGA with capabilities similar to a logic analyzer.
Unless restricted to external debugging, the programmer can typically load and run software through the tools, view the code running in the processor, and start or stop its operation. The view of the code may be as HLL source-code, assembly code or mixture of both.
Because an embedded system is often composed of a wide variety of elements, the debugging strategy may vary. For instance, debugging a software- (and microprocessor-) centric embedded system is different from debugging an embedded system where most of the processing is performed by peripherals (DSP, FPGA, co-processor). An increasing number of embedded systems today use more than one single processor core. A common problem with multi-core development is the proper synchronization of software execution. In such a case, the embedded system design may wish to check the data traffic on the busses between the processor cores, which requires very low-level debugging, at signal/bus level, with a logic analyzer, for instance.

Tracing

Real-time operating systems (RTOS) often supports tracing of operating system events. A graphical view is presented by a host PC tool, based on a recording of the system behavior. The trace recording can be performed in software, by the RTOS, or by special tracing hardware. RTOS tracing allows developers to understand timing and performance issues of the software system and gives a good understanding of the high-level system behavior. Commercial tools like RTXC Quadros or IAR Systems exist.

Reliability

Embedded systems often reside in machines that are expected to run continuously for years without errors, and in some cases recover by themselves if an error occurs. Therefore the software is usually developed and tested more carefully than that for personal computers, and unreliable mechanical moving parts such as disk drives, switches or buttons are avoided.

Specific reliability issues may include:
  • The system cannot safely be shut down for repair, or it is too inaccessible to repair. Examples include space systems, undersea cables, navigational beacons, bore-hole systems, and automobiles.
  • The system must be kept running for safety reasons. "Limp modes" are less tolerable. Often backups are selected by an operator. Examples include aircraft navigation, reactor control systems, safety-critical chemical factory controls, train signals.
  • The system will lose large amounts of money when shut down: Telephone switches, factory controls, bridge and elevator controls, funds transfer and market making, automated sales and service.
A variety of techniques are used, sometimes in combination, to recover from errors—both software bugs such as memory leaks, and also soft errors in the hardware:
  • watchdog timer that resets the computer unless the software periodically notifies the watchdog
  • subsystems with redundant spares that can be switched over to
  • software "limp modes" that provide partial function
  • Designing with a Trusted Computing Base (TCB) architecture ensures a highly secure & reliable system environment
  • A Hypervisor designed for embedded systems, is able to provide secure encapsulation for any subsystem component, so that a compromised software component cannot interfere with other subsystems, or privileged-level system software. This encapsulation keeps faults from propagating from one subsystem to another, improving reliability. This may also allow a subsystem to be automatically shut down and restarted on fault detection.
  • Immunity Aware Programming

High vs low volume

For high volume systems such as portable music players or mobile phones, minimizing cost is usually the primary design consideration. Engineers typically select hardware that is just “good enough” to implement the necessary functions.

For low-volume or prototype embedded systems, general purpose computers may be adapted by limiting the programs or by replacing the operating system with a real-time operating system.
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