What is an Embedded System? Definition and FAQs | OmniSci

An embedded system is a microprocessor-based computer hardware system with software that is designed to perform a dedicated function, either as an independent ... EmbeddedSystemsEmbeddedSystemDefinitionAnembeddedsystemisamicroprocessor-ormicrocontroller-basedsystemofhardwareandsoftwaredesignedtoperformdedicatedfunctionswithinalargermechanicalorelectricalsystem.FAQsWhatisanEmbeddedSystem?Anembeddedsystemisamicroprocessor-basedcomputerhardwaresystemwithsoftwarethatisdesignedtoperformadedicatedfunction,eitherasanindependentsystemorasapartofalargesystem.Atthecoreisanintegratedcircuitdesignedtocarryoutcomputationforreal-timeoperations.Complexitiesrangefromasinglemicrocontrollertoasuiteofprocessorswithconnectedperipheralsandnetworks;fromnouserinterfacetocomplexgraphicaluserinterfaces.Thecomplexityofanembeddedsystemvariessignificantlydependingonthetaskforwhichitisdesigned.Embeddedsystemapplicationsrangefromdigitalwatchesandmicrowavestohybridvehiclesandavionics.Asmuchas98percentofallmicroprocessorsmanufacturedareusedinembeddedsystems.HowanEmbeddedSystemWorksEmbeddedsystemsaremanagedbymicrocontrollersordigitalsignalprocessors(DSP),application-specificintegratedcircuits(ASIC),field-programmablegatearrays(FPGA),GPUtechnology,andgatearrays.Theseprocessingsystemsareintegratedwithcomponentsdedicatedtohandlingelectricand/ormechanicalinterfacing.Embeddedsystemsprogramminginstructions,referredtoasfirmware,arestoredinread-onlymemoryorflashmemorychips,runningwithlimitedcomputerhardwareresources.Embeddedsystemsconnectwiththeoutsideworldthroughperipherals,linkinginputandoutputdevices.BasicStructureofanEmbeddedSystemThebasicstructureofanembeddedsystemincludesthefollowingcomponents:Sensor:Thesensormeasuresandconvertsthephysicalquantitytoanelectricalsignal,whichcanthenbereadbyanembeddedsystemsengineeroranyelectronicinstrument.Asensorstoresthemeasuredquantitytothememory.A-DConverter:Ananalog-to-digitalconverterconvertstheanalogsignalsentbythesensorintoadigitalsignal.Processor&ASICs:Processorsassessthedatatomeasuretheoutputandstoreittothememory.D-AConverter:Adigital-to-analogconverterchangesthedigitaldatafedbytheprocessortoanalogdataActuator:AnactuatorcomparestheoutputgivenbytheD-AConvertertotheactualoutputstoredandstorestheapprovedoutput.HistoryofEmbeddedOperatingSystemsThefirstmodern,real-timeembeddedcomputingsystemwastheApolloGuidanceComputer,developedinthe1960sbyDr.CharlesStarkDraperattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyfortheApolloProgram.TheApolloGuidanceComputerwasdesignedtocollectdataautomaticallyandprovidemission-criticalcalculationsfortheApolloCommandModuleandLunarModule.In1971,Intelreleasedthefirstcommerciallyavailablemicroprocessorunit--theIntel4004--anearlymicroprocessorthatstillrequiredsupportchipsandexternalmemory;in1978theNationalEngineeringManufacturersAssociationreleasedastandardforprogrammablemicrocontrollers,improvingtheembeddedsystemdesign;andbytheearly1980s,memory,inputandoutputsystemcomponentshadbeenintegratedintothesamechipastheprocessor,formingamicrocontroller.Themicrocontroller-basedembeddedsystemwouldgoontobeincorporatedintoeveryaspectofconsumers’dailylives,fromcreditcardreadersandcellphones,totrafficlightsandthermostats.FutureTrendsinEmbeddedSystemsTheindustryforembeddedsystemsisexpectedtocontinuegrowingrapidly,drivenbythecontinueddevelopmentofArtificialIntelligence(AI),VirtualReality(VR)andAugmentedReality(AR),machinelearning,deeplearning,andtheInternetofThings(IoT).Thecognitiveembeddedsystemwillbeattheheartofsuchtrendsas:reducedenergyconsumption,improvedsecurityforembeddeddevices,cloudconnectivityandmeshnetworking,deeplearningapplications,andvisualizationtoolswithrealtimedata.Accordingtoa2018reportpublishedbyQYResearch,theglobalmarketfortheembeddedsystemsindustrywasvaluedat$68.9billionin2017andisexpectedtoriseto$105.7billionbytheendof2025.OmniSciDataIntegrationGPU-poweredembeddedsystemapplicationsneedanacceleratedanalyticsplatform.TheOmniSciDBopensourceGPUdatabaseactsasahotcacheforanalyticaldatasetsandiscapableofingestingmillionsofrecordsasecond.Today’sanalystsanddatascientistsarechallengedwithagrowingecosystemofdatasourcesandwarehouses,makingbigdataintegrationmorecomplexthanever.Yourdatalivesinmanydatawarehousesanddatalakes;itcontinuallyflowsinthroughstreamsorrestsaspoint-in-timefiles.Regardlessofthesource,OmniScieasilyhandlesdataingestionofmillionsofrecordspersecondintotheOmniSciDBopensourceSQLengine.