A poker player can go all-in with their chips. But it seems the world has gone all-in with electronic chips. They are embedded everywhere we go. Everyday items such as a remote control, a TV set, or a car have specialized computer systems that combine the hardware we see with software code hidden inside. These computers are different from pcs and tablets and are called embedded systems. Let’s explore some fundamentals about embedded systems to get another view of the world.
Most embedded systems use hardware resources differently than PC programs. Embedded systems tend to utilize 100% of the resources of the hardware. For example, on a basic universal tv remote control with a non-upgradeable database of protocols, leaving extra space doesn’t make sense. More protocols could have fit in to make the device more useful. On the other hand, most PC programs need to leave resources unused so other applications and the operating system can use them. For example, this allows you to have a zoom meeting app running while also having a web browser running in the background. Another difference is the hardware on an embedded system tends to be more specialized than a PC. A cheap universal remote has just an led light for feedback when you press a button. PCs have a monitor to display a wide variety of images. Another specialization is that a universal tv remote depends on communicating with another device. It doesn’t have value without a tv. A PC can be used for both alone for creation, say to record and edit a local video file, and with other computers for communication, as in a transfer of that edited video to a web server for hosting at YouTube.
In the next post, I will explore how embedded systems work with limited resources.
