An Embedded View of the Mac Mini
The Mac Mini isn't just competition for Shuttle computers and mini-tower PCs. It's also competition for the much smaller embedded development boards that many users are building custom applications around. Peter Seebach takes a look at the Mac Mini as an embedded development platform.
Black Box with a View
What is an embedded system? With embedded Linux (and Windows) getting plenty of press coverage, it appears that the embedded environment is much like an ordinary PC. In fact, most embedded systems do not run Linux or Windows. Instead, the microcontroller dominates the field. These single-chip devices resemble an Apple II or a Commodore 64--the personal computers of 25 years ago.
Black Box with a View, Part 2
This article discusses several key development techniques for microcontroller-based embedded systems. The information covered here builds on the first article, Black Box with a View. You should review that article at least briefly, because it describes the tools (hardware and software) needed to follow the examples.
Build a minimal embedded Web interface
This installment shows you how to use small-footprint, highly portable, Free Software tools to Web-enable your unmanned submarine, in anticipation of browsing its onboard photo library from an underground lair in the next episode.
Car parking system using Microcontroller
Automatic multistoreyed car parking system helps to minimize the car parking area. This Automatic Car Parking System enables the parking of vehicles, floor after floor and thus reducing the space used. Here any number of cars can be parked according to the requirement. This idea is developed using 8051 Microcontroller. Here program is written according to this idea using 8051.
Design State Machine Engine for embedded system development
Many embedded system applications are natural candidates for being organized as a state machine. This article discovers how to design a hierarchical state machine engine for embedded system development.
Develop embedded sysytems based on UML state machines
This article discovers how to develop and simulate cross-platform embedded systems based on UML state machines. Using UML state machine wizard, developers can model embedded systems with the state chart or the state tree in the first stage, and then develop and simulate applications based on state machine framework provided by the state tree. After simulating and debugging on Windows platform, the developer can move program to a destination working environment with little or no extra investment of effort.
Developing Embedded Systems - A Tools Intro
Developing software and hardware for microcontroller based
systems involves the use of a range of tools that can include
editors, assemblers, compilers, debuggers, simulators,
emulators and Flash/OTP programmers. To the newcomer to
microcontroller development it is often not clear how all of
these different components play together in the development
cycle and what differences there are for example between
starter kits, emulators and simulators. To complicate matters
more, there are quite a number of different approaches and
technologies for emulation available that make it difficult for
even seasoned embedded engineers to pick the right tools. This
article gives a short explanation of the different tools
involved in the microcontroller development cycle, with a
particular focus on the different emulator types and their
advantages and disadvantages
Digital IC Tester using microcontroller
IC tester is used to test Integrated Circuits (ICs). This IC tester is constructed using 8951 microcontroller along with a keyboard and a display unit. Since it is programmable, any number of ICs can be tested within the constraint of the memory available. This IC tester can be used to test a wide variety of ICs which includes simple logic gates and also sequential and combinational ICs like flip-flops, counters, shift registers etc. It is portable and easy to use.
Electronic house
Here's an innovative project for beginners in the field of Electronics, using basic electronic components. This project proposes the development of security system for farm houses and residential houses. Electronic house consists of six major units. They are: Remote operated gate control, Automatic gate light, call bell system, Auto adjustable timer unit, Remote operated electrical, equipments, Touch sensitive burglar alarm for internal security, Water level indicator and controller in a tank.
Embedded System Design Issues (the Rest of the Story)
This paper and the accompanying tutorial seek to identify significant areas in which embedded computer design differs from more traditional desktop computer design. They also present "design challenges" encountered in the course of designing several real systems.
Experts Discuss SLOF Development and Usage
Slimline Open Firmware (SLOF) provides a largely machine-independent BIOS, illustrating what is needed to initialize and boot Linux. Three of the original SLOF developers discuss the development and usage of SLOF, initialization/boot source code for the PowerPC based on the Open Firmware standard.
Great moments in microprocessor history
The microprocessor changed the world: how did we get from the first 4-bit models in the 1970s to today's 64-bit multicore monsters? This article covers the history of the micro from the vacuum tube to today's dual-core multithreaded madnes.
I/O Expansion Possibilities for the Microcontroller
Need to connect more devices than your slavemicrocontroller has pins? Look into I/O expansion. This article examines adding I2C I/O expansion to a robot submarine, and loading up on stepper motors.
Interfacing an LCD to the 8951
This article describes the operation modes of LCDs, then describes how to program and interface an LCD to the 8951. You can interface LCD to the microcontroller 8951 easily after reading this article.
Programmable number lock system
Programmable number lock system is a high security number lock system that can be used to lock electronic devices. The present system is very user friendly. This system is a combination of software and hardware at its best. We have used a 8051 microcontroller kit for interfacing our system.
Programming State Machines on Microcontrollers
State machines, state charts or state diagrams are generally
Accepted as a superior formalism for modeling dynamic real-time
behavior. They are used to manage highly dynamic processes,
ranging from communication protocols, your VCR or the reactor
of a chemical plant. This article refreshes our memory: the
advantages of State Machines, especially on small
microcontrollers.
Programming with Delphi to access Dallas Maxim MicroLan 1-Wire devices
Dallas Maxim have a product line called MicroLan, or 1-Wire.
Their iButtons are part of the same line. The devices can be
networked on a very simple cable. They are monitored and
controlled by a bus master, which can be a Windows computer.
This article provides an introduction and some How To
information for people wishing to program the bus master using
Delphi. Devices already covered? DS2405, DS1820, DS2401,
DS2422, DS2423.
Robotic Car using microcontoller 8051
Robotic Car is a miniature prototype car powered by batteries whose various movements can be control either manually or automatically, or the combination of both. Here the command is given through keyboard; it would have been better if we used IR remote control or something of that kind rather than using keyboard for commanding. However, by realizing the complexities we have made simple using keyboard.
Shared Resource Management on a SoC
The goal of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) is to provide a
single-chip system, and therefore SoC resource analysis and
sizing is critical. Failure to properly size processing,
memory, or I/O needed by software services can kill an SoC
project. But all too often, SoC design analysis focuses on
processing at the expense of memory or I/O sizing. Any
mis-sizing or mismanagement of memory and I/O on an SoC can at
the least cause significant project delay and rework.
SoC Design for Hardware Acceleration
System-on-chip (SoC) designs offer the opportunity to migrate functionality initially implemented in software and firmware into hardware acceleration engines and state machines. This article examines methods for software design, specification, and implementation that will simplify future efforts to offload software functionality to hardware.
SoC Drawer: The Resource View
This article looks at system-on-a-chip (SoC) design and how designers can look at things from a resource perspective. A system-on-a-chip (SoC) can provide a single-chip solution, lower power usage, better performance, more frugal use of board real estate, simpler integration, and lower part counts.
Sonar Sensor with PIC16F628 (pdf)
Application note, describing circuit -with PIC16F628- and XPad-software of a simple but effective low-cost sonar-application, which measures distances to obstacles using ultrasonic soundwaves.
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