24-07-2012, 12:35 PM
Embedded Design Guide
[attachment=28654]
Embedded Systems Overview
Embedded systems are compact, specialized computing
devices using dedicated microprocessors or microcontrollers,
and typically perform very specific pre-defined tasks
designed to service specific functions or integrated within
much larger and more complex devices. Examples include
automotive systems, avionics, network devices, industrial
controls, medical prosthetics, consumer electronics and
communication networks.
Thanks to the benefits of Moore’s Law, the shrinking cost
and growing performance of technology are leading to smaller
and more powerful processing devices being integrated
into a wide range of everyday items.
Industry Drivers
Embedded technology is being used to deliver new applications
and services in a variety of industries. Most significantly,
several industries are leading the ‘pervasive electronics’
megatrend, including:
Consumer electronics: Increasing design complexity
is driving the consumer electronics industry to greater
use of embedded systems. From advanced multi-function
mobile telephones to digital televisions, devices such as
computers, microprocessors, or other electronic components
such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)
and transmission electronics are embedded within these
applications. Increasingly, consumers want to integrate
these devices with other products, and be able to upgrade
these embedded devices as new advances become
available.
Engineering Needs and Responses
In order to meet the challenges presented by the requirements
of different industries and the marketplace, a
number of areas require addressing by product engineering
teams:
Industry standards adoption: Embedded system
elements and the buses connecting them are becoming
increasingly reliant on, and compliant with, industry standards.
This facilitates interoperability and the economies
of scale associated with off-the-shelf technology. Tools
with support for the many industry standards are needed
to ensure performance characterization and standards
compliance.
Key Test Challenges of Embedded Designs
One of the key test challenges faced by engineers is the
ability to acquire and monitor different signals and protocols.
Design engineers need to be able to generate a variety of
signals to stress test the device under test (DUT) to determine
how the design would behave in the real world.
Performance Analysis Support
Today’s embedded software applications are getting increasingly
larger, which makes it difficult to see the ‘big picture’
of the overall flow and execution time of the software.
The embedded software developer will often get the code
functioning correctly, but will leave performance tuning
until near the end of the project. An often quoted rule of
thumb is that ‘20% of the code executes 80% of the time’;
however, the big question is which 20% of the code.
What is needed is some form of overview tool to show
which of the hundreds of software modules are consuming
the majority of the processor’s execution time.
[attachment=28654]
Embedded Systems Overview
Embedded systems are compact, specialized computing
devices using dedicated microprocessors or microcontrollers,
and typically perform very specific pre-defined tasks
designed to service specific functions or integrated within
much larger and more complex devices. Examples include
automotive systems, avionics, network devices, industrial
controls, medical prosthetics, consumer electronics and
communication networks.
Thanks to the benefits of Moore’s Law, the shrinking cost
and growing performance of technology are leading to smaller
and more powerful processing devices being integrated
into a wide range of everyday items.
Industry Drivers
Embedded technology is being used to deliver new applications
and services in a variety of industries. Most significantly,
several industries are leading the ‘pervasive electronics’
megatrend, including:
Consumer electronics: Increasing design complexity
is driving the consumer electronics industry to greater
use of embedded systems. From advanced multi-function
mobile telephones to digital televisions, devices such as
computers, microprocessors, or other electronic components
such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)
and transmission electronics are embedded within these
applications. Increasingly, consumers want to integrate
these devices with other products, and be able to upgrade
these embedded devices as new advances become
available.
Engineering Needs and Responses
In order to meet the challenges presented by the requirements
of different industries and the marketplace, a
number of areas require addressing by product engineering
teams:
Industry standards adoption: Embedded system
elements and the buses connecting them are becoming
increasingly reliant on, and compliant with, industry standards.
This facilitates interoperability and the economies
of scale associated with off-the-shelf technology. Tools
with support for the many industry standards are needed
to ensure performance characterization and standards
compliance.
Key Test Challenges of Embedded Designs
One of the key test challenges faced by engineers is the
ability to acquire and monitor different signals and protocols.
Design engineers need to be able to generate a variety of
signals to stress test the device under test (DUT) to determine
how the design would behave in the real world.
Performance Analysis Support
Today’s embedded software applications are getting increasingly
larger, which makes it difficult to see the ‘big picture’
of the overall flow and execution time of the software.
The embedded software developer will often get the code
functioning correctly, but will leave performance tuning
until near the end of the project. An often quoted rule of
thumb is that ‘20% of the code executes 80% of the time’;
however, the big question is which 20% of the code.
What is needed is some form of overview tool to show
which of the hundreds of software modules are consuming
the majority of the processor’s execution time.