1

Microcontroller Systems: Motivation

Credits:Some of the slides are taken from:

A. Sangiovanni-VincentelliT. GivargisF. VahidD. Gaijksi

2

Microcontroller systems

Nearly any computing system other than a general purpose computer

Microcontroller systems are often called embedded systems

A computing system, embedded within a larger system, and repeatedly performing a specific task (“the application”)

3

Embedded Systems

Environment

SensorsInformationProcessing

Actuators

• Environment to Environment• Sensors + Information Processing + Actuators

4

More than 30% of a car cost is in Electronics

An Example

5And the list goes on and on …

Anti-lock brakesAuto-focus camerasAutomatic teller machinesAutomatic toll systemsAutomatic transmissionAvionic systemsBattery chargersCamcordersCell phonesCell-phone base stationsCordless phonesCruise controlCurbside check-in systemsDigital camerasDisk drivesElectronic card readersElectronic instrumentsElectronic toys/gamesFactory controlFax machinesFingerprint identifiersHome security systemsLife-support systemsMedical testing systems

ModemsMPEG decodersNetwork cardsNetwork switches/routersOn-board navigationPagersPhotocopiersPoint-of-sale systemsPortable video gamesPrintersSatellite phonesScannersSmart ovens/dishwashersSpeech recognizersStereo systemsTeleconferencing systemsTelevisionsTemperature controllersTheft tracking systemsTV set-top boxesVCR’s, DVD playersVideo game consolesVideo phonesWashers and dryers

Embedded systems Applications

6

The Computer Market

7

Moore’s Law

In 1965 Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that IC transistor capacity would double every 18 months

8

Design Productivity Gap

9

Traditional Design Flow

Hardware/SoftwareIntegration

Hardware Verification

Software Design

Hardware Design

System Specification

Hardware/SoftwarePartitioning

Software Verification

Verification of theIntegration

10

Problems with the Traditional Design Flow

Lack of a unified hardware-software Framework Hard to verify the entire system Incompatibilities at the HW/SW boundary

“Prejudiced” definition of the partitions Sub-optimal design Any change in the partitioning may require

considerable redesign efforts (negative impact on the time-to-market)

11

Sub-optimal vs. optimal Architecture

12

Levels of Abstraction

1970 1980 1990 2000+

Ab

stra

ctio

n

Transistor Level

Gate Level

RTL

RT Level

RTL SW

System Level

13

Embedded System Design Challenge

Simultaneous optimization of competing design metrics

Hardware “vs.” Software

14

Typical Embedded System

CPU

I-CACHE D-CACHE

MMU

MAINMEMORY

BUSADAPTER

UART USB DMA

PERIPHERAL BUS

LOCAL BUS

SY

ST

EM

BU

S