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Microcontrollers are actually small computers. Frequently simply a single chip, they are often wholly capable of running C code applications, since while they are often "RISC" or reduced instruction set computers, they have enough ability to run assembled code. Entering the world of your first your first microcontroller project is a fun way of exploring the sector of embedded electronics.
Microcontrollers have a main processor, RAM, ROM (often as flash and also EEPROM for storing things which will change, configuration and so on) and since they are sometimes on a single chip, their input or output is available on the pins of the microcontroller itself. This might appear restricting, but in truth this gives them enough capacity to interact with many types of devices in the world outside.
They can speak to a barometric pressure sensor, or a temp sensor, and then display the result on an LCD display. They can store audio and play it back responding to button keypresses. They can control the timing and sequences used to make a washing machine work - actually just about every device except for the very simplest, has a microcontroller in it nowadays.
Your car is in fact quite an extreme example - modern vehicles are virtually wholly software driven nowadays, from engine output performance to lighting and central locking, it's all under the control of many microcontrollers. Theset-top-box you use to view cable or satellite programming is in reality a microcontroller with some bonus hardware video decoding. So you can see you can get quite a lot done without a total PC.
In reality in many ways, microcontrollers can do things a P.C can't - they can measure an analogue voltage directly, interact as if they're a USB peripheral, but most importantly, they can do these things while consuming extremely small power. The batteries in a remote control, or a remote temperature sensor for example, can go on for years.
The "embedded" part of embedded electronics means embedding a microcontroller into a circuit, so it's not just a straightforward electronic circuit any more, fixed in hardware. No, it can now be modified with simply a firmware update. It turns something that can't change into something that can be reprogrammed when necessary.
Microcontrollers have a main processor, RAM, ROM (often as flash and also EEPROM for storing things which will change, configuration and so on) and since they are sometimes on a single chip, their input or output is available on the pins of the microcontroller itself. This might appear restricting, but in truth this gives them enough capacity to interact with many types of devices in the world outside.
They can speak to a barometric pressure sensor, or a temp sensor, and then display the result on an LCD display. They can store audio and play it back responding to button keypresses. They can control the timing and sequences used to make a washing machine work - actually just about every device except for the very simplest, has a microcontroller in it nowadays.
Your car is in fact quite an extreme example - modern vehicles are virtually wholly software driven nowadays, from engine output performance to lighting and central locking, it's all under the control of many microcontrollers. Theset-top-box you use to view cable or satellite programming is in reality a microcontroller with some bonus hardware video decoding. So you can see you can get quite a lot done without a total PC.
In reality in many ways, microcontrollers can do things a P.C can't - they can measure an analogue voltage directly, interact as if they're a USB peripheral, but most importantly, they can do these things while consuming extremely small power. The batteries in a remote control, or a remote temperature sensor for example, can go on for years.
The "embedded" part of embedded electronics means embedding a microcontroller into a circuit, so it's not just a straightforward electronic circuit any more, fixed in hardware. No, it can now be modified with simply a firmware update. It turns something that can't change into something that can be reprogrammed when necessary.
About the Author:
Embedded Adventures is a site dedicated to exploring embedded electronics, including the use of LED display panels, alphanumeric displays as well as sensors like a barometric pressure sensor, or other gizmos like a real time clock.
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