Embedded systems overview

1 Embedded systems overview
Computing systems are everywhere. It’s probably no surprise that millions of
computing systems are built every year destined for desktop computers (Personal
Computers, or PC’s), workstations, mainframes and servers. What may be surprising is
that billions of computing systems are built every year for a very different purpose: they
are embedded within larger electronic devices, repeatedly carrying out a particular
function, often going completely unrecognized by the device’s user. Creating a precise
definition of such embedded computing systems, or simply embedded systems, is not an
easy task. We might try the following definition: An embedded system is nearly any
computing system other than a desktop, laptop, or mainframe computer. That definition
isn’t perfect, but it may be as close as we’ll get. We can better understand such systems
by examining common examples and common characteristics. Such examination will
reveal major challenges facing designers of such systems.