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Microcontrollers, the Hidden Brains in Our Gadgets
Today life is simpler as a host of ‘smart’ products take over our homes, offices and in fact, the world around us. Washing machines, microwave ovens, TVs, remote controllers, cell phones, printers, copiers, cameras, security systems, exercise equipment, automobile engine control and climate control, anti brake systems, musical instruments, medical equipment and toys are now sophisticated devices. The list can be longer and the devices are characterized by the way they can be used, allowing the user to communicate preferences with greater flexibility in the way they serve the customer. Just recall the way a sophisticated washing machine takes various combinations of inputs through a touch screen from the user to accommodate wash preferences; light, heavy, soiled, wool, cotton, hot, cold, extra spin etc. All these gadgets are based on the state-of-the-art technology. Inside them, runs an efficient ‘brain’ that can understand the customer and provide the desired output efficiently. This brain is a dedicated processor known as a ‘embedded processor’ or a ‘micro controller’. The controller is a silicon chip that comes from the manufacturer or factory with certain programs already ‘burnt’ in depending on its task and stored in a memory known as the read only memory or ROM. This makes it specific to the gadget into which it is ‘embedded’. In simpler words, the controller inside the microwave oven would not be replaceable with the one from the washing machine or any other gadget. The utility of these devices comes from the fact that they are compact, programmable (usually one time only at the manufacturers end), consume low power and are cheap. Some of the companies manufacturing these microcontrollers are Freescale, Zilog, Intel, Atmel, Philips/Signetics, Infineon, Dallas Semi/Maxim , AMD, and Matra. The processors on the academic front are studied based on what is referred to their word size. That is the number of binary (1s or 0s) digits they can process at a time. So we can have 8- bit processors, 16- bit processors and so on .The microcontrollers understand a unique language of their own called the assembly language. Actually this assembly language gets translated into a set of binary instructions called the machine language which is what the chip finally understands. So from the consumer’s point of view, the English commands that were entered by pressing some options on a touch screen finally get broken into a one-zero pattern the microcontroller can understand. This makes one wonder whether these controllers are different from the processors that go into our PCs and laptops. Yes, there is a difference in nomenclature and functionality. The brains within the PCs and laptops are called microprocessors. These microprocessors can perform a wide range of tasks based on the program written by the user. For example, if a Pentium chip is present in a PC, it can be programmed to perform any task that’s executable on the PC, such as printing, typing, surfing the internet etc. A microcontroller programmed only once to always perform a fixed task is a dedicated processor. ‘Program me, embed me and forget me!’ is its motto. A technical analysis of a microcontroller leads us into a world of high speed integrated circuits (with millions of gates on a single chip) where they are known by a unique number. For e.g., Intel manufactures the family of 8051 microcontrollers and Atmel would call a similar chip AT89C51. It would be extremely confusing for the average person to fathom the immense variety or use of the numerous controllers flooding the market by just reading the number. Even for a student, a few typical controllers would form a part of the curriculum and an exhaustive study of all microcontrollers impossible. Since all the processors understand a particular assembly language of their own, one cannot learn a different assembly language every time one changes the controller. So most programmers prefer to write programs in a high level language like ‘C’ that gets further translated by means of compilers into the target specific assembly language and finally into machine language. These instructions are finally saved in the ROM where they remain for the lifetime of the gadget. The process of writing instructions into the ROM is called ‘burning’. Once the microcontroller has been so ‘briefed’ as to what to expect from the consumer, it then works based on the buttons pressed by the user to perform a combination of tasks. The user is hidden from the controller by the user-friendly interface that understands English. Often, when the service engineer is at your home doing a field job and happens to dismantle your machine, you get to see a green board with a host of very small black chips. You are probably seeing the ‘brain ‘of your machine with all the other assisting circuits. When everything boils down to technical jargon, one realizes that the microcontroller is also a computer. Just like any other computer, it has a central processing unit (CPU) to perform the arithmetic and logic functions, a read only memory(ROM), a random access memory (also called read /write memory, RAM),an input device (for example a keypad), an output device (for example, a small display) and some pins where input/output devices can be connected. Many more features are incorporated by companies, depending on the requirement of their customers. The market offers a wide choice to the designer who can make a selection based on cost, size, ruggedness, speed, number of input/output pins, amount of memory space (RAM, ROM) on the chip, and also the ease of developing new products around the microcontroller. The microcontroller offers the best possible service to mankind in the medical field. Tiny processors are available to process data in real time and give accurate results so that a quick diagnosis can be made and relief provided to patients. Every time the digital hearing aid helps make the world audible to my father, I send up thanks to the innocuous looking embedded processor that made this possible. We have come a long way thanks to the pioneering efforts of Intel and Motorola since the 1970s. The next time you use an electronic device that is making you life simpler and pleasanter, remember to thank the silent ‘brain’ working within.
Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com). Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in May, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
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