Embedded System Design
Many people have this question that why have you embarked upon a path of providing education in the field of Embedded System Design. To understand the reason we also need to know what Embedded Systems are and where they are used. Embedded System Design is a highly specialized branch of Electronics Engineering. It refers to the design of embedded hardware, embedded firmware i
n ‘C’ language or any other supporting higher level language, where integration of the embedded hardware and the firmware is done to create a working prototype. Here the technological advances of electronics and the design expertise of mechanical engineering work together to create products that we find in our daily life. Embedded Systems are created with the integration of computer hardware, software along with programming of specialized embedded hardware that is programmed to perform one or more dedicated functions. Where are Embedded Systems used? We can find Embedded System based specialized hardware in multiple devices as listed below:
[1] Office Equipments like Answering Machines, Tea/coffee maker, multifunction printer/copier/scanners etc.
[2] In cars we have DVD player, Music Systems, stereos etc
[3] In manufacturing industries we have thermostats, Fire/Security alarm systems
[4] In Medical equipments like Bio-Medical Instrumentation, Stress test equipments etc.
[5] In consumer electronics we have watches, PDA, Mobile phones, video camera, calculators etc.
[6] Home equipments like refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines etc. What are the job opportunities in the Embedded System Design field? The Embedded System Design field offers tremendous job opportunities worldwide. Designing Embedded Systems is a creative job. You must have flair to take up design challenges and you should have the talent to execute the idea in limited time frames that are imposed by consumer demands. What are the challenges that the Embedded System industry faces? Lack of skilled manpower is the biggest challenge that the Embedded System industry faces. Not many young engineers are ready to take this career path as this field is not as glamorous like IT industry. Young engineers are highly talented and passionate but lack proper training and knowledge in the embedded system domain. What are we doing to bridge this gap? Considering the shortfall of skilled manpower we have developed career oriented, short duration modular courses to train electronics and computer graduates. We also encourage working professionals to learn new skills and enter this challenging field. We have also identified that many power professionals wish to learn enter this industry. We encourage them as well to attend our courses. What are the topics that students should learn in Embedded System Design field? Following topics should be learnt to gain a foothold in the Embedded System Design field:
[1] C and Embedded C language programming
[2] Architecture of microcontroller like 8051 and its assembly language programming
[3] PCB design and PC fabrication process
[4] Operating System fundamentals
[5] Details of RTOS internals, multi-tasking, task management, task scheduling, task communication and synchronization
[6] Linux device driver development
[7] Protocol based micro-controller programming. Protocols like RS-232, SPI, CAN, USB, Ethernet, Zigbee, Bluetooth, I2C etc. Summary: Embedded System Design is a challenging field that invites talented people to take up challenging tasks in multiple domains. We suggest that students should take up this field as a career option. There is no dearth of jobs in this field and one can work passionately to create great ideas that will be useful to many consumers. Come join this field and launch a great career.
