Designing Embedded Hardware

Foreword

Embedded computers are the unsung heroes of modern life. An exercise I often set my undergraduate engineering students is to identify where they may have encountered embedded computers since waking up in the morning and arriving at their place of study or their place of work. Now, of course, there may be some who have older appliances around the house and drive an older car. Their embedded computer count may be fewer than 10—they probably have a compact disc player, and that already gets the count up and going. Think of any appliance sporting a non-basic user interface with buttons and a display, one that claims a better energy/water usage rating than the norm, one having to deal with digital data (CD players, for example), or one that communicates with other devices. Embedded hardware is behind it all. And that is just getting out of the door of the house. Think of the car, bus, or train to get to work. Think of the traffic control systems and the equipment used at work. This little exercise makes clear how embedded hardware outnumbers desktop PCs. In this book, John tells you how to design beasts such as these.

I have known and worked with John, as both an academic and an embedded systems engineer, for around 15 years now. I have seen him present university courses on embedded systems and design an assortment of embedded machines. John thoroughly enjoys working with students, imparting his knowledge and seeing students get things working. And the students enjoy it too. ...