Trends and common problems in embedded development

    In recent years, household appliances, mobile phones and various handheld multimedia devices have become the mainstream of the mainland's 3C industry. With the rapid development of technology, electronic products have added human-machine interfaces and multi-functional designs, which have gradually become the decisive points for various manufacturers to compete with each other. In addition to the daily necessities mentioned above, there are many more products on the market that contain embedded systems hidden in unknown corners. From small electronic watches and thermometers to refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, and even common traffic lights and automatic navigation devices on the road, it can be said that embedded systems are around us and have become a part of our lives.

    The trends in embedded system development can be roughly divided into the following two categories:

    1Embedded operating system (RTOS: Real Time Operating System)

    Compared with the OS running on general PCs, embedded operating systems have simpler functions, but they can more efficiently exert the hardware computing power according to the system design specifications, so as to optimize the efficiency of the product. The main common embedded operating systems are VxWORK, QNX, Nucleus, Palm OS, Windows  CE, and Embedded Linux. Among them, the Linux operating system is more favored by international manufacturers because of its free licensing feature.

    2Integrated Chip (SoC: System on  Chip )

    The processors and chipsets required by embedded products are smaller, have better heat dissipation and are more energy-efficient than PCs, so they often use highly integrated SoC (System-on-Chip) as their processor cores. In order to quickly narrow the gap between process technology advancement and design productivity, there are many products of this type, such as National Semiconductor's (NS) Geode SC1400, which integrates CPU, graphics chip, MPEG-2, I/O and TV out functions, and is suitable for home digital audio and video equipment. Other manufacturers include Intel, Motorola, Transmeta and others, which have invested in single-chip designs.

    Common Problems in Embedded System Development

    When engineers are developing embedded systems, the most common problem they encounter is that after the command is executed, the hardware does not behave as designed by the original engineer. At this time, appropriate tools are needed to measure to ensure that the control end does not send the command or the receiving end cannot execute the command after receiving it. At this time, the error may be caused by a problem with the signal timing or the data transmitted on the bus is incorrect.

    In the timing of debugging embedded systems, Zeroplus logic analyzer can effectively display the signal waveform time through the instrument port.

    Figure 1 The time value of each state in the waveform can be displayed through "Display waveform time"

    Zeroplus logic analyzer provides positioning bar (similar to the cursor in an oscilloscope), which is convenient for users to specify the state of a certain value for measurement.

    Figure 2: Using positioning bars to measure waveform timing

    Position Bar A at 0X41, and then position Bar B at 0X3A. By positioning the Bar function, the time between the two data can be automatically displayed on the software.

    Zeroplus Technology's logic analyzer also provides special bus modules. Various bus modules are available to meet the needs of various customers, such as I IC , UART , SPI, USB1.1, IIS, SSI, etc., which are convenient for users to use flexibly when developing embedded systems.

    As shown in the figure on the right, engineers use an oscilloscope to measure when confirming the data of the IIC signal. However, the lack of an IIC decoding module makes decoding very difficult.

    After decoding with the special bus module of Zeroplus logic analyzer, it becomes very easy for engineers to perform IIC decoding.

    The special bus module can display Start, Address, Read/Write, ACK/NACK, Data and Stop in IIC in the form of blocks for decoding in the software.

    Zeroplus logic analyzer can be used to measure the pins in the embedded system to ensure that each component operates normally. In addition, with a special bus module, it can decode the bus, which helps engineers save more time and improve work efficiency during the development process.