1.

Anti-Lock Braking System

Anti-lock brake system is used in automobiles to avoid the vehicles from skidding especially in a
slippery road. This system allows the wheels of the vehicle to have better contact with the road. This
system basically consists of sensors to track the speed, valves, pump and a controller.

Embedded Systems in Automobiles - Anti-lock Brake System

Parts of Anti-lock brake System in Automobiles

Speed Sensors: Helps in knowing the deceleration and acceleration of a vehicle.

Valves: At the brake line of the brakes in the vehicle there are valves. The valves are placed in 3
positions. At the first position, the valve is kept open to pass the pressure from the master
cylinder to the brake. In the second position, the valve is kept in the closed position, so that more
pressure does not reach and the driver does not need to pull the brake pedal harder. And finally
in the position three, the pressure from the brake is released through this valve.
Pump: Gives back the pressure to the brake when valve is released.
Controller: Known as Controller Anti-lock Brake monitors the sensors and the valves.

Working of Anti-lock brake system in Automobiles

There is an electronic control unit in the system which monitors the movement of the wheel. If a
wheel in the automobiles goes slow, the speed sensors will tell the valves to reduce pressure to the
brake and thereby the wheel turns faster. On the other hand, if the wheel goes faster, the pressure
to the wheel is increased thereby slowing down the wheel.
2. Adaptive Cruise Control
Embedded System in Automobiles has made the driverless car a big reality. Google Driverless car
is an example. Adaptive cruise control is now widely used in automobiles to make a minimum
distance between vehicles on high traffic highways and in areas of busy traffic. When the traffic
congestion goes down, adaptive cruise control helps to change the speed of the vehicle using the
braking system.

Embedded Systems in Automobiles - Adaptive Cruise Control

Each automobile having the adaptive cruise control will be having radar as a transceiver fixed on it to
know the distance and speed of the vehicles in the path. The computer associated with the ACC unit
helps to control brake and throttle of the automobiles.
3. SMART CARD

A smart card, typically a type of chip card, is a plastic card that contains an embedded computer chip
either a memory or microprocessor typethat stores and transacts data. This data is usually associated
with either value, information, or both and is stored and processed within the card's chip. The card data is
transacted via a reader that is part of a computing system. Systems that are enhanced with smart cards
are in use today throughout several key applications, including healthcare, banking, entertainment, and
transportation. All applications can benefit from the added features and security that smart cards provide.
According to Euro smart, worldwide smart card shipments will grow 10% in 2010 to 5.455 billion cards.
Markets that have been traditionally served by other machine readable card technologies, such as
barcode and magnetic stripe, are converting to smart cards as the calculated return on investment is
revisited by each card issuer year after year.

Embedded Systems Contact less smart card components

4. A handheld Global Positioning System Receiver

A GPS receiver receives signals from a constellation of at least four out of a total of 24 satellites. Based
on the timing and other information signals sent by these satellites the digital signal processor calculates
the position using triangulation. The major block diagram is divided into (1) Active Antenna System, (2)
RF/IF front end, (3) The Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The Active Antenna System houses the antenna a
band pass filter and a low noise amplifier (LNA) The RF/IF front end houses another band pass filter, the
RF amplifier and the demodulator and A/D converter. The DSP accepts the digital data and decodes the
signal to retrieve the information sent by the GPS satellites.

Embedded Systems A handheld Global Positioning System Receiver

5. GUIDED MISSILES

Guided missiles have been in the forefront of modern warfare since the Second World War. Thanks to
the media blitz accompanying the Gulf war they have almost become household words nowadays.
Though it is true that guided missiles are mainly used for destructive purposes, one cannot disregard the
fact that they are one of the most outstanding examples of the application of scientific techniques to
design, control and guide remote vehicles without direct human intervention. A simple definition of a
guided missile would be the following: A guided missiles is a space-traversing unmanned vehicle which
carries within itself the means for controlling its flight path. Another definition, based on its operation,
could be: A guided missile is one which is usually fired in a direction approximately towards the target
and subsequently receives steering commands from the guidance system to improve its accuracy.

Embedded Systems A GUIDED MISSILE Guided Section System Receiver Block diagram
6. CORDLESS TELEPHONE

A cordless telephone is basically a combination telephone and radio

transmitter/receiver. A cordless phone has two major parts: base and handset.

The base is attached to the phone jack through a standard phone wire
connection, and as far as the phone system is concerned it looks just like a
normal phone. The base receives the incoming call (as an electrical signal)
through the phone line, converts it to an FM radio signal and then
broadcasts that signal.
The handset receives the radio signal from the base, converts it to an
electrical signal and sends that signal to the speaker, where it is converted
into the sound you hear. When you talk, the handset broadcasts your
voice through a second FM radio signal back to the base. The base
receives your voice signal, converts it to an electrical signal and sends that
signal through the phone line to the other party.
The base and handset operate on a frequency pair that allows you to talk and
listen at the same time, called duplex frequency.

Embedded Systems A Cordless Telephone Block diagram

7. Digital Camera

The photos from a digital camera are already in the digital format which the
computer can easily recognize (0 and 1). The 0s and 1s in a digital camera
are kept as strings of tiny dots called pixels. The image sensors used in an
digital can be either a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) or a Complementary
Metal Oxide Semi-conductor (CMOS). Both these image sensors have been
deeply explained earlier. The image sensor is basically a micro-chip with a
width of about 10mm. The chip consists arrays of sensors, which can convert
the light into electrical charges. Though both CMOS and CCD are very
common, CMOS chips are known to be cheaper. But for higher pixel range
and costly cameras mostly CCD technology is used. A digital camera has
lens/lenses which are used to focus the light that is to be projected and
created. This light is made to focus on an image sensor which converts the
light signals into electric signals. The light hits the image sensor as soon as
the photographer hits the shutter button. As soon as the shutter opens the
pixels are illuminated by the light in different intensities. Thus an electric signal
is generated. This electric signal is then further broke down to digital data and
stored in a computer.

Schematic diagram of Digital Camera

8. DVD PLAYER

The pits and bumps in the DVD are hit by the laser from the optical
mechanism of the DVD player. This laser will be reflected differently according
to the change of pits and bumps. Though the laser hits a single spot, the DVD
moves in a circular motion so that the entire area is covered. Mirrors are also
used to change the spot. These reflected laser beams are then collected by a
light sensor (example- photo-detector) which converts the different signals into
a binary code. In short, the optical system helps in converting the data from
the DVD into a digital code. The binary signal is then sent to a Digital to
Analog converter which will be setup in the PCB. Thus the corresponding
analog signal of the DVD is obtained. The PCB also has amplifiers which
amplify the signal and then sends it to the graphic and audio systems of the
computer/TV. Thus, the corresponding audio/video signal is obtained.

Embedded Systems A DVD Player Block diagram

9. MICROWAVE OVEN

A microwave oven uses microwaves to heat food. Microwaves are radio waves. In the case

of microwave ovens, the commonly used radio wave frequency is roughly 2,500 megahertz

(2.5 gigahertz In microwave cooking, the radio waves penetrate the food and excite water

and fat molecules pretty much evenly throughout the food. There is no heat having to

migrate toward the interior by conduction. There is heat everywhere all at once because

the molecules are all excited together. There are limits of course. Radio waves penetrate

unevenly in thick pieces of food (they dont make it all the way to the middle), and there are

also hot spots caused by wave interference, but you get the idea. The whole heating

process is different because you are exciting atoms rather than conducting heat. In a

microwave oven, the air in the oven is at room temperature, so there is no way to form a

crust. That is because it heats up foods by microwaves instead of heat conduction.

Block diagram of MICROWAVE OVEN

10 .WASHING MACHINE

Washing machine supports three functional modes:

i) Fully Automatic Mode: In fully automatic mode, once the system is started it performs
independently without user interference and after the completion of work it should notify the user
about the completion of work. This mode instantaneously sense cloth quality and requirement of
water, water temperature, detergent, load, wash cycle time and perform operation accordingly.
ii) Semi-Automatic Mode: In this semiautomatic mode in which washing conditions are predefined.
Once the predefined mode is started the system performs its job and after completion it inform the
user about the completion of work.
iii) Manual Mode: In this mode, user has to specify which operation he wants to do and has to
provide related information to the control system. For example, if user wants to wash clothes only,
he has to choose 'wash' option manually. Then the system asks the user to enter the wash time,
amount of water and the load. After these data are entered, the user should start the machine. When
the specified operation is completed system should inform the user. Remember that Modes should
be a selectable by a keypad. A washing machine may have a System Controller (Brain of the
System) which provides the power control for various monitors and pumps and even controls the
display that tells us how the wash cycles are proceeding. The working of these components is as
follows:
i) Display Panel: It is a touch panel screen to control all the operations of a machine
ii) Sensor: It measures the water level and appropriate amount of soap. Input devices for automatic
washing machine are sensors for water flow, water level and temperature; door switch; selector knob
or buttons for settings such as spin speed, temperature, load size and types of wash cycle required.
iii) Water Level Sensor: It indicates beep sound when water level is low in washing tub. Door Sensor:
It indicates beep sound when all clothes are washed that means now you can open the matching
door and also you can move to your next phase. Next phase will be dry Phase. This phase also
follows same concept for drying the clothes.
iv) Driving Motor: Motor can rotate in two directions either "reverse' or 'forward'. The forward
direction drives the current in forward direction and motor rotates forward. The reverse direction
driver does the opposite of it. A washing machine can maintain single motor in fully automatic or
double motor in semi-automatic washing machine.