New Centre of Embedded Systems at KTH
Four of KTH´s Schools are involved in building a new centre for research in Embedded Systems. This is a joint effort with Swedish industry, and it will address areas such as electronic hardware, computer science, control systems and autonomous systems.
Practically every “microelectronic” and “microprocessor” item is in fact incorporated in these so-called embedded systems. Note that these are usually not regarded as complete computers. An interesting exercise might be to count the number of microprocessors in your own home environment. This may often have a number of PCs, but a lot more of the microprocessors are found everywhere – in cars, microwave ovens, stoves and ovens, refrigerators and freezers, radios, heating and ventilation installations, stereo equipment, mobile cell phones, TV sets and video and DVD players.
As embedded systems are closely integrated with and into certain products, they are different from ordinary computers. Embedded system components are mostly expected to be much more reliable and durable. Their output is usually more limited (as regards memory and performance) – this is because they have to be small and robust, consume little energy, and also represent only a minor part of the total
cost of the product.
Electronics and software in embedded systems open up for entirely new products; they could also result in drastically improved performance and characteristics of older designs. An example of this is automated sewing machines. These could be logged on to the Web, to produce the latest fashion designs! Other areas are better internal combustion engines, active safety systems in vehicles, and small hand-held communicators that will handle both e-mail and TV channels.
Embedded systems are also, more and more, becoming “distributed systems”, being connected with various networks. The future is offering some fantastic prospects for this kind of equipment – with practical applications in everything from medical technology to kitchen machinery.
– This enormous span of applications and possibilities is reflected in the research here at KTH, too, says Martin Törngren, Professor of Embedded Control Systems. No wonder these ideas have spread to a number of our departments! Here we see how much we could gain by creating project teams together with traditional engineering branches. The result of all this will be improvements everywhere, in teaching, in our research, in our joint efforts with industry.
And yet, today, Man himself constitutes a challenge to this new era – his ability to design systems that are still both cost-effective and reliable while becoming, at the same time, constantly, more and more complex. Embedded systems will affect the entire life cycle of a lot of products, and therefore also society at large.
Olle Blomqvist