Are Embedded Systems a part of IoT?

The embedded system without OS is an application that is pretty simple and has a very small task to perform. With the use of a simple microcontroller and peripheral devices an embedded system application can be built without the OS. But the thing is these types of applications can perform only a single task. 

On the other hand, an embedded system application with an OS is perfect for multitasking. In these devices, strong microprocessors are used along with peripheral devices. The OS that is used is known as EOS or Embedded Operating System, for example, Android, Linux, etc. For systems that have the utility of higher time constraints, additional features are to be used and are hence known as Real-Time Operating System (RTOS).

With this one can understand what an embedded system means now it is time to analyze how the embedded system technology works. The system requires three major components. The programming language, the microprocessor or microcontrollers, and the hardware. There are three programming languages – assembly language, C, C++, and then based on the OS or non-OS application the microprocessor or the controller is selected. Once done the hardware is then prepared. For several projects, the developers use common hardware that supports cross-compiler to build the prototype before working on the guest hardware. 

Now coming to the IoT applications it comprises several components including IoT devices and gateways that are themselves embedded systems. The other components of IoT include the utilization of data or the internet. This is the difference between the applications that comprise only embedded systems and the IoT system applications. Based on the technology it can be said that IoT devices are embedded system applications without OS and the IoT gateways are Embedded systems with OS. So from this, it is clear that Embedded systems are a part of IoT and are used as a building component for several devices. 

Let’s discuss some real-time embedded system to understand more about the technology:

Embedded systems for traffic:

” Embedded systems are used for traffic lights. The main moto of these devices is to sense the density of the traffic on each road and adjust the signal automatically to avoid any congestion.

” Another type of device is used to sense the speed limit of each car. For every place a speed limit is provided, now the work of these limit checkers is to find if the car is running below the mentioned speed limit to avoid an accident.

” This type of technology is used nowadays to conserve energy on the road. That is on a high road when a car is driving the street lights ahead get switched on and get immediately off after the vehicle passes. By this, a lot of energy can be saved with the proper utilization of the energy.

” It can also be used as a safety device for a vehicle. An application will be developed in such a way that it will use the GPS location to keep a track of the vehicle so that the car can be traced against theft. 

Embedded system for home automation – a remote control home automation device can be made that will work on android smartphones or tablets. With the use of IoT and embedded systems, a GUI is created from which the user can control and command different functions all across the home. 

Temperature control system using embedded – An entire system is built for the industry to control the temperature of any device or circuit that is a part of the industry. Several other devices are found in our day-to-day life that uses both IoT and embedded system technology to perform any task.