21-06-2011, 12:41 PM
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ABSTRACT:
Embedded systems are fast achieving ubiquity, blurring the lines between science fiction and hard reality. These systems are found in almost every electronic device in use today. In fact Embedded Systems is not a new technology, but it has come into limelight only recently due to the convergence of many technologies like telecom, consumer electronics, automobiles (MPFI), factory automation, smart-cards, traffic control using the immense power of the Microprocessor. Embedded Systems have penetrated our lives in such a radical way that most of us may not even notice what lies under the hood of many commonly used gizmos and gadgets. Thus, we should have an idea about how embedded systems plays an important role in our day-to-day life.
In a nutshell, an embedded system is a combination of computer hardware and software and perhaps additional mechanical parts that are designed to perform a specific function. “Embedded” reflects the fact that they are an integral part of the system. Embedded systems are also known as real time systems and have extreme diversity of applications in all walks of life. In fact RTOS and embedded systems are the unsung hero’s of much of the technology we use today.
This paper starts off with the basic definition of an embedded system, explains what an embedded system is, and lists the steps involved in creation of an embedded application & also lists few applications of embedded systems. This paper gives an overview of the “Intelligent Traffic Light Control Using Embedded Systems”, which aids the effective control of traffic.
1. INTRODUCTION:
How would you like to live in a house that recognizes your fingerprints and opens the front door automatically? Imagine a fridge that checks your food supplies and places orders to replenish them; or intelligent lights and air conditioners that adjust their settings automatically according to the light and heat available at various times of the day. What about a microwave oven that can send a message to your PDA saying that the cake you kept to bake is done? And what about a doctor configuring a cardiac pacemaker inside his patient's chest while sitting 200 kms away. Could you ever imagine a person traveling in a driver-less car? Impossible? Not really. All these are possible in the near future. Did you ever think how all these equipment have become so smart and intelligent?
Real Time Operating Systems (RTOS) and embedded systems are two among the latest technologies that play a major role in making these concepts possible. Embedded microprocessors or micro controllers are the brain behind these systems. The application of these controllers makes the equipment user friendly, cheap and enables to add features otherwise impossible to provide by other means.
2. WHAT AN EMBEDDED SYSTEM IS?
General purpose definition of an Embedded system is that they are devices used to control, monitor or assist the operation of equipment, machinery or plant .Any device that includes a programmable computer but is not itself a general-purpose computer is an embedded system. “Embedded” reflects the fact that they are integral part of the system. In simple terms, any device using a Microprocessor for control and automation is an Embedded System.
5. INTELLIGENT TRAFFIC LIGHT CONTROL USING EMBEDDED SYSTEMS:
Growing number of road users and the limited resources provided by current infrastructures lead to ever increasing traveling times. Traffic in a city is very much affected by traffic light controllers. When waiting for a traffic light, the driver looses time and the car uses fuel. To make traffic light controllers more intelligent, we exploit the emergence of novel technologies such as communication networks and sensor networks, as well as the use of more sophisticated algorithms for setting traffic lights. The Intelligent Traffic Control System is formed as a network of embedded systems. Intelligent traffic light control does not only mean that traffic lights are set in order to minimize waiting times of road users, but also that road users receive information about how to drive through a city in order to minimize their waiting times. This means that we are coping with a complex multi-agent system, where communication and coordination play essential roles. The research has led to a novel system in which traffic light controllers and the behavior of car drivers are optimized using machine-learning methods.
