Saturday, Jul 17, 2010
Conference will pave way for merger of ideas


Coimbatore: Embedded systems is one area which has gained a lot of utility and attention, said K. Karunakaran, Vice-Chancellor, Anna University-Coimbatore, here on Wednesday. He inaugurated the ‘International Conference on Embedded Systems' at the Coimbatore Institute of Technology, which is conducting the three-day event in association with the Oklahoma State University, U.S.

Embedded systems were controlled by one or more main processing cores that were typically either microcontrollers or digital signal processors.

Air traffic control system was a good example. They were considered embedded, as they involved mainframe computers and dedicated regional and national networks between airports and radar sites.

The systems, however, differed from the general purpose computers in the sense that they were designed to perform a specific task, and not multiple tasks.

Mr. Karunakaran said embedded systems were not always standalone devices. The Gibson Robot Guitar, for example, featured an embedded system for turning the strings.

Similarly, an embedded system in an automobile provided specific function as a subsystem to the car itself.

Smart systems were miniaturised devices that incorporated functions of sensing, actuation and control. A lot of smart systems had evolved from microsystems. They combined technologies and components from microsystems with knowledge, technology and functionality from other disciplines like biology, chemistry, nano science and cognitive sciences.

The usage of the term smart systems integration in the industrial context, reflected the industrial requirement and particular challenge of integrating different technologies, component sizes and materials into one system.

S.R.K. Prasad, Correspondent, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, said the conference would pave way for merger of ideas and transfer of knowledge and experience. Keith A. Teague, Professor and Head, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oklahoma State University, R. Ramakumar, Director of Engineering Energy Lab, Oklahoma State University, and others participated.