Introduction to Embedded Systems

An introduction to the engineering principles of embedded systems, with a focus on modeling, design, and analysis of cyber-physical systems.

The most visible use of computers and software is processing information for human consumption. The vast majority of computers in use, however, are much less visible. They run the engine, brakes, seatbelts, airbag, and audio system in your car. They digitally encode your voice and construct a radio signal to send it from your cell phone to a base station. They command robots on a factory floor, power generation in a power plant, processes in a chemical plant, and traffic lights in a city. These less visible computers are called embedded systems, and the software they run is called embedded software. The principal challenges in designing and analyzing embedded systems stem from their interaction with physical processes. This book takes a cyber-physical approach to embedded systems, introducing the engineering concepts underlying embedded systems as a technology and as a subject of study. The focus is on modeling, design, and analysis of cyber-physical systems, which integrate computation, networking, and physical processes.

The second edition offers two new chapters, several new exercises, and other improvements. The book can be used as a textbook at the advanced undergraduate or introductory graduate level and as a professional reference for practicing engineers and computer scientists. Readers should have some familiarity with machine structures, computer programming, basic discrete mathematics and algorithms, and signals and systems.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction

I Modeling Dynamic Behaviors

2 Continuous Dynamics

3 Discrete Dynamics

4 Hybrid Systems

5 Composition of State Machines

6 Concurrent Models of Computation

II Design of Embedded Systems

7 Sensors and Actuators

8 Embedded Processors

9 Memory Architectures

10 Input and Output

11 Multitasking

12 Scheduling

III Analysis and Verification

13 Invariants and Temporal Logic

14 Equivalence and Refinement

15 Reachability Analysis and Model Checking

16 Quantitative Analysis

17 Security and Privacy

IV Appendices

A Sets and Functions

B Complexity and Computability

About the Authors

Edward Ashford Lee is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught and researched digital technology and computer science for more than thirty years. He was born and grew up in Puerto Rico and studied at Yale, MIT, and Berkeley. He has coauthored several textbooks on topics including digital communication, signal processing, embedded systems, and software modeling. This is his first book for a general audience.

Sanjit A. Seshia is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.