Discuss the social impacts and ethical considerations associated with the use of embedded systems
Compare a centrally controlled system with a distributed system.
Outline the role of autonomous agents acting within a larger system.
An embedded system is some combination of computer hardware and software, either fixed in capability or programmable, that is designed for a specific function or for specific functions within a larger system.
"Embedded systems are designed to do some specific task, rather than be a general-purpose computer for multiple tasks. Some also have real-time performance constraints that must be met, for reasons such as safety and usability; others may have low or no performance requirements, allowing the system hardware to be simplified to reduce costs."[4]
"Embedded systems are commonly found in consumer, cooking, industrial, automotive, medical, commercial and military applications. Telecommunications systems employ numerous embedded systems from telephone switches for the network to cell phones at the end user. Computer networking uses dedicated routers and network bridges to route data."[4]
Reliability - Reliability is the probability of success or the probability that the system will perform its intended function under specified design limits
Integrity - (In relation to data) Data integrity is the assurance of the accuracy and consistency of, data over its entire life-cycle, and is a critical aspect to the design, implementation and usage of any system which stores, processes, or retrieves data.
Security - Computer security, also known as cyber security or IT security, is the protection of computer systems from the theft or damage to their hardware, software or information, as well as from disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.
Privacy - A term often used to describe an individual's anonymity and how safe they feel in a location. It may also refer to the techniques and technologies used to protect sensitive and private data, communications, and preferences.
Automotive (Electric cars e.g. TESLA)
CCTV and/or digital cameras (e.g. on phones)
Robots (e.g. M. Zuckerberg's Jarvis)
Electronic Vending Machines
Assistive technologies in the medical field (e.g. surgical robots)
Inmate Tracking System
Centralized system: in centralized system, computing is done at a central location, using terminals that are attached to a central computer. The computer itself may control all the peripherals directly (if they are physically connected to the central computer), or they may be attached via a terminal.
Characteristics of centralized system
Non autonomous components
usually homogeneous technology
Multiple users share the same resources at all time
single point of control
single point of failure
Distributed - a control system wherein control elements are distributed throughout the system. The physical and logical components of your system are spread across a variety of operational and physical areas.
Autonomous components
Mostly built using heterogeneous technology
System components may be used exclusively
Concurrent processes exist
Multiple point of failure
Scalability - possibility of adding new hosts
Extensibility - easily extended and modified
Heterogeneity - supports various H/W S/w platforms
Resource sharing - H/w, S/w and data
High fault tolerance - ability to function correctly even if faults occur
Security is a big challenge in a distributed environment, especially when using public networks.
Fault tolerance could be tough when the distributed model is built based on unreliable components.
Coordination and resource sharing can be difficult if proper protocols or policies are not in place.
Process knowledge should be put in place for the administrators and users of the distributed model.
Agents activate alone for a task and are not invoked for a task;
Agents can select the task themselves (based on priorities or goal-directed search) without human intervention;
Agent senses the environment in which it is, and decides what to do reacting on its perceptions;
Agents can interact with other agents through communication, in different modes: coordination, cooperation, competition;
The code describing an agent runs continuously like a process, and is not executed on demand;