What is a microcontroller?
Does the thought of all things electronic cause mind-numbing boredom to overtake you? Or does the thought excite your senses with wonder and intrigue? Your answer here really doesn't matter, because while some noticed, but most did not, microcontrollers have changed the world around us and have even changed the way we accomplish many of life's everyday chores and duties.
Watch your step, lest you bump into a microcontroller!
They are everywhere - in your car's engine system, your office's copy machine, your kitchen's microwave, your TV's remote, even your son's Tickle Me Elmo. Hardly ever seen by most people, these tiny computers are the unsung heroes of modern civilization. But. what exactly are they and where did they come from?
A star is born!
Born in an Intel laboratory in 1975, the original 8048 microcontroller went on to greatness as the "brains" within many a PC keyboard. The design and function has evolved since that time and is now cheaper to manufacture and easier to program. A generation of imaginative engineers have found uses for the microcontroller that would - no doubt - make Thomas Edison proud.
The microcontroller is, in essence, a small computer on a small integrated circuit. It can house both RAM and ROM or flash memory. It has a central processing unit and input/output bits. Most designs offer peripherals such as timers and watchdog. There are close to one hundred different microcontroller designs and vendors. All are sold as complete systems with a processor and memory. The only thing needed is individual software programming (think boxed cake mix - just add water and voila!). An avid tinkerer with a garage workshop can purchase a microcontroller and program it anyway he or she feels led. Although, of course, most are purchased and programmed by the industrial sector and used to mass produce telephones, programmable coffeemakers and clothes dryers, among other things.