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How embedded systems work: the hidden computers in everyday things, and how engineers build them

A cat flap that lets in one cat and keeps out the cat next door has a whole computer inside, smaller than your fingernail. Your kitchen and your car hide many more. See how these embedded systems work: the microcontroller, sensors and actuators, firmware, sleep mode and real time. Then build a new flap the way engineers do, from the first list of needs to an update that reaches ten thousand homes overnight, and see the rules for devices that hold a life.