How embedded systems work: the hidden computers in everyday things, and how engineers build them
What is a microcontroller? A whole computer on one chip
The computer inside a microwave or a car key is smaller than your fingernail, and some cost only a few cents. It follows a program all the same, with everything it needs packed on that one small chip.
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On the small board of the flap, Rono points at one black chip, smaller than your fingernail. That chip is the whole computer.
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In your laptop, the three main parts are separate: a processor that follows the steps of a program, a memory for the work in progress, and a storage that keeps the programs.
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The chip of the flap holds the same three parts in one small package. Its short legs are pins, which connect it to the outside.
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A chip like this is called a microcontroller, or MCU for short. Most embedded systems have one at their heart.
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A microcontroller is slow next to your laptop, but its one job needs little. It needs no fan, it can run on batteries, and the cheapest ones cost only a few cents.
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Still, the chip only sits on its board. It has no eyes and no hands, only its pins.
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Quick check
A speaker with three chips.
Show the answer
No. A microcontroller holds the processor, the memory and the storage in one chip. This processor needs other chips for its memory and its storage.
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Go further
Two cousins of the chip, and what it is made of.