Micro-Controllers: An Overview

With the advent of low-cost processors and accessories, the ability to do control digitally has become increasingly feasible; this has led to a dramatic change in the way controllers are designed, tested, and implemented. Moreover, these digital controllers are usually more robust and easier to design than their analog counterparts. A micro-controller (MC) is the processor that is used to do the digital control. Specially designed MC’s often include built-in peripherals (such as memory, analog ↔ digital convertors, and timers) to deal with the practicalities of doing MC design. A controller is a program written on the MC that does the control. The controller must be able to read information from the outside world, process the information, and output a control signal based on the information. Digital controller design has a unique set of constraints which must be met. The controller must be: