What is a Embedded Sytem? It is a Linux? Learn all about it!

Embedded System, after all, what is it? Do I have it at home or do I already use some system? Is it Linux? Learn all about it!

    Today we are going to talk about embedded systems or, in technical terms, Embedded Systems! These are the famous systems in which Hardware and Software are dedicated, and one cannot be separated from the other because there is no way for them to function with options other than those designed! 

    They are also systems that execute specific tasks within a set that can be even larger than the embedded system itself, being an integral part of another larger system! 

    The most famous Embedded Systems we can mention for a better understanding are the so-called ECUs that make up all modern cars! 

    ECUs are the brains of cars, and many confuse them with a "simple electronic fuel injection control," but they aren't; they control much more than the engine, bringing together ABS brake control, airbags, sound systems, integration with other electronic control units, and much more! 

    The operating system that runs inside an ECU is not Windows or Mac, but a proprietary system specially designed for it; it can be based on Linux because it is an open-source operating system and can therefore be modified for any other hardware more appropriately! 

    These are called Embedded Linux! Windows cannot be used by the industry for this purpose because it is a proprietary operating system owned by Microsoft and cannot be altered or customized by any other company! 

    That's why they use Linux in embedded systems, as it is the only system that can be easily adapted for any purpose and hardware, without the need to pay royalties to other proprietary companies, since Linux is 100% free open-source! 

    So your car is controlled by a Linux system, and you didn't even know it! Yes, and not just your car, but your motorcycle. And any means of transportation—buses, airplanes, tractors, etc.—that have modern electronic control almost always run Linux! 

    Another example of an embedded system is household appliances such as a microwave oven or a refrigerator that features a Smart Controller! Medical systems such as diagnostic and measurement devices also use embedded systems and likely run Linux! 

    We can therefore consider Smart TVs, TV Boxes, and cellular Smartphones as Embedded Systems too, because they are devices that need to have specific functions, where their software (Android, which is also Linux) needs to be present and modified according to the needs of each device!

     You cannot change the operating system of these devices because they would no longer work! Even being Linux, Android cannot be replaced on these devices by Kubuntu, Mint, Zorin OS, or any other Linux Distro used, for example, on any common X64 computer! 

    That's why every Smart device today, which is theoretically considered an Embedded system, runs Linux systems! We have no way to replace Android with Windows 11! 

    A television, a TV Box, or your cellular Smartphone could not function the same way with Windows 11! It needs Android, and in this case, it cannot be replaced even by another common Linux that we use on computers, as we already mentioned!

     Embedded Systems need their own Software and Operating System already developed and modified/adapted for them! It is not the end-user who chooses the operating system they want, as they can do with their computer today (Linux, Windows, or macOS)! 

    So you already have and use many Embedded systems in your life every single day, and without knowing it, you already use Linux every day indirectly too! 

    You don't know Linux is there, but it is! Totally different from a computer, which requires a keyboard, mouse, and monitor for us to see and interact with the system, the Embedded System runs on its own without user interaction, in the case of Home Appliances/Vehicles and Aircraft! 

    As for medical systems, there is a small amount of interaction with built-in displays and keypads for the user to handle and command small, customized operations and controls! In the case of Smart devices—Smartphone, Smart TV, and TV Box—that run Android, the user can still use a touch screen, keyboard, mouse, or remote control to interact with the system!

      Although in the case of Smart Systems we have applications similar to those we use on computers, they are still different and only run on the Android system! While we cannot run a game or application on a car ECU, but we can on a Smartphone, under the concept of being dedicated hardware running Android, both are considered Embedded Systems; we cannot change their operating systems, and the end-user has no right of choice over this—it is the manufacturer and product engineering that define how it will be and which version of the system it will be!

     The Android that runs on one brand of Smartphone is not the same as the one that runs on another! Many manufacturers customize their device's Android in such a way that it is quite different from "pure Android," making the system even more embedded!