Evolution of the Hardware

The first embedded systems appeared in the 1960s. These were specialized computers designed for specific tasks. The hardware was large and expensive. In the 1970s, a breakthrough occurred with the invention of microprocessors such as the Intel 4004, which enabled the creation of smaller, cheaper, and more versatile embedded systems.

In the 1990s, the development of processors went in two directions:

• General-purpose processors like Intel 86 and AMD, based on the CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) architecture.
• Specialized microcontrollers, mostly based on the RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) architecture. Different families of microcontrollers vary in performance, complexity, and energy requirements.

Microcontrollers are characterized by the presence of all elements (processor, memory, and peripherals) on a single chip. This allowed for the creation of more complex and functional devices at lower costs. New elements appeared depending on the family. In ARM processors, integrated components can include graphics cards, positioning modules (GPS), communication modules (WiFi, LTE/5G, Bluetooth). These elements are not integrated into AVR processors.