Design and architecture of embedded controller-iCON

The uses of embedded systems are virtually limitless, because every day new products are introduced to the market that utilizes embedded systems in novel ways. In recent years, hardware such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, and FPGA chips have become much cheaper. So when implementing a new form of control, it´s wiser to just buy the generic chip and write your own custom software for it. Producing a custom-made chip to handle a particular task or set of tasks costs far more time and money. The controls for critical systems are performed by dedicated system controllers. Rather than bringing back information from several sensors to a central control computer, critical computations and control decisions are made by dedicated microprocessor-based digital controllers. This paper describes an embedded controller iCON with its specific characteristics which makes it pioneer in control and automation processes in terms of the salient features and tops the above with respect to cost-effectiveness. Its compact and modular design is suitable for industrial and automation process. The salient feature is its versatile redundancy mechanism, hence reliable compared to other controllers in automation.