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Internet And Web Technologies Are Completely Changing The Rules For Designing Embedded Systems.
With the explosion of technology and information associated with the Internet, designers are looking for innovative ways to tap into customer interest. Internet appliancesa category of small, focused computing and communications devices-offer the opportunity to create entirely new products and markets that leverage digital communications. They also are turning traditional design methodologies on their heads, as vendors create imaginative new designs with unusual combinations of technologies.
Yet just what an Internet appliance is can be hard to describe, in large part because a well-defined product category simply doesn't exist. Today, many digital cellular telephones are offering some Internet access and web-enabled television. Automobiles with web access, and even web microwave ovens are starting to see the light of day. Home networks are being planned to run climate control, entertainment, cooking, and even cleaning from intelligent devices using Internet communications.
But an Internet appliance does not have to be a household or consumer device. Many network-infrastructure devices now come with web-enabled interfaces. Data-acquisition and control equipment are increasingly replacing old proprietary protocols with Internet access. Internet communications is radically changing traditional notions of connectivity and data transfer.
Still, it's not as easy as picking an existing electronics device and tacking Internet software onto it. The hardware and software of Internet communications are fairly standardized, and relatively easy to understand and use. Alternatives and combinations are numerous, and designing an Internet appliance is a minefield in which the difference between success and failure can be small. Engineers not only have to understand the technology behind Internet devices, they also have to have an intuitive feel for their market and for how customers will use their designs.
One key issue that drives all of the other decisions is the size and power of Internet appliances. Because networking requires processing power, most vendors are concentrating on 32-bit processors and megabytes of memory. For devices such as cellular telephones and set-top boxes, this level of power makes sense.
But at least one vendor claims that a 32-bit solution is not only unnecessary, but also limiting in the devices that might benefit from Internet connectivity. "No one will put a 32-bit processor into a thermostat, for...