Selection Criteria of a

Microcontroller
By
Mikhail Bhagwan Advani
Roll No. 3573
Exam Seat No. T8398541
Third Year Engineering,
Department of Information Technology
Contents
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MICROCONTROLLER ARCHITECTURE
 FEATURES & COMPONENTS OF A MICROCONTROLLER
 APPLICATIONS OF A MICROCONTROLLER
 REQUIREMENTS FOR OUR PROJECT
 CONCLUSION
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abstract
This seminar is to define guidelines on how to select a microcontroller
for different purposes with respect to the features provided by it. A
microcontroller can have several sub-units and can be interfaced to
different peripheral devices via different protocols. This seminar aims
to compare these various features of various microcontrollers viz. Intel
8051, PIC16F877A, ARM2294 and ATMEGA8 and come to a
conclusion which defines the most suitable microcontroller for the
implementation of our project.
Introduction
The aim of this seminar is to select a microcontroller to implement a
project in embedded systems where an alternative input mechanism to
the computer will be provided especially for handicapped users.

The alternative system is one where voice input would be considered

for text and head movements will be used for cursor control. Head
movements would be mapped to the computer using an accelerometer
mounted on the head of the user interfaced with a microcontroller
which in turn would communicate with the computer.
Introduction
The mentioned implementation requires the application of embedded
systems using microcontrollers interfaced with peripheral devices such
as an accelerometer.

Embedded systems are multiple capability systems encapsulated into

one single system. The best example for an embedded system is a
microcontroller.
Introduction
 Embedded systems are generally of two types:
 Computational System
 Control System

Inputs Microcontroller Outputs

(µC)

Embedded Computational System

Inputs Microcontroller Outputs

(µC)

Embedded Control System

Microcontroller Architecture
RAM Flash EEPROM

Clock
I/O

Core
Reset

Power Timers

Comm Analog
Features & Components of a
Microcontroller
Physical Packing
Operating Conditions
Ports
Operating Frequency
Timers
Watch Dog Timer
Flash Memory
Peripherals
ADC
DAC
USART
PWM
Language support
Developer studio & simulation software
Applications of a Microcontroller
Calculators
Automated dispensing machines
Robotics
Security solutions
Experimental embedded systems
Handheld computers
Vehicles
Air-conditioning units
Requirements for our project
Gesture controlled cursor movements
Speech-to-text conversion
Vibrator pad for the blind (future scope)
Requirements for our project
 ADC – For accelerometer signal to microcontroller
 Serial Interface Output – To instruct microcontroller
from computer
 Serial Interface Input – To accept instructions for
microcontroller to maneuver cursor
 GPIO pins – To activate/deactivate vibrators
 Cascading enabled – In the case of insufficient pins
Conclusion
 Thus, the best choice of microcontroller to be implemented in our
project is the Atmel ATMEGA8L microcontroller due to the ease of
coding using mikroC, easily available development board and USB
programmer and the price of the ATMEGA8L is affordable too.
Bibliography
Grading a Microcontroller: A
travelling salesman problem
application, Nitesh Goyal, Tata
Consultancy Services Ltd, India,
5B-80, TCS, Yantra Park, Thane,
Maharashtra, India
Modeling and Formal
Verification of a Commercial
Microcontroller for Embedded
System Applications, Subhashini
Balakrishan and Sofihe Tahar,
Concordia University, ECE Dept.,
Montreal, Quebec, H3H 1M8
Canada
 
http://www.intel.com – Datasheet of 8051
 
http://www.atmel.com – Datasheet of
ATMEGA8L
http://www.microchip.com – Datasheet of
PIC16F877A
http://www.nxp.com – Datasheet of
LPC2294
 
Embedded Systems Development by
Andy Mehta, November 2009
 
http://www.google.com
 
http://en.wikipedia.org