Applied Embedded Electronics: Design Essentials for Robust Systems

Critical Resource For Embedded System Hardware And Software Developers
“Applied Embedded Electronics” by Jerry Twomey is an excellent practical introduction to a wide range of hardware topics for embedded systems. It’s a critical resource for anyone working on embedded systems hardware or software. I highly recommend it!It covers dozens of things I’ve run into on schematics and PCB’s and in code over the years working on a variety of systems. Some of those were idle curiosity, “That’s interesting,” and some were critical things that I had to go learn about in order to get my work done.This book is enormously helpful. Even for things I was already familiar with, it provides an additional level of detail.One of the main themes is the non-ideal nature of real hardware, as opposed to the academic ideal treatment in other books. It outlines the various things you need to account for to make things actually work and prevent problems. That starts right away in chapter 1, “Essential Concepts,” where it outlines the actual inductance and capacitance present at various points, and carries through all subsequent chapters.I really like chapter 2, “Architecting the System.” This uses a symbol notation that’s higher level than raw schematics to model functional blocks, making it easy to understand and talk about them. That’s another thing carried through subsequent chapters.Following individual chapters on major subsystems, blocks, and peripherals, chapter 10, “Digital Feedback Control,” provides an excellent summary bringing classical analog control theory into the modern digital realm. It covers PID control and variations using an all-digital pipeline of input sensor, ADC, DCU (Digital Control Unit, which could be MCU software or programmable logic, such as an FPGA, and may include DSP blocks), DAC, and output device.Chapter 11, “Schematic to PCB,” covers a wide range of practical considerations for designing real-world PCB’s.This is definitely a hardware book, not a software book. Chapter 12, “Software and Coding,” briefly covers a number of important practical real-world considerations. Readers interested in detailed software coverage can use Elecia White’s new edition of “Making Embedded Systems” for bare-metal systems, and Brian Amos’ “Hands-On RTOS with Microcontrollers” for RTOS-based systems.Chapter 13, “Special Systems and Applications,” covers the varying requirements and considerations for different industries and markets, including regulatory issues.Chapter 14, “Creating Great Products,” briefly outlines the process for product creation.Each chapter ends with a “Further Reading” list for deeper exploration. These are a great resource for following up the introduction the book provides.

Great Overview
Applied Embedded Electronics bridges the gap between undergrad EE and industry practice. It provides a punch list of engineering considerations for electronic product design, highlighting make-or-break nuances and common “gotchas” that bedevil inexperienced designers. I It is broader than it is deep, while providing references for deeper dives. This book would be useful as a tutorial for novice bench engineers, a reference for engineering managers, and a refresher for engineers whose careers have moved away from the bench.The author, Jerry Twomey, is a seasoned electronic designer, with a breadth of experience across industries. For most of his long career, he has been a troubleshooter for problematic designs, a mentor to less experienced engineers, and a frequent contributor to the trade media, as well as a consummate designer who has brought numerous electronic products from requirements through manufacturing. With this book, he has distilled his decades of practical knowledge into 960 pages of approachable text and diagrams.Applied Embedded Electronics is a must-have for its target audience.[Disclaimer: this reviewer is an undergraduate classmate and long-time friend of the author.]

Useful reference
A comprehensive reference to the “real world” gotchas encountered when building an embedded electronic device. Written for the inexperienced, but useful for everyone, this book is approachable; it was carefully edited to avoid arcane acronyms and obscure jargon. The clear organization, helpful diagrams, and concise writing makes it fast to find clear explanations and gain immediate understanding of common problems and robust solutions.