Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Word of the Day: microcontroller

 
Word of the Day & Pop Quiz WhatIs.com
Daily updates on the latest technology terms | August 19, 2020

microcontroller

A microcontroller is a self-contained integrated circuit (IC) that is designed to carry out a single operation in an embedded system. At its simplest, a microcontroller is composed of a processor, memory and input/output (I/O) peripheral ports on a single chip.

Although microcontrollers can't perform the same functions as standard processors, their low cost and minimal power usage make them a cost-effective option for adding computer-like capabilities to just about anything. Today, microcontrollers can be found in a wide variety of remote-controlled devices in the consumer market space. They also play an important role in the expanding Internet of Things (IoT), helping to govern "things" at the network's edge, such as printers, kitchen appliances, televisions, home lighting systems and automobiles.

 

The terms microcontrollers and microprocessors are often confused. Here's a simple way to remember the difference -- if a chip has a central processing unit (CPU), but has to connect to memory and I/O ports externally, it's called a microprocessor. If the same chip has memory, storage and programmable I/O peripheral ports built-in, it is called a microcontroller. Continue reading about microcontrollers...


Take todays Pop Quiz!

Answer key below

 

1. What do you call a software program that manages the flow of data between two IoT components?

a. controller

b. facilitator

Answer

 

What type of television set will have an internet-connected microcontroller embedded in it?

a. direct view

b. smart

Answer

 

3. Microcontrollers provide RT responses to events in the embedded system they are controlling.  In this context, what does RT stand for?

a. real time

b. reduced transfer

Answer

 

4. What type of distributed IT architecture processes client data at the periphery of the network, as close to the originating source as possible?

Answer

 

5. The Internet of Things is composed of physical objects that have been assigned UIDs. What does UID stand for?

a. universal identifier

b. unique identifier

Answer

Today's Takeaway

 

"The IoT is a market that grows naturally as and when it is right for it to do so, to deliver planned results. And the need for guaranteed outcomes has never been more acute than now...The mass use of microcontroller unit-based, low-power wide-area sensors can help us make a safer world, where we can quickly respond to threats." -- Jamie Moss

Watch and Learn

 

 

The Internet of Things is all around us. Watch this short video to learn what the IoT is and how it impacts both your personal and professional lives.

 

Additional Learning Resources

 

3 OTA architectures for IoT devices
Organizations must pick the right over the air update architecture to ensure IoT devices receive the latest changes more efficiently.

 

Embedded hypervisor use cases and benefits explained
Learn why there are several notable reasons to consider including an embedded hypervisor to virtualize an embedded system.

IoT device management eases deployment and monitoring
IT pros need a way to simplify the deployment and maintenance of the increasing number of IoT devices organizations use, and IoT device managers can do just that.

Get to know cloud IoT services on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
Use this rundown of IoT offerings from AWS, Microsoft and Google to help decide which best suits your needs for collecting, processing and analyzing device data in the cloud.

Pop Quiz Answer Key

 

Stay in Touch

 

Thank you for reading! For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition (or learning resource) please contact me at mrouse@techtarget.com

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