Embedded systems are not just involved projects in electronic laboratories--they are gift in daily devices. Every mobile device, galvanic toy or kitchen appliance has some electronic board which normally includes a programmable device--microcontroller. This is a extra microprocessor with peripheral devices and I/O ports. Depending on the volume of the gismo the builder can determine either to originate an Asic--a dedicated integrated circuit which performs all functions for this gismo or to make a proper board with various components. In both cases some microcontroller is used, either as a soft core in Asic or a proper integrated circuit.
There is a plethora of choices from open-source projects to various Ip cores with requisite royalties for each device. Despite this selection there are few microcontroller families that are beloved because of their flexibility, suited amelioration tools or because of historical reasons.
Arm
This is currently the hottest Risc core used in practically all mobile phones, transportable devices and many other applications. It has suited education set, low consumption, offers easy integration and there are many good amelioration tools for easy amelioration and debugging. The Arm core is also used in many beloved microcontroller families from Atmel, Luminary Micro (now Texas Instruments), Nxp and many other manufacturers. These microcontrollers are very beloved among embedded engineers and are used in various applications from automotive manufactures to hobby projects.
Avr
This is one of the most beloved microcontroller families from Atmel. It is also very beloved among hobby engineers and it is used in many projects from uncomplicated Led controllers to involved communication devices. The Risc architecture offers fast carrying out and low power consumption. amelioration tools are ready for free which is a great bonus for electronics enthusiasts. Avr is a direct competitor to Microchip's Pic. Some favor Avr, others like Avr. There is no clear winner. Both families work well. It is up to the developer/programmer what he like or prefers.
Pic
This is a prominent microcontroller house from Microchip. Pics are ready in very small packages with only few pins and also as suited 32-bit microcontrollers with many peripheral modules and I/O pins. They are very beloved among hobby engineers--in hobby projects you will find either Avr or Pic.
8051
This is a very old 8-bit microcontroller architecture that has managed to survive for more than 30 years. Many exquisite compilers, a lot of code examples and uncomplicated amelioration has contributed to the popularity of this family. This core is still used in many modern microcontrollers from Silabs, Nxp, Atmel and many other microcontroller manufacturers. It is very likely that the 8051 is the most widely used core in embedded applications. Of course, many new designs will probably use Arm or some other advanced architecture, but because of popularity of the 8051 house in the past and availability of amelioration tools it is still used in many applications.
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