Applied Embedded Electronics: Design Essentials for Robust Systems

"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.

I’ve been searching for a book like this for a long time!I’m a Mechatronics Engineer and have been working for almost 15 years with embedded systems design for medical equipment, especially hardware design. This book brings so much stuff that I deal with daily, and it is good to see I’m on the right track. Nonetheless, I learned a lot of new concepts and had many insights while reading it.The text is very well written and easy to understand. The author does not go deep into formulas and mathematics, it is a more practical and industry oriented approach, which I like. That’s not to say the book simplifies things – on the contrary, since the first chapter, the author debunks simplifications we had in academia and showcases real world problems hardware designers must face and solve, beginning with the simplest components such as resistors and capacitors, and building up to PCB design, EMC and signal integrity. There are also some interesting topics such as control, software, certification, and product design, that are very important in embedded systems, although not strictly related to electronics. I loved how broad the book is, covering many essential disciplines.At the end of each chapter, there are plenty of references if you want to examine the topics further.I recommend this book to anyone interested in working professionally with embedded hardware design. I wish I had that available when I was starting, as it would have saved me from a lot of trouble! However, It won’t teach everything from scratch – it assumes you have basic electronics and embedded systems knowledge.

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.]

"Applied Embedded Electronics" by Jerry Twomey is a practical and user-friendly guide for anyone interested in delving into the world of embedded systems. Twomey's emphasis on real-world applications and hardware design, coupled with clear illustrations, makes complex topics accessible to a broad audience. The book's straightforward approach and coverage of essential concepts, from digital signals to power consumption optimization, make it an excellent resource for those with a basic understanding of electronics. Overall, a valuable reference text for anyone venturing into embedded systems design.

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.