Challenges for critical embedded systems

Over the past decade, the area of embedded systems has begun to emerge as a discipline in its own right. The scope of research has expanded from the problem of programming small, resource-constrained, embedded electronic devices, to span development of a new generation of complex, distributed, real-time systems. This is driven by increases in the technological capability of information platforms. It is reasonable to predict that future engineered systems of all kinds will depend upon information technology to achieve highly information- and computation-enabled functionality and performance. The discipline of embedded systems, then, must be broadened to comprise the full range of IT for embedded sensing, computation, and system control services that will interact with, and regulate, the behavior of physical and engineered systems, many of which are life- or safety-critical.