Microcontroller is a small computer on a single chip used in cases where a fully-fledged system and Operating System (OS) is an overkill. It is similar to system on a chip (SoC) but less sophisticated. Microcontrollers are mainly used in automatically controlled devices like home appliances, toys and other embedded systems. Microprocessors on the other hand are a specific type of processors implemented as a single Integrated Circuit (IC) that acts as the brain of a computer, providing control and and executing instructions. Microprocessors are used in general-purpose computing in personal computers and servers.
Components of microcontrollers and microprocessors
a) Microcontroller
Microcontroller hosts every computing unit needed to complete a task. It therefore has in-built processing unit, memory, and ROM. It also provides for peripherals interfaces to timers , sensors and actuators.
b) Microprocessor
Microprocessor is a processor and therefore has Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU), Control Unit (CU) and registers as the main components.
Similarities
| Basis | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Technology | Both uses semiconductor-based integrated circuits. |
| CPU |
Both contains the CPU. Remember modern processors are SoCs bundling many other features together with CPU. |
| Programming | Both are programmable |
| Timing | Both operate based on time signals. |
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Differences
| Basis | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Integration | Microcontroller has CPU, memory modules and IO modules Microprocessor require external memory and peripherals. |
| Application |
Microcontroller used for specific, low power applications like toys and consumer electronics. Microprocessor used for general purpose, high-performance systems like servers and PCs. |
| Performance |
Microcontroller is optimized for efficiency in realtime processing both in memory usage and power consumptions Microcontroller is adapted to computation-heavy systems mostly over 1GHz |
| Scale |
Microcontroller is for small scale processing where usage of microprocessor-based system maybe an overkill and inefficient. Microprocessor is for large scale processing in general-purpose computers. |
| Operational Cost |
Microcontroller has inexpensive hardware and easy to use because of limited functionalities. Microprocessor is expensive and complex hardware, require specialized skills to configure its systems. |
| Example usage |
Microcontrollers-Arduino, STM32, Intel 8051 Microprocessors-Personal Computers, smartphones, Raspberry Pi |
In conclusion, microcontroller is a tiny computing unit adapted to a single task (the brain in embedded systems) while microprocessor is a type of processor on a single chip. In this website, we focus more on microcontrollers as used in data collection, sensing, actuating and edge processing.