System approach to embedded system design

During this research, the concepts of Systems Engineering were applied to embedded system design. The objective was to apply the Systems Engineering methodology to the design of a particular embedded system. A Video Surveillancesystem was chosen as the particular embedded system. Systems Engineering concepts provide the foundation for an optimized design process and for the coordination between system modules. The functionality of the Video Surveillance system was achieved through the partitioning of the overall system functionality into three separate modules. The three modules were Image Capture, Image Processing and Image Transmission. The methodology employed resulted in a system that was flexible and portable. The three modules were designed using their own set of specifications and with completely defined linking interfaces. Following a concrete set of specifications resulted in a system, which can be modified at any later stage without the necessity of changing the whole architecture. The Video Surveillance system fulfilled the overall system requirements as well as those imposed by the subsystems. The partitioning of functionality resulted in ease of implementation and better upgradeability. Design based on Systems Engineering concepts provides for ease of integration. In addition, for modules that follow the same protocol, the existence of well defined interfaces enables connectivity to a variety of external units