History of Microcontrollers

Birth and benefits of a microcontroller
Birth and benefits of a microcontroller

A microcontroller was developed in 1971 by Intel Corporation in the United States.
That is the 4 bit microcontroller called i4004.
It was ordered by a Japanese company BUSICOM for calculators.
Later, the contract was changed and it was sold as a general-purpose microcontroller with success.
After that, Intel Corp. developed a 16 bit microcontroller ‘8086,’ following the 8 bit microcontrollers such as ‘i8008’, ‘i8080A,’ and ‘i8085.’
After developing several microcontrollers, they continue to develop the CPUs used in current personal computers.

Toshiba's original microcontroller
Toshiba's original microcontroller

Toshiba developed a 12 bit microcontroller TLCS-12 in 1973.
At that time, the United States was considering electronic control units as a countermeasure of the exhaust gas regulation law.
Against this background, Toshiba's 12 bit microcontroller was developed as Ford's in-vehicle engine controller.
After that, Toshiba developed a wide range of high-level microcontrollers from 4 bit to 32 bit or higher.

Chapter 2 History and Five Elements of Microcontrollers

History of Microcontrollers: Large Scale Integrated Circuits and Microcontrollers
5 Elements of Microcontrollers
CPU (Calculation, Control)
Memory (Storage)
Memory Type (RAM & ROM)
I/O (Input, Output)
Bus Line
Bus Line Type
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