Microcontrollers, embedded processors, GPIO, ADCs and DACs, timers, interrupts, PWM, and serial communication — UART, I2C, SPI, and CAN — the hardware layer every drive and controller in this program is built on.
Every drive, motion controller, and PLC covered elsewhere in this program is, underneath its industrial packaging, an embedded system: a microcontroller or embedded processor reading sensors, driving actuators, and communicating with the rest of the machine in real time. This module works through that layer directly — GPIO and switch debouncing, ADC and DAC resolution and sample rate, hardware timers, PWM, interrupts versus polling, and the UART, I2C, SPI, and CAN buses that move data between embedded nodes.
The module closes by tying real-time firmware discipline — consistent loop timing, short interrupt service routines, avoiding unbounded operations in time-critical code — directly back to the servo, PLC, and robot control loops this program's other modules build on top of these same peripherals.