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These two words are very commonly used nowadays.

• Since embedded systems are widely used nowadays for almost every field of life, like medicine, offices, schools, homes, etc.

Augmented reality, in simple words, enhances the user experience in consuming videos, photos, etc.

While virtual reality completely replaces the actual real work, with a completely new environment.

• We can say that augmented reality is a lite version of virtual reality.

Now I will give two examples of each of the above

Suppose I am using a mobile phone and watching an image of some product on Amazon or Lenskart.com

• Now, if I want to try some spectacles virtually, the software will artificially place them on my face in a video.
• The same goes for if I want to buy a sofa set. Then it will be placed in my room virtually via video.

This is called augmented reality.

Now, suppose I want to watch a high-tech movie like Avatar, then in a virtual reality headset, it will be created, and everything in the real world will be replaced by it. Or if I want a simulation that I am on a beach in Miami. The virtual headset will also replace everything in my home with a completely new environment.

In short, virtual reality can simulate real-world things to anything virtually.

A board that is used to interconnect electrical components in a meaningful manner is called a breadboard.

A breadboard is not a hardwired board. It is a solderless board.

• It is different from a perforated board in the sense that it does not require soldering as a perf-board.

It has two types of sections.

• Rows: Generally used for power supply connection. This entire row is shortened horizontally. They are also called rails.
• Columns: It is used for connecting components like resistors, capacitors, inductors, LEDs, etc. Each point on a particular column is shortened, and they are called terminals.

Major advantages of breadboard

• High design modification:

The opposite of the PCB, that has a more rigid design and can not be modified easily. Breadboards are very easy to modify, as you just have to pull one component and insert the other one into the breadboard.

• Cheap:

As the design is reusable. It can be used for unlimited times to modify and redesign new circuits.

• No heavy investment required:

If you want to make some basic circuits. You just have to buy a breadboard, components, wires, power supply, etc., and you are good to go, unlike PCB manufacturing, which requires complex and expensive machinery.

Major Disadvantages of Breadboard

• It doesn’t have too many disadvantages when we see the investment vs usefulness/ learning part. But when we want to make complex circuits with hundreds of components or more, then it is required to use PCB manufacturing.

The following are the advantages and disadvantages of printed circuit boards.

Advantages

• Compact size

Because of technological advances, VLSI (Very Large-Scale Integration), GSI (Giga Scale Integration), and ULSI (Ultra Large-Scale Integration), lakhs and crores of components can be put into one single IC, which can be used on a PCB.

• Lightweight

Materials used for PCBs are very lightweight, and even the weight of components is very low. When you use SMD (Surface Mounting devices), this weight goes even lower.

• Cost-effective

In the mass production of a PCB, it becomes super cheap and affordable

Disadvantage

• Repairing the problem

PCB cannot be repaired to the root level because of the complexity involved. You can use new components to change older ones, but deep troubleshooting is very difficult, and not everyone can do that. It requires a high level of expertise.

• The initial machinery cost is high

The cost of PCB manufacturing machines is very high, so the initial cost is very high.

• Low modification possibilities

PCB designs are very rigid and have very little possibility of modification as such. On the other hand, if you have made something on a breadboard, you can modify the design very easily.

Everyone must have seen a green (mostly) board with copper tracks on it and components soldered to the board.

It is a fixed circuit connection board that is used to make electronic circuits more viable. If the circuit is basic, then the testing circuit can be on a zero PCB/breadboard. Then, a fixed circuit can be made on a successful trial.

The base layer of a PCB is an insulating layer on which copper conducting paths are laid. PCB can be made one layer on another, which is called a multi-layer PCB. The material of this layer is generally a FR-4, fiberglass/ epoxy composite.

Electrical components are connected through these conducting paths. The soldering technique is used to fix the electrical components on the board. In which solder (tin+lead) alloy is melted and fixed to the leads of components and copper track.

Multilayer PCB has a bias (holes) drilled through which one layer connects to the other.

Two popular types of components are used to manufacture PCBs

• Through hole
• SMD (Surface Mounting Devices)

Through-hole components have leads/ legs that pass through the PCB, and soldering is done on the other and on other.

SMD components are mounted on the same surface and are generally very small as compared to normal through-hole components.

Solder mask is a non-conductive layer that gives PCBs their green color. It is used as an insulating layer that is applied to the PCB.

Silkscreen is a layer that is used for labeling or printing some message on PCB, like component name, symbol, numbering, website name, brand name, etc.

Examples of a few components used in PCB manufacturing are as follows.

• Resistor
• Capacitor
• Inductor
• Diode
• Transistor
• IC (Integrated Circuits) etc.

Today, electronics are present everywhere, from the underwater sea to space. It is because of the intelligent performance of the electronic device, which was previously controlled by software in the processor chip.

Nowadays, it is controlled by artificial intelligence.

Electronic devices for healthcare can be categorized into the following major categories

• Diagnostic devices

These devices are used to find out the actual problems in the human body by taking images or plotting graphs by different methods. MRI, CT scan, X-ray machine, ultrasound machine, ECG, EEG, etc., come under this category.

• Surgical robots

These are highly sophisticated and can be used completely or semi-automatically by doctors. They can do complex surgeries like heart transplants, brain surgery, and other complex tasks at a very low mistake rate. They can perform tiring tasks so efficiently that it is impossible for humans to perform.

• Laboratories

Lab instruments play a crucial role in finding the exact cause of a medical ailment. These devices accurately find out the problem, not just for one sample but for hundreds of samples at once. Their accuracy is unmatchable for humans to copy.

• Therapeutic devices

Pacemakers and insulin pumps come under this category, in which the heartbeat and insulin level, respectively, of a diabetic person are controlled.

• Monitoring devices

Monitoring devices continuously monitor the parameters of the health marker of a patient. So that further medical steps could be taken for the well-being of the patient.