A common denominator of all three research schools is the training of Ph.D. students and young researchers. The aim of the EEF is the organisation of educational training activities directed at such an audience. Embedded systems are computer systems that form an integral part of a larger system like a production cell, a controller for a home heating system, a television set or an aeroplane. In general engineering terms, embedded systems are used for the control of industrial or physical processes.
Sensors continuously gather information from the environment.
The service of the embedded system is to process this information and to signal the actuators in accordance with the mechanisms of the controlled process. This means that one can design and reason about embedded systems only if one takes the behaviour of their environment into account. In computer science terms, embedded systems are distributed reactive systems. Typically, embedded systems have to react to stimuli from their environment in real-time . Consequently, real-time issues often play a major role in the design and analysis of embedded systems.