In many consumer electronics and products like washing machines and vacuum cleaners, you will often find microcontrollers from various manufacturers. One of the most commonly used microcontroller families in these applications is the 8051 microcontroller.
The 8051 microcontroller was originally developed by Intel in 1980 and has since become one of the most popular and widely used microcontroller architectures in the world. Over the years, the 8051 architecture has been licensed to many semiconductor companies, leading to a wide range of 8051-based microcontrollers being available from different manufacturers.
These microcontrollers are favored for their simplicity, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness, making them suitable for a wide variety of applications, including household appliances like washing machines, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, and more.
However, it's important to note that as technology evolves, other microcontroller families and architectures, such as ARM-based microcontrollers and various proprietary microcontrollers, have gained popularity and are being used in modern consumer electronics as well. The specific microcontroller used in a particular device will depend on the manufacturer's design choices, cost considerations, and performance requirements.