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A generic embedded controller often has the following tasks:
*Receiving and processing signals from the keyboard<ref name="ps2kbc">http://www.computer-engineering.org/ps2keyboard/</ref> and other buttons and switches (e.g., power button, laptop lid switch)<ref name="amikey">http://www.ami.com/ami_downloads/Embedded_Controller_Data_Sheet.pdf</ref>
*Receiving and processing signals from the touchpad (including touchpad disable)
*Turning the computer on and off
*Controlling access to the [[A20 line]]<ref>http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/linux/kbd/A20.html</ref>
*Thermal measurement (CPU, GPU, Motherboard) and response including fan control, [[Dynamic frequency scaling|CPU throttling]], and emergency shutdown in response to rising temperatures
*Controlling indicator [[LED]]s (e.g. caps lock, scroll lock, num lock)
*Managing the [[Battery (electricity)|battery]] charger and the battery<ref name="amikey"/>
*Allowing remote diagnostics and remediation over the network
*Performing software-requested CPU reset<ref name="ps2kbc"/>
*Controlling the [[watchdog timer]]<ref name="amikey"/>
*System Management Interupt (entry to [[System Management Mode]])
As a core system component, the embedded controller is always on when power is supplied to the mainboard. To communicate with the main computer system, several forms of communication can be used, including [[Advanced Configuration and Power Interface|ACPI]], [[SMBus]], or [[Shared memory (interprocess communication)|shared memory]].
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