Software development is still, by far, the squishiest segment of the engineering discipline.

This is not because software engineers lack discipline.  Certainly some of the most methodical and disciplined individuals I have ever met were in the software engineering profession.  The problem is in the discipline itself – software is the most complex component of almost every modern embedded system.  As a component becomes more complex, our ability to conceptualize its operation and to design an organized methodology for its development and verification is dramatically reduced.

Aviation is one of the most … Read More → "When Software Flies"

USB is moving up in the world. Specifically, it’s going vertical.

There are plenty of board-level standards out there and even more companies that support them. PCI Express, VMEbus, PC/104, S-bus (remember that one?), ATCA… the list goes on. Board-level standards are as ubiquitous as they are useful, and the healthy board-level market enables a whole layer of system-level integrators and developers. Not everyone wants or needs to develop all their hardware from scratch, so buying boards is a quick way to produce a custom system without ever reaching for … Read More → "USB Goes Vertical"

The San Jose version of the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) in this year began with Al Gore throwing down the gauntlet.  Socially and environmentally conscious companies need not sacrifice the environment for profit.  In fact, the bottom line and the ozone layer may have mutual allies as emphasis on more efficient systems makes sense for both.  If the types of technology under discussion and on display at ESC are applied to the problem of creating more efficient systems, Gore explains, embedded engineers can make a significant difference in the troubling trends threatening Earth’s environment.</ … Read More → "Smaller is Bigger"

Embedded Systems have tracked the progress in desktop and enterprise computing, only faster. Development practices and standards have been much slower to mature, however, and this week’s Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose will surely show an industry struggling to keep pace with the rapid rate of change in technology demands. Embedded computing systems have gone from bit-stingy, machine coded, custom crafted, one-off jobs to standards-based, memory-rich, multi-processing, IP-re-using, connected wonders – in an improbably short period of time.

As systems have changed, so have the engineers and teams that design them. Rapidly disappearing is … Read More → "Bigger, Faster, More Connected"

You’re designing a new handheld device. You’ve got your processor picked, your software platform selected, your debugger dialed-in, and your battery bolted into place. Marketing has signed off on the baddest list of requirements ever – convergence has taken a turn for the terrible, and your device has to connect to ubiquitous wireless standards, seven kinds of mass storage, USB2.0, SDIO, and even PCI (Don’t ask why you’d need all of those – this is a fictional project, OK? Suspend disbelief for a moment.) The point is, you need … Read More → "ArcticLink"