Interfacing LINUX with microcontrollers
Fabien presents a practical pattern: put Internet- facing logic on a Linux board and keep time-critical I/O on a microcontroller, using a Raspberry Pi and a Teensy 3.0. He introduces MASL, a reusable userspace library that hides master-slave details and shows how to use userspace SPI, sysfs GPIO and epoll for programming, reset and event-driven signaling with working code examples.
How to install Ubuntu 12.04 Precise, Xubuntu-desktop and Open JDK-7 on Beagleboard Rev. C2
Want to run Java GUI apps on a BeagleBoard Rev C2? This hands-on post walks through installing Ubuntu 12.04, adding the Xubuntu desktop, and getting OpenJDK-7 running, including SD flashing, u-boot and network setup, display and audio tweaks, and a fix for XFCE login ownership problems. Follow the exact commands and small workarounds the author used to get a monitor, sound, and Java VM working on the board.
Using XML to describe embedded devices (and speak to them)
Make embedded devices tell you what they can do. Martin Strubel shows how to use XML and XSLT with the DClib/netpp framework to describe hardware, map registers into abstract properties, and auto-generate compact C, documentation, and VHDL. The netpp property protocol then lets you probe, query, and control those properties over TCP, UDP, or other transports, simplifying test benches and multi-device families.
Size matters - System success depends on initial design
A seemingly small UI choice can reshape an entire embedded system. Gene Breniman uses a real product example to show how picking a graphic touchscreen instead of a character LCD can multiply CPU, memory, OS, and licensing needs. The post explains why capturing requirements early and planning for growth paths keeps complexity and cost under control, and how to size hardware to fit real needs.
An overview of Linux Boot Process for Embedded Systems
Booting Linux on embedded hardware collapses PC boot stages into a single bootloader, and understanding the early steps helps troubleshoot low-level failures. Kunal Singh breaks down the sequence from the bootstrap firmware and primary/secondary bootloaders through zImage decompression, MMU and page table setup, start_kernel, and the initrd pivot to the root filesystem. Practical focus favors ARM examples.
Building Linux Kernel for Desktops
Kernel building for desktop Linux is less daunting than it used to be. In this short primer Kunal Singh introduces the distribution-specific tools and procedures that simplify compiling a desktop kernel, with focused pointers for Fedora, Ubuntu, and SUSE. Engineers will get a quick overview of where to start and which tools each distribution provides to streamline a custom kernel build.
Hello Android
Getting Android Early SDK running on Fedora Core 7 sounds simple, until Java gets in the way. Kunal Singh walks through the exact setup he used, from installing Eclipse and the Android SDK to switching Fedora over from GNU Java to Sun Java so the tooling would work. It is a quick, practical note for anyone trying to get an old Linux dev box talking to early Android tools.
iPhone aca Linux Station
CPUs are closing the gap between desktops and handhelds, and Kunal Singh points to a likely future where phones and laptops merge. The short note highlights how laptops already ate into desktop share and raises the provocative idea that an iPhone could become a Linux workstation. It’s a quick prompt to rethink device form factors and operating system roles as mobile hardware gets more capable.
Speed Up Your Linux Box
Kunal Singh shares a quick set of tips for accelerating a Linux box. The post is a lightweight overview aimed at helping you squeeze more performance out of your system without getting deep into theory.
Size matters - System success depends on initial design
A seemingly small UI choice can reshape an entire embedded system. Gene Breniman uses a real product example to show how picking a graphic touchscreen instead of a character LCD can multiply CPU, memory, OS, and licensing needs. The post explains why capturing requirements early and planning for growth paths keeps complexity and cost under control, and how to size hardware to fit real needs.
Vala applications on Embedded Linux: maybe a clever choice [part 1]
If you need a high-level language for constrained embedded Linux devices, Vala is worth a look. It compiles to C and relies mainly on GLib, giving you native performance and minimal runtime dependencies. With reference counting instead of a garbage collector, modern language features, and a small storage footprint, Vala can outperform Python, Java, or Qt on low-RAM, low-storage boards. This first part focuses on dependencies, ABI compatibility, runtime characteristics, and a real-world example.
Hello Android
Getting Android Early SDK running on Fedora Core 7 sounds simple, until Java gets in the way. Kunal Singh walks through the exact setup he used, from installing Eclipse and the Android SDK to switching Fedora over from GNU Java to Sun Java so the tooling would work. It is a quick, practical note for anyone trying to get an old Linux dev box talking to early Android tools.
A brief overview of flight control software
Open source flight control software can feel like a maze of forks, retirements, and overlapping projects. In this post, the author builds a chart and comparison table to map how drone flight controller software evolved over time, using git commit history and repository data. It is a handy starting point if you want a quick overview of the current landscape before diving deeper.
Speed Up Your Linux Box
Kunal Singh shares a quick set of tips for accelerating a Linux box. The post is a lightweight overview aimed at helping you squeeze more performance out of your system without getting deep into theory.
Building Linux Kernel for Desktops
Kernel building for desktop Linux is less daunting than it used to be. In this short primer Kunal Singh introduces the distribution-specific tools and procedures that simplify compiling a desktop kernel, with focused pointers for Fedora, Ubuntu, and SUSE. Engineers will get a quick overview of where to start and which tools each distribution provides to streamline a custom kernel build.
Off the shelf availability of Custom IoT Gateway
Choosing the right gateway can make or break an IoT deployment, yet industrial gateways are often expensive and generic. This post walks through practical criteria for off-the-shelf and custom gateways, covering edge computing trade-offs, mainframe versus embedded Linux, SoC and ADC choices, interfacing and debugging needs, and when to design your own hardware for real-time or protocol demands.
iPhone aca Linux Station
CPUs are closing the gap between desktops and handhelds, and Kunal Singh points to a likely future where phones and laptops merge. The short note highlights how laptops already ate into desktop share and raises the provocative idea that an iPhone could become a Linux workstation. It’s a quick prompt to rethink device form factors and operating system roles as mobile hardware gets more capable.
Android Vs Embedded system
Android@Home and the ADK open a fast path to add rich UIs, multimedia, networking, and databases to embedded projects by leveraging phones, tablets, or dedicated Android boards. This post outlines the main benefits of using Android as a front end or as a full embedded OS, explains two integration approaches, and points to BeagleBoard as an affordable single-board option for one-platform designs.
Embedded Developer’s New Year’s Resolution
Use the holiday pause to turn vague intentions into a practical embedded skills plan for the coming year. This post lays out concrete resolutions: adopt modern software design practices, pick up a modern language like C++ or Rust, and learn when to use RTOS, cooperative schedulers, or Zephyr. Small, focused improvements will pay off across firmware projects.
Size matters - System success depends on initial design
A seemingly small UI choice can reshape an entire embedded system. Gene Breniman uses a real product example to show how picking a graphic touchscreen instead of a character LCD can multiply CPU, memory, OS, and licensing needs. The post explains why capturing requirements early and planning for growth paths keeps complexity and cost under control, and how to size hardware to fit real needs.
Embedded Linux Board Farms 101: The Requirements That Actually Matter
When you keep your embedded Linux boards in a rack or remote lab, the "plug in HDMI" workflow breaks down fast. One bad kernel push and SSH never comes back. This post lays out the core requirements for a real board farm: out-of-band serial console access, remote power cycling, and scripted reimaging so you never need someone on-site who knows Linux. Once those primitives are in place, everyday smart home devices — Tasmota switches, Home Assistant, environmental sensors — become legitimate development tools that bring enterprise lab capabilities to a hobbyist budget. Includes a pre-flight checklist for transitioning from KVM-style access to a fully remote setup, and a preview of the full implementation presented at the Embedded Online Conference in May.
Speed Up Your Linux Box
Kunal Singh shares a quick set of tips for accelerating a Linux box. The post is a lightweight overview aimed at helping you squeeze more performance out of your system without getting deep into theory.
Off the shelf availability of Custom IoT Gateway
Choosing the right gateway can make or break an IoT deployment, yet industrial gateways are often expensive and generic. This post walks through practical criteria for off-the-shelf and custom gateways, covering edge computing trade-offs, mainframe versus embedded Linux, SoC and ADC choices, interfacing and debugging needs, and when to design your own hardware for real-time or protocol demands.
iPhone aca Linux Station
CPUs are closing the gap between desktops and handhelds, and Kunal Singh points to a likely future where phones and laptops merge. The short note highlights how laptops already ate into desktop share and raises the provocative idea that an iPhone could become a Linux workstation. It’s a quick prompt to rethink device form factors and operating system roles as mobile hardware gets more capable.
Your architecture was decided before you opened the schematic
Engineering teams often treat requirements as a simple feature checklist, but they actually hold the blueprint for your software architecture. By analyzing constraints collectively rather than in isolation, you can define critical architectural patterns—such as task scheduling and abstraction levels—long before the first schematic is drawn. This proactive approach eliminates wasted complexity, reduces development time, and allows software needs to inform hardware choices early in the cycle. Discover how to shift your design mindset to build lean, purposeful systems that align perfectly with business objectives from day one.
My device crashed in the field. How do I figure out why?
Embedded systems often crash in the field, leaving developers with nothing more than a disconnected device and zero visibility into the cause. When traditional debugging is impossible, coredumps provide the essential post-mortem data required to reconstruct the system’s final moments. Learn how to configure Zephyr RTOS and the Spotflow SDK to automatically capture, store, and analyze critical crash information—including stack traces, CPU registers, and variable states—remotely. Mastering this workflow allows you to diagnose and resolve elusive firmware faults long after a device has rebooted, transforming your remote debugging capabilities.
Android Vs Embedded system
Android@Home and the ADK open a fast path to add rich UIs, multimedia, networking, and databases to embedded projects by leveraging phones, tablets, or dedicated Android boards. This post outlines the main benefits of using Android as a front end or as a full embedded OS, explains two integration approaches, and points to BeagleBoard as an affordable single-board option for one-platform designs.
