Beyond the RTOS: A Better Way to Design Real-Time Embedded Software
An RTOS (Real-Time Operating System) is the most universally accepted way of designing and implementing embedded software. It is the most sought after component of any system that outgrows the venerable "superloop". But it is also the design...
Getting Started with the Microchip PIC® Microcontroller
This first post of a five part series looks at the available hardware options for getting started with Microchip 8-bit PIC® Microcontroller, explores the MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment and walks through setting up a project to expose the configured clock to an external pin and implement a single output GPIO to light an LED.
Chebyshev Approximation and How It Can Help You Save Money, Win Friends, and Influence People
Well... maybe that's a stretch. I don't think I can recommend anything to help you win friends. Not my forte. But I am going to try to convince you why you should know about Chebyshev approximation, which is a technique for figuring out how...
An overview of Linux Boot Process for Embedded Systems
This Text provides an insight in to the Embedded Linux Boot Process. Reader should have a basic Knowledge of Boot Process in general and should be familiar with Embedded Linux Boot Process..................PART-A................(1) Software...
Important Programming Concepts (Even on Embedded Systems) Part II: Immutability
Other articles in this series: Part I: Idempotence Part III: Volatility Part IV: Singletons Part V: State Machines Part VI: Abstraction This article will discuss immutability, and some of its variations in the topic of functional...
Coroutines in one page of C
A coroutine is a function that you can jump back into after returning from it - and it remembers where it was in the code, and all the variables. This is very useful at times. One use is generating a sequence of values. Here's how you can...
Learning A New Microcontroller
Contents: Introduction Background For The Beginner The Peripherals System Complexity Support Software Do It Like Phil The Programs GPIO And Timers UART And Timers I2C/SPI PWM ADC Go Crazy And Combine Them All WET And DRY...
On hardware state machines: How to write a simple MAC controller using the RP2040 PIOs
Hardware state machines are nice, and the RP2040 has two blocks with up to four machines each. Their instruction set is limited, but powerful, and they can execute an instruction per cycle, pushing and popping from their FIFOs and shifting bytes in and out. The Raspberry Pi Pico does not have an Ethernet connection, but there are many PHY boards available… take a LAN8720 board and connect it to the Pico; you’re done. The firmware ? Introducing Mongoose…
My friend, the compiler
Modern compilers were given great powers, but we don't always know where and when they'll use them. This may cause us to either worry needlessly or trust unjustifiably, as demonstrated by a little example in this post.
Peripheral Interaction Without a Linux Device Driver Using Spidev
Overview When integrating a new peripheral onto an embedded Linux platform, we might think we always need to implement a kernel module to serve as a device driver. However, as we all know, absolutes such as “always” and “never” are...
Getting Started With Zephyr: West Manifest Customization
Introduction The Zephyr Project RTOS (https://zephyrproject.org/), or simply “Zephyr” as it is known colloquially, is an increasingly popular real-time operating system due to its native support for over 450 boards and countless peripherals....
Cracking the (embedded) Coding Interview
You never forget the day you land your first job. The thrill of receiving that call from your recruiter to tell you that you bagged your dream role! The relief when you finally see the offer letter you’ve been working towards for...
Visual Studio Code Extensions for Embedded Software Development
Visual Studio Code has become one of the most popular IDEs in the world. To date, software developers have downloaded it more than 40 million times! I suspect you’ve at least heard of it, if not already attempting to use it. Visual Studio Code...
Review: Embedded Software Design: A Practical Approach to Architecture, Processes, and Coding Techniques
Introduction Full disclosure: I was given a copy of this book to review. Embedded Software Design: A Practical Approach to Architecture, Processes, and Coding Techniques, by Jacob Beningo, is an excellent introduction to strategies for...
C to C++: 3 Proven Techniques for Embedded Systems Transformation
For 50 years, the C programming language has dominated the embedded software industry. Even today, more than 80% of embedded projects are using C; however, over the last few years, many teams have begun transitioning from C to C++. C++ offers...
Libgpiod - Toggling GPIOs The Right Way In Embedded Linux
Overview We all know that GPIO is one of the core elements of any embedded system. We use GPIOs to control LEDs and use them to monitor switches and button presses. In modern embedded systems, GPIOs can also be used as pins for other peripheral...
Basler pylon on Raspberry Pi with Yocto
Camera vendors are increasing offering Yocto layers to simplify the integration of drivers and the creation of cross-compilation environments. This article demonstrates how Yocto can be used to integrate Basler pylon into a Raspberry Pi Linux...
Supply Chain Games: What Have We Learned From the Great Semiconductor Shortage of 2021? (Part 4)
Today we’re going to look at what’s been going on this past year in the chip shortage, particularly in the automotive markets. I’m going to share some recent events and statements that may shed some light on what’s...
Supply Chain Games: What Have We Learned From the Great Semiconductor Shortage of 2021? (Part 3)
Hello again! Today we’re going to take a closer look at Moore’s Law, semiconductor foundries, and semiconductor economics — and a game that explores the effect of changing economics on the supply chain. We’ll try to...
A Beginner's Guide to Embedded Systems
I was in my Junior year of college when I first learned about embedded systems. Sure, I’d heard about this mystical world of sensors and IoT, the same way I’d heard about thermonuclear astrophysics; But, the phrase “embedded systems”...
Hidden Gems from the Embedded Online Conference Archives - Part 3
Jack Ganssle shows us what we can learn by studying previous failures - and why this is essential for anyone working in embedded systems.
The Most Annoying Sound
Independent consultants often face requests and requirements that go beyond the technicalities of software and hardware. Designing user interfaces is a common example, and even though most of us are not UI experts, we still have to get it right, otherwise the users may get annoyed, and the product will fail. However, what happens when we're asked explicitly to annoy users? Here's a true story about such a case.
How 5G impacts future IoT development
The Internet of Things (IoT) applications are ubiquitous today. IoT is used in almost every industrial, commercial, and consumer market segment, including autonomous driving, smart factories, automation and preventive maintenance, smart homes, smart cities, security, asset tracking, supply chain management, agriculture, farming, healthcare, smart medicine and remote surgery, augmented reality applications, activity monitoring, and more. The three most promising uses of IoT are smart manufacturing, autonomous driving, and healthcare, particularly remote surgery.
Linear Feedback Shift Registers for the Uninitiated, Part XIII: System Identification
Linear Feedback Shift Registers for the Uninitiated, Part III: Multiplicative Inverse, and Blankinship's Algorithm
3D printing for embedded development
Used mostly for creating little plastic objects, the desktop 3D printer is not an obvious addition to the embedded developer's toolbox. However, if you're looking for more reasons to get one, or already have one that's mostly gathering dust, here are a couple of embedded-related ways to get more value out of it.
How Embedded Linux is used in Spacecrafts !
This article dives into the application of Linux in spacecraft, examining the challenges it poses and proposing potential solutions. Real-life examples will be discussed, while also addressing the drawbacks of employing Linux in safety-critical missions.
Getting Started With Zephyr: Saving Data To Files
In this blog post, I show how to implement a Zephyr application to mount a microSD card, create a new file on the microSD card, and write data to it. The lessons learned from such an application can be helpful for devices out in the field that need to write data to off-board memory periodically, especially in cases where Internet access may be sporadic.
