Simulating Your Embedded Project on Your Computer (Part 1)

Simulating Your Embedded Project on Your Computer (Part 1)

Nathan Jones

Still RelevantIntermediate

Having a simulation of your embedded project is like having a superpower that improves the quality and pace of your development ten times over! To be useful, though, it can't take longer to develop the simulation than it takes to develop the application code and for many simulation techniques "the juice isn't worth the squeeze"! In this two-part blog series, I'll share with you the arguments in favor of simulation (so, hopefully, you too believe in its value) and I'll show you what works (and what doesn't work) to help you to simply, easily, and quickly simulate your embedded project on your computer.

Summary

Nathan Jones argues for the value of host-based simulation for embedded projects and outlines pragmatic approaches that are quick to implement. Readers will learn how to decide when simulation is worth the effort and which lightweight techniques produce useful, fast feedback for firmware, RTOS, and embedded Linux work.

Key Takeaways

Evaluate when a host-based simulation will save development time and improve quality versus when it isn't worth the effort.
Design a minimal platform-abstraction approach so core firmware can run on a PC with little modification.
Implement lightweight peripheral and sensor mocks (I2C, SPI, UART, ADC) to exercise logic without hardware.
Use QEMU, POSIX shims, and small harnesses to run RTOS- and Bare-Metal-like code on a desktop quickly.
Integrate simulation runs into the development workflow to catch regressions earlier and speed iterative testing.

Who Should Read This

Embedded firmware and software engineers who want practical, fast ways to run and test their RTOS, bare-metal, or embedded Linux projects on a desktop to speed development and reduce hardware dependence.

Still RelevantIntermediate