The Complexity of Embedded Applications: Uncertainty and Customizations

“It’s easier to change in software” — true, but as Christopher Mallinson points out, that mindset often backfires. The “10X rule of quality” reminds us: the longer you wait to fix an issue, the harder (and costlier) it gets. Bringing mechanical, electrical, firmware, and software teams together early isn’t a luxury, it’s smart engineering. #EngineeringLeadership #Collaboration #ProductDevelopment #AgileThinking #Innovation

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 - 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 👉 It’s funny how simulation speeds things up but never quite replaces the first power-on moment — what’s your take on that balance? ⚙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲 Every embedded project starts with 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 — defining what the system must actually do, the constraints it needs to meet (performance, power, safety, cost), and how success will be measured. Getting this step right sets the tone for everything that follows. Next comes 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 — partitioning functionality between hardware and software. Do we need a high-performance processor or will a low-power MCU be enough? What input/output capabilities are required — for example, communication interfaces like SPI or CAN, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for reading sensors, and PWM outputs for driving motors or actuators? These early design choices drive everything from BOM cost to firmware complexity. Then we dive into 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻. If a custom PCB is required, engineers design schematics, select components, and lay out the board while balancing signal integrity, thermal constraints, and manufacturability. In parallel, 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 ramps up — starting with low-level drivers and board bring-up, then moving to middleware, application logic, and system integration. Modern teams rely heavily on simulation, HIL (Hardware-in-the-Loop), and continuous integration pipelines — allowing parallel development instead of a strict waterfall approach. When both sides converge, it’s time for 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. This is where timing issues, hardware quirks, and real-world noise surface — and where solid architecture and early collaboration really pay off. Finally comes 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Firmware updates, diagnostics, and long-term reliability become the focus. For connected devices, this phase often includes OTA updates and telemetry for field monitoring. From 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 — every step is a tradeoff between performance, cost, and time. https://www.voltcore.se/ Voltcore Consulting #Embedded #CTO #EngineeringCulture

Most engineering projects do not fail because of bad ideas. They fail because no one slowed down to scope them properly. 🧭 When a client brings us a new product, our estimate is not a single number. It is a roadmap. ✅ Clear phases ✅ Real timelines ✅ Realistic costs In this short video, I walk through how we scope a new development project, from the first conversation and background research to the hardware, firmware, and regulatory steps it takes to get from concept to production. 🎥 Watch below for how we build a solid, transparent estimate. Have a product idea you want scoped the right way? Send me a message or use this link to schedule an intro call https://lnkd.in/gBaq2WPQ. #Engineering #ProductDevelopment #ProjectScoping #EngineeringEstimation #EmbeddedSystems

⚡Most people think embedded engineering is only about writing firmware or designing board That's is one side another side is reliability Without reliability engineering, none of those designs survive the real world. Here’s the reality

🐛 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝗴: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 Picture this scenario that every embedded engineer has faced: A device works perfectly in testing. All components check out. But in production? Intermittent failures that seem impossible to reproduce. The usual suspects: Hardware connections? ✅All good Communication protocols? ✅ Clean signals Code logic? ✅ No obvious issues Power stability? ✅ Within spec Everything passes. Yet the system fails. The real culprit? Often hiding in plain sight: 🔹Interrupt priority conflicts A low-priority task getting starved by higher-priority ones, missing critical timing windows 🔹Race conditions Two processes accessing shared resources with no proper synchronization. 🔹Timing assumptions Code that works at room temperature but fails when the processor heats up and timing shifts slightly. 🔹Edge cases in state machines Transitions that work 99% of the time but break under specific sequences. The lesson embedded systems teach us: Individual components can be perfect, but the system is more than the sum of its parts. In embedded engineering, a few microseconds matter. A missed interrupt matters. Temperature matters. Load matters. The best debugging approach? Question your assumptions ❓ Think in terms of timing, not just logic Look at interactions, not just components Test under real-world conditions, not ideal ones What's the most elusive bug you've encountered in embedded systems? Drop your stories below—we all learn from each other's debugging battles. #EmbeddedSystems #Firmware #Debugging #Engineering #Microcontrollers #RealTimeSystem #EmbeddedEngineering #TechCommunity

🔥 Q&A with embedded PM - part 3. In this episode, Nazar Kohut will answer the key questions about embedded projects: 📍 How to estimate firmware issues and timelines effectively 📍 Why aligning electrical, mechanical, and firmware work in phases is better than handling them separately 📍 The challenges of hiring strong embedded developers Watch now for practical insights and proven tips from real-world embedded projects. #embeddedprojects #embeddedengineering #embedded #lembergsolutions

🚀 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙁𝙄𝙁𝙊 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙀𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝘿𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 & 𝙑𝙇𝙎𝙄 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 In modern digital systems, data integrity and timing coordination are everything. That’s exactly why FIFO (First-In First-Out) buffers play such a critical role across SoCs, communication interfaces, and memory subsystems. 🔍 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙁𝙄𝙁𝙊? 𝘼 𝙁𝙄𝙁𝙊 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚: ☑️ The first data written is the first data read ☑️ It helps manage data flow between producer and consumer blocks running at the same or different speeds ☑️ Prevents data loss when one side is faster or asynchronous 💡 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙁𝙄𝙁𝙊 𝙄𝙨 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩: ✔ Clock domain crossing (CDC) ✔ Latency management ✔ Burst handling in DMA, peripherals, and networks ✔ Smooth data flow between modules ✔ Back-pressure support using full, empty, almost_full, almost_empty flags 🔑 𝙆𝙚𝙮 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨: 🔹Write/Read Pointers 🔹Memory Array (RAM/Reg-based) 🔹Full & Empty Logic 🔹Optional Gray-coded pointers for asynchronous FIFO's 🔹Optional programmable thresholds 🛠 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙁𝙄𝙁𝙊'𝙨 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙐𝙨𝙚𝙙: 🔸UART, SPI, I2C 🔸AXI/AHB/APB-based designs 🔸Image and video pipelines 🔸DSP architectures 🔸Network-on-Chip (NoC) 🔸Any high-speed data-streaming architecture ⚖️ Why Designers & DV Engineers Should Master FIFO Whether you're in RTL, Verification, Architecture, or Backend, understanding FIFO helps you design reliable timing paths, avoid metastability issues, and ensure system-level robustness. 🔧 Working on FIFO designs or testbenches? Happy to help you with architecture diagrams, Verilog/SystemVerilog code, or verification strategies. PRSsemicon Technologies (A PRSGroup company) Spec2Chips Semiconductor (A PRSGroup company) #VLSI #Semiconductor #RTLDesign #DigitalDesign #SystemVerilog #Verification #FIFO #ASIC #FPGA #SoCDesign #ChipDesign

⚙️ 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 - 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 As an Embedded Engineer, we always know how important hardware schematics are. But the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥. 🧩 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺  • A schematic 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮.  • It’s the 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 - showing how each GPIO, clock, and power rail works together to make the system come alive.  • Understanding it 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘴, how design choices affect behavior, and how small connections shape big outcomes. 🔍 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲  • 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, it’s not always the firmware.  • Sometimes it’s a pull-up resistor, a shared reset line, or a voltage mismatch - and those 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤.  • Reading schematics 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, saving hours of guesswork during board bring-up and validation. ⚙️ 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲  • Schematics guide proper pin configuration, clock setup, and peripheral mapping.  • They ensure our firmware matches the hardware’s real design.  • That bridge between code and circuit is what defines a complete embedded engineer. 💡 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲  • Great embedded engineers don’t just write firmware.  • They understand the board they’re bringing to life.  • Because when you read the schematic, you don’t just see lines and symbols - you see the system as a whole. #EmbeddedSystems #Firmware #HardwareDesign #BSP #BoardBringUp #EngineeringMindset #LearningByDoing

I recently refined my résumé to align with Principal-level hardware and system design roles — and built a personal Skill Cloud to visualize my technical strengths and focus areas. It highlights my experience across Analog Design, Embedded Hardware, System Integration, Test Automation, and EMI/EMC, along with process areas like VAVE, dFMEA, and Continuous Improvement. This visual summary helps me stay aligned with evolving industry needs and reflect on where to strengthen next — something I’d recommend every engineer to try once. #HardwareEngineering #EmbeddedSystems #SystemDesign #AnalogDesign #EngineeringLeadership #ContinuousImprovement #CareerGrowth #PMP #LeanSixSigma

@Semiconductor Engineering @ChromeOS @Platform Engineering Community ⚡ When a Platform Heats Up — the Debug Story Begins In platform validation, a “thermal issue” isn’t about overheating — it’s about who lost control first: firmware, OS, or silicon. Here’s how I approach Thermal Validation from a system-debug lens 👇 🔥 Reproduce like a lab scientist Same build, same workload, same ambient — reproducibility defines credibility. 📊 Read the platform’s heartbeat Telemetry, EC logs, PMIC rails, perf data — aligned in time. Because correlation beats speculation. 🧩 Slice vertically, not horizontally HW → FW → OS → Workload. You debug the system, not a subsystem. ⚙️ Stress to confess Push the limits — thermal cycling, DVFS sweeps, fan curves, power capping. The system’s true behavior emerges only under stress. 📈 Validate balance Every fix must keep the triangle intact: Thermal ↔ Power ↔ Performance. That’s what system validation is — uncovering how platforms breathe under pressure. 👉 How do you approach thermal regressions? Telemetry correlation? Firmware tracing? ML-based pattern detection? Let’s swap strategies 👇 #PlatformValidation #ThermalDebug #PowerPerformance #SystemValidation #Firmware #Semiconductor #PostSilicon #ValidationEngineering #PlatformEngineering #DebugExcellence