It is hard to define an embedded system and even harder to decide where the world of embedded systems ends and becomes electronics on one side, software on the other side and system design on the other other side. In this talk, I will present the current state of two complimentary pillars of embedded systems - chips and software – with possible tangents into areas such as PCB design, testing and simulation.

The traditional hierarchy of chips (IC → FPGA → MCU → SoC) nicely mirrors the traditional hierarchy of embedded software (Bare Metal → RTOS → OS). However, this is not the world we live in: AMD owns Xilinx, Amazon and Microsoft are handing out RTOS’s, ST is presenting AI solutions. MCUs and FPGAs in the same chip, containers for embedded, RISC-V picking up steam. Consolidation and disruption has produced new combinations of technologies which challenge us on how best to use them and connect everything together.

After watching this talk, you should walk away with a better understanding of:

•     The major industry players in embedded systems
•     How new chips fit into the traditional hierarchy
•     What tools are available at different layers of the software stack
•     Some acronyms and strange words :)

Hope to see you there!