Technicians Do It Better ❤️
In many companies, there’s a common belief: progress on a project always requires an engineer. But this assumption is often counterproductive. An engineer is not always the best person for every task. Quite the opposite: in many situations, it’s the technician who delivers faster, more reliable, and more cost-effective results. Engineers and Technicians: Different but […]
My Project Is Doomed. What Now?
Embedded projects can be wonderfully complex. High-speed electronics, kernels, drivers, protocols, deadlines… Sometimes it all plays together like a symphony. And sometimes… it doesn’t. If you’ve ever looked at your codebase, your hardware schematic, or your project schedule and thought “this is doomed”, you’re not alone. But fear not: where there’s life, there’s hope. Here […]
What I Learned From Dusty Tubes and Glowing Dials
Hacking vintage electronics from the 1930s has become more than a hobby for me. It’s a return to fundamentals, a study in elegance, and an ongoing reminder of how much we’ve gained (and what we’ve lost) in modern design. Here’s what I’ve learned. Hi there, I’m Thierry Durand, founder of Embedded Expertise. Most of my […]
Code Reviews: How We Do It and Why It Works
At Embedded Expertise, we’ve already shared how we approach hardware design reviews. This time, let’s look at the software side and show how good code review practices help improve quality and teamwork. Over the years we’ve refined a simple, pragmatic approach to code reviews that fits perfectly with our embedded‑systems projects. This isn’t meant to […]
Immutability: The Cornerstone of Embedded Defense
Immutability means that something cannot be altered once it has been created or deployed. In cybersecurity, this property is highly desirable: if an attacker can’t modify a system, they can’t compromise it, at least not persistently. But immutability isn’t binary. There are degrees of it, ranging from absolute (hardware-enforced) to soft, policy-based protections. Each level […]
My Project Has 1,000 CVEs — What Now?
Running a security scan and seeing 1,000 CVEs in your project can feel like a nightmare. The number alone is enough to induce panic, but here’s the truth: In reality, this is a common situation and there are practical, structured ways to make sense of it and bring it under control. In today’s fast-paced development […]
Zephyr Lands on Variscite SoMs
Variscite, a trusted and long-standing System-on-Module supplier, has announced official support for the Zephyr RTOS on its System-on-Modules based on the NXP i.MX8 and i.MX9. This development marks more than just another software feature—it signals a shift in the way embedded systems are architected and deployed on heterogeneous SoCs. With Zephyr now available on the […]
Embedded Platform Strategy: Benefit or Burden? Part 2
In Part 1, we looked at what a platform is, where it makes sense, and where it doesn’t. Now let’s focus on how to make it work in the real world — with the right organizational structure, disciplined engineering practices, and governance. We’ll also look at the benefits when it’s done right — and the […]
You’re Not Special: The Fallacy of Not Being a Cybertarget
Every few months, I sit across from a customer explaining why their connected product doesn’t need real cybersecurity. “It’s not a target,” they say with confidence, often followed by a knowing shrug, like they’ve just closed the case with common sense. It’s a beautiful moment, really. A perfect blend of wishful thinking, budget fatigue, and […]
Embedded Platform Strategy: Benefit or Burden? Part 1
In embedded systems, most projects are still built as one-offs.Other industries, like automotive, have long moved on: different cars, same platform underneath. A mutualized hardware and software platform can bring huge gains — but only if it’s used at the right time, and organized the right way. Platform-based development is a broad topic with many […]