Top 5 Challenges of Embedded Software Development
Globally as enterprises generate/gather data at an aggressive pace, businesses are focusing on effective ways to analyze the data and generate insights that will help them improve their business process and make sound decisions. Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) are addressing this need and solving complex problems, automating processes, and enabling self-learning from experience.
Embedded systems can be experienced in almost every industry such as aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, banking, security, etc. Embedded systems are well known for their accuracy, reliability, and performance speed with less power consumption and can be used for a wider variety of applications. An ideal embedded system requires a wide range of microprocessors, programming tools, and operating systems; consists of both hardware and software components.
Many manufacturers use embedded software for consumer products such as telephones, robots, modems, cars, toys, security systems appliances, televisions, digital watches, etc. Embedded Software helps the hardware in a device to perform as per our needs and requirements. Embedded software is also known as firmware that resides in the hardware to create a single embedded system. It helps to perform mission-critical applications such as electronic control units, industrial automation equipment, and anti-lock brakes in cars, etc. However, Embedded Software also poses some challenges that development organizations need to deal with.
Let us discuss some of the challenges of Embedded Software Development.
Stability – Any unexpected behaviour from an embedded system creates havoc and is responsible for serious risks. It should have uniform behavior throughout all circumstances and stability is of enormous importance.
Safety – Safety is of the utmost vital challenge of embedded systems as they are used in many critical and life-saving functionalities in any type of critical environment. It is characterized by limitations and strict requirements in terms of testing, quality, and engineering expertise.
Connectivity – This is one of the vital challenges that embedded software developers face as there are so many ways to connect to the internet, the developers could connect through Ethernet, Wi-Fi, LoRa, Cellular, a Bluetooth bride, and other sources. Each source has its own merits and demerits along with different software stacks that developers understand to make sure the hardware works.
Security – It is a challenge for developers to secure their devices from any kind of security threats that are evolving in more complexity. As IoT devices are gaining popularity globally, the related risks are growing exponentially as the devices are interconnected to each other. There are many chances of hacking attacks and the challenge of what information needs to be protected should be clearly identified.
Over-the-air-Updates – When the device is finally connected to the internet, developers can update its firmware remotely. With the help of IoT, software updates can be performed by the customers. However, in any deployment that includes several thousand devices, the developers have to focus on
- Generate a firmware update
- Save it to all the devices
- Ensure and validate they are delivered from a trusted source
- Run that particular update on the devices at the appropriate time
- Be always ready to roll back updates immediately if there is an issue.
Avench helps in developing embedded software and systems for various domains and industries. To know more information about embedded systems and embedded software development please subscribe to our blog, and for any sales queries, wait for no further contact us at +1 (775) 404-5757. You can also email us at sales@avench.com and we would be happy to assist you.
