Embedded Computing Design

Developers know that securing an industrial Ethernet network can be tricky, and the rules continually change. We know that the AES-256 encryption algorithm can serve as a starting point, but it should not be trusted to do the job all by itself. One reason for this is that encryption must be deployed without redesigning an existing network, adding latency, or introducing another appliance that must be managed and maintained.

TinyML is somewhat of a secret to embedded designers, but it shouldn’t be. It could be a relatively simple answer to a very complex problem. 

To understand why developers should know more about it and how it could help them overcome the AI hurdle, I spoke to Shawn Hymel, an embedded systems engineer, educator, and TinyML expert. 

On this week’s Embedded Executives podcast, we get into where TinyML should be deployed and why, and where it shouldn’t.

embedded world North America is right around the corner (Sept. 22-24, Anaheim, CA). The topics at the conference are fairly diverse, but many have a common theme, namely, AI. 

Artificial intelligence is creeping into all aspects of our lives, including what and how we design our embedded products. 

To see specifically how this technology integrates with the embedded world program, Rich and Vin sat down with Jason Hallstrom, the Chairman of the Embedded World technical conference. Check out the latest episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin.

For a host of reasons, it’s important to keep your network up to date. Those reasons include performance, reliability, security standards, and others. But what happens when your network is ancient, in technological terms? 

MCU vendors always knew that, regardless of what they might say, it was relatively easy to retain existing customers and quite difficult to get engineers to switch from a competitive architecture. 

As AI gets smarter, it raises the bar for the bad guys to do their bad things. We are in a constant race to stay ahead, and there is seemingly no end in sight. 

To understand what this means and what can be done to (hopefully) stay ahead of the curve, I spoke to Steve Hanna, a Distinguished Engineer from Infineon, on this week’s Embedded Executives podcast.

A lot is going on in the world these days that can disrupt the supply chain. From political issues to tariffs to the data center craze, some components are just difficult to obtain. Thankfully, there are ways around the issues and different ways to deal with them. 

To get a little insight into these issues, I spoke to Ohad Yaniv, the CEO of Variscite, who deals with them daily. He's this week’s guest on the Embedded Executives podcast.

It would seem like a no-brainer to support IoT in various regions. But that’s not necessarily the case. And when you look at how many new applications are popping up, the waters get even muddier. And don’t even get me started on what happens when you try to go wireless. 

Someone who is much closer to the issues/hurdles than I is John Grady, the CEO of Ayla Networks, who joined me on this week’s Embedded Executives podcast.

For decades, the Integrated Development Environment, commonly known as the IDE, has been treated as the hub of software development tooling. Whether it was Visual Studio, Eclipse, IntelliJ, or others, the promise was always the same: put everything in one place; editor, compiler, debugger, project manager, source control, and eventually every other tool imaginable. That promise made sense during the early days.

Edge AI is exceeding the expectations that I had for the technology, at least at this early point in its ramp-up. I had expected it to take longer to reach fruition than it actually has, although you could probably argue that it hasn’t come close to reaching even the beginnings of its potential. 

To understand where Edge AI stands today, where it’s going, and when it could potentially get there, I spoke to John Weil, the Vice President and General Manager for IoT and Edge AI Processors at Synaptics, on this week’s Embedded Executives podcast.

Should you use AI to generate code? Or should it be limited to code review? From my research, it depends on who you ask. 

In this case, I asked Rod Cope, the Chief Technical Officer at Perforce Software. Rod has a great deal of experience in this space, and he was my guest on this week’s Embedded Executives podcast.

Those of us who have been around the embedded space for a while are pretty familiar with Altera’s history in the programmable logic space. Without going through the details, it’s a fairly rocky past. 

The company now claims that we should put the past in the rearview mirror and focus not just on what the company is offering today, but what’s on its roadmap. They feel that the relationships they’ve made and the inroads they continue to make put them in the perfect position to provide the products its customers want and need. 

I wanted to hear this story right from the horse’s mouth, so I spoke to Altera’s President and CEO, Raghib Hussain, on this week’s Embedded Executives podcast.

For its full existence, Arm has primarily been an IP vendor. That has now changed. Arm will be producing silicon products, similar to many of its customers. Getting to that point required an assist from some of its partners, including Synopsys. 

To understand what an “assist” consists of and what the longer-term outlook looks like, I spoke to Frank Schirrmeister, the Executive Director of Product Management for System Solutions at Synopsys, on this week’s Embedded Executives podcast.

Digital transformation, particularly in industrial equipment, has the ability to change the landscape of design. 

Rich Nass interviews Julien Battiston with NXP at embedded world 2026 in Nuremberg.

End devices are shipping with the AI box checked. In other words, OEMs are saying that their products are AI-enabled. But are they really, or is this just marketing spin? 

AI means different things to different people. For example, a marketer might have a different definition than an engineer when asked what AI is. In today’s complex world, both may be right. But when consumers need to understand what is AI about their devices, the waters can get muddied pretty quickly. 

Aptiv makes a clear distinction between “intelligent mobility” and “autonomous drive.” It’s easy to see how the two terms can be used interchangeably, but Aptiv is applying the former to many platforms that are not automobiles. And because of the company’s experience in the automotive space, it can do so in a big way. 

To understand the difference between the two terms and the impact that Aptiv can have in this space, I spoke to Deepali Trehan, Aptiv’s Senior VP and Chief Product Officer, on this week’s Embedded Executives podcast.

If you’re building an Edge-based device, you need to be concerned about power consumption. If you’re building an Edge-based device that’s running on a battery, power consumption rockets to the top of the priority list. 

One vendor that has a lot of say in where power levels reside is GlobalFoundries. Along with its customers, the company sets many of the rules when it comes to power. 

To see what those rules are and where those levels currently reside, I spoke to Ed Kaste, the Senior Vice President of the Ultra-Low Power Business at GlobalFoundries, on this week’s Embedded Executives podcast.

Rich Nass interviews Greg Sheridan and Eric Welsh with Octavo Systems at embedded world 2026.