Embedded

We spoke with ecologist Dr. Meredith Palmer and embedded engineer Akiba about lions, terror, and technology.  Akiba works for FreakLabs.org on global conservation projects. We talked about their Boombox which Meredith uses to create experiments to map the landscape of fear in predator/prey relationships. While this may look like pranking animals with jump scares, well, there is real science being done.  What would it look like to be smooched by a lioness? (Video) Bird hears lion, decides to go over there (Video) Checking the reflexes of some zebras and other critters (Video) Hyena eating camara (Video) These are lots of fun to watch and you can find the freshest ones and help out science by categorizing some at Snapshot Safari. Or skip to using the data on Lila.science (Snapshot Safari 2024 data). Check out Meredith’s website for more github and Data Dryad links to data and science.  If you want to get involved, Wildlabs.net has discussions around conservation technology. There is also a Slack group by Sara Beery focusing on AI for conservation. Elecia mentioned David Quammen, an author who writes a lot about biology and ecology. And now, a guy gives birth to a botfly. Transcript If you’re interested in the intersection of neuroscience and engineering, you might want to check out what Mouser Electronics is doing with Brain-Computer Interfaces. It’s all about how you can control machines with your mind, and it’s one of the coolest areas of innovation right now. Mouser’s Empowering Innovation Together site has great content on BCIs, from videos to in-depth articles and podcasts that break down the tech. If this piques your curiosity, head over to Mouser.com/empowering-innovation and explore what’s happening with BCI and other exciting developments in the world of design and engineering.

In this discussion, Komathi Sundaram, a Principal Software Engineer at Cruise, shares her passion for software testing and automation. She dives into the exciting world of bug discovery and contrasts the roles of developers and testers. Topics include the importance of continuous integration, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and innovative simulation tools like WalkWe. Komathi also emphasizes effective communication in teams and the evolving dynamics between testers and developers, making the technical talk surprisingly engaging.

In this episode, Janet Hansen, an LED artist and founder of Enlighted Designs, brings her passion for lighted clothing to the spotlight. She shares her journey from engineering to designing striking illuminated garments for the entertainment industry. Highlighting stories from working with Daft Punk, she discusses the intriguing blend of technology and art. Janet also dives into the creative process, addressing both the joys and challenges of integrating electronics into costume design while embracing her artistic identity amidst the demands of commercial work.

At the end of this week’s show, Elecia reads a Winnie the Pooh poem as Cookie Monster death metal. Before that, Chris and Elecia chat about mental health, journaling, personal projects, and listener questions.  Please sign up for the Nordic Giveaway!  You can also sign up for the Embedded newsletter. Maybe now with job postings? Elecia’s journaling notebook is this one on JetPens (which is where she gets her nice pens and some of her stickers and washi tape).  From discussing some listener messages, we mentioned: Matt Keeter’s talk on debuggability in production where you don’t have access to the system that is faulting (video and slides) Letter boards (in the Adirondacks), see those in action here Wokwi simulator is a great place to get more embedded experience without buying all the kits. Christopher has said that there will not, definitely not, under any circumstances, be a whole death metal album of Winnie the Pooh poems. Elecia is practicing anyway.  Transcript Nordic Semiconductor has been the driving force for Bluetooth Low Energy MCUs and wireless SoCs since the early 2010s, and they offer solutions for low-power Wi-Fi and global Cellular IoT as well. If you plan on developing robust and battery-operated applications, check out their hardware, software, tools, and services.   On academy.nordicsemi.com, you’ll find Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular IoT courses, and the Nordic DevZone community covers technical questions:  devzone.nordicsemi.com.   Oh, and don’t forget to enter Nordic Semiconductor’s giveaway contest! Just fill out the entrance form, and you're in the running. Good luck!

Kwabena Agyeman, CEO of OpenMV and a leader in computer vision for microcontrollers, discusses the exciting advancements in compact programmable cameras. He highlights the newly launched Kickstarter for the powerful N6 and tiny AE3 models, emphasizing their capabilities with edge AI for on-device processing. The conversation dives into partnerships with Edge Impulse and Roboflow for AI model training, the integration of neural network processors, and the innovative uses of intelligent camera systems to enhance real-time data analysis in various applications.

Shimon Schocken, a computer science professor at Reichman University, is renowned for his innovative work in teaching through gamification, particularly with the nand2tetris project. In this engaging conversation, he discusses using Tetris and other games to simplify complex computer science concepts. They explore the importance of good design in education, the value of hands-on projects, and innovative teaching strategies that foster creativity. Shimon also shares insights on creating effective curricula and balancing enjoyment with educational rigor.

Professor Cindy Harnett, from the University of Louisville, dives into the fascinating world of soft robotics and low-cost sensor fabrication. She discusses innovative materials, like shape memory alloys, and their creative applications in robotics. Harnett explains the intricacies of MEMS sensors, including their role in bird vision. The conversation touches on exciting projects, like bio-inspired robotic fingers and advancements in optical fiber mechanics, shedding light on the future of robotics and the potential of machine learning in sensor technology.

Debra Ansell joined us to talk about finding friends and exchanging neat gifts, accidentally tricking people into making unmanufacutable boards, and happy, blinking lights. Debra is usually known by the moniker GeekMomProjects (also her website is geekmomprojects.com). She has been writing for Make Magazine.  Debra won one of the SuperCon badge add-on awards so her poseable Bendy SAO will be available at SuperCon Europe.  Some other things we mentioned: Seeed Studio XIAO board Adafruit QT Py Debra’s Remoticon talk about PCB structures Martin Oehler is Maketvee on YouTube and Mastodon Janet Hansen is on Mastodon and has an incredible Enlightened Designs wearables website. #makergiftexchange on your favorite social media platform And some upcoming events that promise to have lots of LEDs: Teardown 2025 | Crowd Supply (Jun ‘25) Portland Winter Light Festival (Feb ‘25) Transcript Memfault is a leading embedded device observability platform that empowers teams to build better IoT products, faster. Its off-the-shelf solution is specifically designed for bandwidth-constrained devices, offering device performance and product analytics, debugging, and over-the-air capabilities. Trusted by leading brands such as Bose, Lyft, Logitech, Panasonic, and Augury, Memfault improves the reliability of devices across consumer electronics and mission-critical industries such as access control, point of sale, energy, and healthcare. To learn more, visit memfault.com.  

Elecia and Chris talk with each other about the state of Chris’ mind, what makes an embedded developer stand out, “LEGO block” based design, unit tests, and astronomy. Whew! Elecia was recently on the Changelog podcast, talking about the world of embedded systems. Chris has been working with Micropython (we talked with Damien George about Micropython on episode 456). He’s using a Pyboard to start, but is looking to move on to this board from Sparkfun. Wikipedia has a nice reference on what the pulse-per-second signal is all about. Elecia talked about her experience using CFFI to drive unit tests. She also talked about some facts from Information is Beautiful. Chris’ telescope is the ZWO Seestar S50. There’s also a smaller Seestar S30 now which has a wider field-of-view. Title reference (Chris and Elecia both thoroughly enjoyed The Good Place, the TV show this is taken from.) Transcript Nordic Semiconductor has been the driving force for Bluetooth Low Energy MCUs and wireless SoCs since the early 2010s, and they offer solutions for low-power Wi-Fi and global Cellular IoT as well. If you plan on developing robust and battery-operated applications, check out their hardware, software, tools, and services.   On academy.nordicsemi.com, you’ll find Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular IoT courses, and the Nordic DevZone community covers technical questions:  devzone.nordicsemi.com.   Oh, and don’t forget to enter Nordic Semiconductor’s giveaway contest! Just fill out the entrance form, and you're in the running. Good luck! Here’s one of the astrophotos Chris has taken: The Horsehead and Flame nebulae in Orion taken from a Seestar S50

Nathan Jones chatted with us about his proposal for a computer architecture book based on a 4-bit computer.  Nathan found the 4-bit computer in the Hackaday SuperCon 2022 badge and was amazed by some of the ideas that folks implemented (see SuperCon Badge Hacking Awards Ceremony). Nathan spoke at Hackaday SuperCon 2023 on the processor architecture, highlighting some of his ideas for a book. If you’d like to try your hand at the badge, find it on Nathan’s Voja4 Tindie page.  Nathan also spoke recently at the Embedded Online Conference (Building a Simple CLI, OOP in C, and The Power of a Look-up Table) and the Teardown Conference (Making Your Own MCU Boards and Building a Simple CLI). If you have an idea you’d like to propose, check out O’Reilly’s proposal for a book or class. While you may not go with them, the proposal is a good place to get all of your ideas down. We mentioned a few other computer architecture books as competitors for Nathan’s proposed book: Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach by John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson  Introduction to Computing Systems: From bits & gates to C & beyond by Yale N. Patt and Sanjay J. Patel The Elements of Computing Systems, by Noam Nisan and Shimon Schocken (MIT Press) with supporting material and simulator on nand2tetris. Nathan also did a survey of the Embedded Slack community. You can gain access by becoming a Patreon or Kofi supporter. Transcript