New Complexities in the Embedded World — the OTI Approach

The embedded software world is facing a significant increase in complexity. Walk through an embedded-systems conference or scan the trade magazines and you will see the arrival — with a vengeance — of a new generation of high-performance, highly integrated microcontrollers from almost all the main silicon vendors. These new, low-cost devices are accelerating the competitive pressures to deliver embedded products that have more features while at the same time are more user friendly. Customers want more integration and connectivity throughout their systems. They expect flexible and configurable products. Products that were once standalone applications are now expected to be components of larger systems. There is also a growing need for dynamically downloadable application components. To make the software developer’s job even harder, add the need for application portability and the demand for customizations. Then add the emphasis on “time to profit.” Hardware costs will no longer preclude the delivery of such solutions. The limiting factor will be software.