Shulou(Shulou.com)06/02 Report--

In retrospect, I don't know when the whole it industry began to use open source software to develop applications (Apps), and industry experts also encouraged embedded engineers to step out of their comfort zone and learn new skills to keep pace with the times. Because of this, more and more people join the army of learning embedded system, which makes the development of embedded system in full swing, and the treatment of engineers is also thriving. In this regard, people who have ideas for the development of this industry can leave penguins and make progress together.

Looking back at the embedded field in the 1980s, engineers at that time mainly designed mixed-signal circuits, connected microcontrollers, wrote low-order coding, and retrieved product prototypes from the outside. All of the above can be done by an engineer. But now, embedded systems have become larger and more complex, and a device may have millions of lines of software code; embedded technology is also divided into hardware development, firmware development and software development.

This is still the case in many large companies, but the trend seems to be turning back; more and more companies are beginning to integrate the role of engineers, looking for engineers who are familiar with both software and hardware technology, in order to get twice the result with half the effort. The survey shows that more and more engineers are working in both hardware and software technology.

More and more engineers need to have both software and hardware skills.

With the rapid development of embedded technology, how can engineers ensure that the new technology they have learned is the most critical? To this end, the American version of EETimes consulted nine experts in the embedded field and a supervisor in charge of recruitment to share what important skills embedded engineers need to master most; although they have slightly different opinions, they all agree that all engineers should not stop learning.

Here are ten suggestions for embedded engineers based on expert opinions:

Learn the technologies that make the Internet possible.

Ken Wada, general manager of Aurium Technologies, an independent product design and consulting firm with 30 years of experience as an embedded engineer, believes that most embedded engineers know how to write C or C++ language programs, but sometimes such skills are not enough He suggests that embedded engineers learn Internet-related technologies, which will have an added effect on their career development. for example, several development projects he is currently responsible for embed virtual XML in embedded systems, so that some small networking devices can have a "plug and play" mode of operation. Learn to use search engines

Michael Anderson, the chief scientist of PTR Group, who has been an engineer for 35 years and considers himself a "software person who understands system architecture", believes that instead of working behind closed doors, we should make good use of the information of the open source world. Many common design problems can actually find program codes contributed by elites in the same field through the Internet. Embedded engineers should go out of their small world and embrace the community, communicate and help each other with other engineers in the same field, and this is also the spirit of the open source world. Get out of the comfort zone!

Although he has only been an engineer for 18 years, Matt Liberty, founder of DSP and embedded software development consultancy Jetperch, which considers himself a "generalist" of systems and software technology, suggests that while it is important to constantly update and upgrade technologies that are originally good at, it would be more beneficial for embedded engineers to expand their areas of knowledge. Getting out of the comfort zone, challenging yourself and learning things that you are not familiar with, including knowledge other than engineering, such as interaction with customers and colleagues, will gain a lot. Familiar with real-time operating system (RTOS)

Henry Wintz, a solution manager in charge of the embedded industry at engineering talent recruitment agency Randstad Technologies, said that there is a high demand in the industry for engineers who are familiar with RTOS and are willing to offer higher salaries; therefore, he encourages embedded engineers who have not been exposed to RTOS to start with some smaller systems and accumulate relevant technical experience. In addition, he also found that there is a lot of demand for embedded Linux talents in the industry, mainly because the operating system has greater design flexibility. Cultivate diversified skills and system view

Jen Costillo, a consultant at Rebelbot, a technical consulting firm with nearly 20 years of engineering experience in many different fields, suggests that engineers who originally worked on smaller system architectures, such as MCU, can start to familiarize themselves with larger systems, such as Linux drivers, and vice versa. Trying to develop mobile applications, or learning the relevant technologies of back-end servers, can open up a completely different point of view. He also advises engineers to familiarize themselves with open hardware, and there are many ready-made development boards on the market. It allows engineers to focus on learning unique algorithms. Know the software and know the latest processors.

Embedded.fm engineer Elecia White, who has more than 15 years of experience as an embedded software engineer, said that in addition to in-depth understanding of basic programming languages such as C or C++, it is sometimes necessary to understand some hot new programming languages to meet special design needs, but it is more important to understand the latest processor technology; processors are the essence of embedded systems. Because our system resources are limited, we need to know what resources are available. Be familiar with open source software

Rob Oshana, director of global software development for Freescale Semiconductor Digital Networks, who has 31 years of experience as an engineer, said that customers often ask for a lot of software to be integrated into the system, so all embedded engineers need to be familiar with all kinds of software; he advises engineers to avoid specializing in a single area, as that may hinder your growth. It is a very valuable value for embedded engineers to make sure that they have a good understanding of software and hardware technology. Establish system-level engineering thinking

Adam Taylor, chief engineer of E2V electronic systems, who claims to be a highly trusted embedded system expert and an engineer for 15 years, believes that it is very important for embedded engineers to have system-oriented thinking, and many development projects encounter problems because projects such as benchmarks, verification strategies and compatibility verification plans are not fully considered in the early stages of development. In addition, every embedded engineer should have excellent project management skills and strive to complete the responsible project on time. The ability to respond to technical and project risks wisely will be very helpful to career development. Be able to express your ideas and opinions clearly through words or drawings)

Jean LaBrosse, president of Micrum, believes that no matter what kind of engineer they are, they need to be able to express their ideas and opinions effectively; often some rookie engineers can't express their ideas clearly because they can't get to the point, and the best solution is to practice graphing them, such as drawing flow charts. This may sound a little old-fashioned, but sometimes it can be useful to use various combinations of borders to organize your thoughts and express ideas, such as iPad's iThoughts application. Learn wireless connection technology

Chris Svec, a senior chief software engineer at iRobot who considers himself a low-level embedded engineer and has 13 years of experience, suggests that embedded engineers need to learn wireless connectivity technologies, especially Wi-Fi and Bluetooth low Power consumption (BLE), in the next 1-3 years. Because the main (or only) way for embedded devices (at least all kinds of consumer electronics) to connect with users' smartphones is through these wireless technologies, although Wi-Fi and BLE may not necessarily be standard equipment for embedded systems, familiarity with these technologies will be very practical for embedded engineers.

The above ten points are just a little experience. I hope it will be of some help to your study. If you really have no direction to learn embedded at present, or if you are learning problems and do not know how to solve them, you can leave penguins here. The landlord also has a lot of practical information over the years. I believe it will help you move towards a new chapter.

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