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Coredump Sessions

Memfault's podcast for embedded engineers and teams building connected devices, with stories and technical deep dives on firmware, OTA updates, connectivity and shipping reliable products.

26 episodes · 25 hours · since 2024

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Coredump Sessions is filed under embedded, engineering and interviews. Its most recent episode published on , so it is still actively publishing.

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Where to begin with Coredump Sessions: full episodes about building physical products, award winners first.

  • · 49m

    #003: Pebble's Code is Free: Three Former Pebble Engineers Discuss Why It's Important (PART 1/2)

    Francois Baldassari, Chris Coleman, and Brad Murray, former engineers at Pebble, discuss the technical architecture and engineering decisions behind PebbleOS. They explain how a single codebase supported multiple hardware variants, enabling a platform approach that simplified updates and app compatibility. The team details their custom NOR Flash file system, app sandboxing using MPU fault handlers, and the strategic use of intentional crashes to generate core dumps for debugging. They also highlight the importance of analytics, serial protocols, and the collaboration between firmware and hardware teams in shaping the final product.

    Embedded firmwareDebugging & failure analysis
    13 chapters

  • · 59m

    #005: The Current Realities of Cellular IoT

    Fabien Korheim, Head of Global Products Strategy at ONES, and Chris Coleman, CTO of Memfault, discuss the current state of cellular IoT, emphasizing the operational advantages of MVNOs over traditional MNOs for global deployments. They analyze the trade-offs between NB-IoT and LTE-M, noting LTE-M as the current safe bet for low-power applications, while 5G RedCap is positioned as a future alternative. The conversation highlights the untapped potential of cellular in consumer devices, such as baby monitors and pet trackers, to reduce setup friction and returns, and details critical debugging strategies involving observability, module selection, and firmware practices.

    Wireless & RFConnected products & IoT
    11 chapters

  • · 55m

    #011: Memfault Joins Nordic Semiconductor: What This Means for the Future of Connected Product Development

    François Baldassari and Chris from Memfault, joined by Kjetil Holstad from Nordic Semiconductor, discuss Memfault's acquisition by Nordic and the strategic vision for a 'chip-to-cloud' platform. They trace Nordic’s history from design services to Bluetooth leadership, highlighting the pivotal role of the iPhone 4S in accelerating BLE adoption and the increasing complexity of embedded software. The conversation details the deep technical integration between Memfault and Nordic’s nRF Connect SDK and Zephyr, emphasizing how this partnership lowers barriers for developers building reliable IoT devices.

    Connected products & IoTEmbedded firmware
    10 chapters

Hear it in a few minutes

Single discussions from recent episodes, playing the show's own audio from where each begins.

Latest episodes

  • · 58m

    #025: Powered by Sunlight, Fenced by Software: Inside Monil's Cattle Collar

    Torstein Nesse, co-founder and CEO of Monil, explains how his company builds solar-powered virtual fencing collars for livestock using Nordic nRF9160 and nRF52 chips alongside u-blox GNSS receivers. He details the low-power design challenges, the decision to use a dedicated GNSS module for performance, and the implementation of offline operation with buffered telemetry. The conversation covers a four-month network debugging challenge involving rural connectivity, the use of IMU sensors for animal behavior detection, and the business model combining hardware sales with subscriptions for farmer peace of mind.

    PCB design & layoutBatteries & low-power design
    8 chapters

  • · 1h 01m

    #024: Shipping Firmware Under the CRA: Nicolas Schieli on the Questions Everyone’s Asking, and the Ones They Should Be Link:

    Nicolas Schieli, VP of Product Security at Nordic Semiconductor, joins François Baldassari and Chris Coleman to explain the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) for connected products. They detail the immediate 24-hour vulnerability reporting requirements, the December 2027 compliance deadline, and the necessity of threat modeling, secure boot, and SBOMs. The discussion covers product classification, long-term support obligations, and how manufacturers remain responsible for their supply chain's security posture.

    Certification & complianceSecurity & privacy
    6 chapters

  • · 58m

    #023: Running Edge AI in Their Sleep: How Elemind Built Embedded Firmware for On-Demand Rest

    David Wang, CTO of Elemind, explains how his company built a wearable headband that uses real-time EEG sensing and closed-loop audio stimulation to help users fall asleep faster. The device achieves a critical 2-millisecond latency loop by optimizing embedded firmware on a Cortex-M33 processor, avoiding expensive FPGAs while handling signal processing and edge AI for sleep staging. Wang details the 5-year development journey, including the shift from uncomfortable hair-penetrating electrodes to comfortable dry carbon-graphite sensors and the discovery that alpha wave suppression is more effective than boosting delta waves. The team is now developing an 'AI sleep tailor' to personalize stimulation for the 24% of users who do not initially respond to the standard protocol.

    Embedded firmwareMechanical engineering
    9 chapters

  • · 59m

    #022: How Two Dads Thoughtfully Scaled Yoto Into One of the Fastest Growing Kid Tech Brands

    Yoto co-founders Ben Drury and Filip Denker explain how they scaled their screen-free audio player for kids from a garage prototype to a global brand, balancing hardware durability, content licensing, and regulatory compliance. They discuss the evolution from Raspberry Pi prototypes to custom ESP32 hardware, the challenges of Wi-Fi connectivity and captive portals, and how they use fleet observability to manage millions of devices in the field. The conversation also covers Yoto's developer program, which allows community members to build interactive audio experiences, and their strategic use of AI for compliance and content generation while maintaining transparency.

    Scaling productionPrototyping & iteration
    9 chapters

  • · 1h 01m

    #021: Hardware at Software Speed: How BootLoop Is Bringing AI to the Bench for Firmware Teams

    Noah Pasek-Nelson and Chris Markus, co-founders of BootLoop, explain how their AI platform accelerates the firmware lifecycle by combining deep hardware context with automated hardware-in-the-loop testing. They discuss how ingesting schematics and data sheets eliminates hallucinations, allowing the system to generate, flash, and validate code on physical devices like oscilloscopes and logic analyzers. The founders also cover BootLoop's security posture, pricing model, and its 'Sentinel' product for automated field debugging.

    AI & machine learningEmbedded firmware
    7 chapters

  • · 53m

    #020: The Hidden Architecture of Autonomy: How Skydio Drones Think, See, and Connect

    Ross Yeager, VP of Device Platform Software at Skydio, discusses the company's vertically integrated manufacturing in California and its pioneering fully autonomous drone technology. He details the engineering challenges of building complex embedded systems with multiple microcontrollers and SoCs, emphasizing the critical need for safety, reliability, and rigorous testing in high-stakes government and first responder applications. Yeager also reflects on his career path, from early Kickstarter projects and work at Boosted Boards and Altera to leading software architecture at Skydio.

    Embedded firmwareScaling production
    8 chapters

  • · 55m

    #019: END-OF-YEAR CELEBRATION: Moments You Loved, Stories You Missed, and 2026 Predictions You Need

    François Baldassari and Chris Coleman, co-founders of Memfault, reflect on the 20th episode of Coredump Sessions, highlighting lessons from guests like Nick Sinas of Oval, Dan Mangum of Golioth, and Chad from Gabb. They discuss the critical importance of Over-the-Air (OTA) updates, the rise of AI-assisted firmware development using tools like Claude and Cursor, and the evolving security landscape for devices from Pebble to modern smart rings. The hosts predict that 2026 will see OTA become a regulatory requirement and AI offload processing to the edge, while emphasizing the need for engineers to adapt to higher-level abstractions.

    Connected products & IoTAI & machine learning
    11 chapters

  • · 58m

    #018: The Hidden Complexity of Sleep Tech: Power, Comfort, and 8 Hours of Reliability

    Charles Taylor, co-founder of Ozlo Sleep, explains how his team revived Bose’s discontinued Sleepbuds by balancing extreme miniaturization, power efficiency, and firmware-driven reliability. He details the engineering challenges of designing earbuds smaller than AirPods that last 8-10 hours, the critical role of Kickstarter in building a beta community for real-world testing, and the strategic decision to pursue FDA clearance for software-based therapies rather than classifying the hardware as a medical device.

    Embedded firmwareBatteries & low-power design
    8 chapters

  • · 57m

    #017: Building and Scaling a Startup in the Ultra-Competitive Health Wearables Market

    Vatsal Singhal, co-founder of Ultrahuman, explains how the company transitioned from a software-first background to building health wearables by adopting rapid iteration cycles, including changing the PCB design roughly 20 times in a year. To support this velocity, Ultrahuman built its own manufacturing facilities in Bangalore and Texas, allowing for close collaboration between R&D and production. Singhal details the critical role of edge machine learning for biomarker analysis and the use of Memfault for firmware observability to manage the complexity of multiple hardware revisions in the field.

    Scaling productionEmbedded firmware
    8 chapters

Every episode

26 episodes with a summary and chapters, by year.

20266 episodes
  1. 5 Oct#025Powered by Sunlight, Fenced by Software: Inside Monil's Cattle Collar58m
  2. 16 Sept#024Shipping Firmware Under the CRA: Nicolas Schieli on the Questions Everyone’s Asking, and the Ones They Should Be Link:1h 01m
  3. 25 Jun#023Running Edge AI in Their Sleep: How Elemind Built Embedded Firmware for On-Demand Rest58m
  4. 13 May#022How Two Dads Thoughtfully Scaled Yoto Into One of the Fastest Growing Kid Tech Brands59m
  5. 25 Mar#021Hardware at Software Speed: How BootLoop Is Bringing AI to the Bench for Firmware Teams1h 01m
  6. 29 Jan#020The Hidden Architecture of Autonomy: How Skydio Drones Think, See, and Connect53m
202517 episodes
  1. 11 Dec#019END-OF-YEAR CELEBRATION: Moments You Loved, Stories You Missed, and 2026 Predictions You Need55m
  2. 26 Nov#018The Hidden Complexity of Sleep Tech: Power, Comfort, and 8 Hours of Reliability58m
  3. 29 Oct#017Building and Scaling a Startup in the Ultra-Competitive Health Wearables Market57m
  4. 17 Sept#016From Startup to Global Brand: Scaling Engineering at reMarkable1h 00m
  5. 20 Aug#015Developing kid-safe tech at Gabb: what it takes and why it’s so important57m
  6. 5 Aug#014Why Your IoT Project Still Hasn’t Taken Off — And How to Fix It57m
  7. 23 Jul#013Prepping Your AI Model for the Wild: Building Edge AI Models That Work in the Real World57m
  8. 8 Jul#012Plug-and-Play Cellular Connectivity: Nearly Here or Never Happening?55m
  9. 1 Jul#011Memfault Joins Nordic Semiconductor: What This Means for the Future of Connected Product Development55m
  10. 11 Jun#010From Pebble to Intel: can hardware startups beat the big players?59m
  11. 27 May#009Zephyr’s Meteoric Rise and What It Means for the Future of Embedded59m
  12. 13 May#008Navigating the Changing IoT Security Landscape: A Survival Guide for Product Leaders58m
  13. 29 Apr#007AI, Open Source, and the Future of Embedded Development: How Much Code Will We Actually Write?55m
  14. 15 Apr#006Pebble’s Code is Free: Three Former Pebble Engineers Discuss Why It's Important (PART 2/2)1h 13m
  15. 19 Mar#005The Current Realities of Cellular IoT59m
  16. 25 Feb#004The Future of Edge AI and What it Means for Device Makers58m
  17. 11 Feb#003Pebble's Code is Free: Three Former Pebble Engineers Discuss Why It's Important (PART 1/2)49m
20243 episodes
  1. 18 Dec#002The secrets to building secure & scalable OTA infrastructure with Nick Sinas57m
  2. 27 Nov#001The future of Bluetooth connectivity with Blecon Founder, Simon Ford1h 08m
  3. 17 Sept#000How New IoT Security Regulations Will Shape the Industry's Future1h 03m

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