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

- Show: [Coredump Sessions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions)
- Published: 2026-06-25
- Length: 58m
- Episode: 24
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de
- Listen: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/memfault/episodes/023-Running-Edge-AI-in-Their-Sleep-How-Elemind-Built-Embedded-Firmware-for-On-Demand-Rest-e3l9133

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de#t=1) Introduction: David Wang and Elemind's Sleep Headband
- [3:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de#t=233) Elemind's Origin and Neuroscience Problem Solving
- [5:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de#t=344) Closed-Loop Audio Stimulation and 2ms Latency Requirements
- [14:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de#t=874) Embedded Firmware Optimization and Real-Time Constraints
- [21:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de#t=1263) Translating Matlab Algorithms to C Firmware
- [26:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de#t=1578) Hardware Design: Dry Electrodes and Comfort Engineering
- [37:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de#t=2233) Debugging Volume Button Crashes and Event Stacks
- [40:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de#t=2453) Edge AI: Sleep Staging and the AI Sleep Tailor
- [47:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de#t=2866) Hardware Choices: MCUs vs. FPGAs and Future V2 Plans

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Elemind (company)
- David Wang (other)
- Memfault (company)
- Nordic Semiconductor (company)
- FreeRTOS (other)
- Teensy (product)
- Matlab (tool)
- Cortex-M33 (chip)
- Claude Opus (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [174: It's Not Weird](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-11-02-174-its-not-weird) (Embedded.fm)
- [90. Solving the Billion Person Sleep Problem](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2022-10-04-90-solving-the-billion-person-sleep-problem) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [319: Squidly Tentacles](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-02-07-319-squidly-tentacles) (Embedded.fm)
- [Embedded World 2023 Recap](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2023-03-18-embedded-world-2023-recap) (EE Times Current)
- [When your headphones listen to you with Ramses Alcaide of Neurable](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-31-when-your-headphones-listen-to-you-with-ramses-alcaide-of-neurable) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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