130: Criminal Training Camp

Embedded.fm · 17 Dec 2015 · 1h 02m

What this episode covers

Alvaro Prieto, an embedded firmware engineer at Planet Labs, discusses his transition from Apple to a startup environment and his diverse hardware and software projects. He details his reverse engineering of the Syma Proto-X quadcopter radio protocol, his experience building autonomous laser-shooting robots for DEFCON, and his creation of 'Silta,' an open-source I2C/SPI bridge tool. Prieto also shares insights on company culture, the technical challenges of testing satellite manufacturing tools, and his personal projects like a Skype video message exporter.

Mentioned

Companies
Planet Labs, Apple, Hackaday, TI, Crossbow, HP Labs, Punch Through Design
Products
Syma Proto-X, Silta, Skype, Light Blue Bean
Chips
STM32F4
Tools
Bus Pirate
Also
DEFCON, Rochester Institute of Technology, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Black Hat, Daniel Suarez, Micah, Michael Osman

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 08m

    An interview with Alvaro and Jen from the URE Podcast

    Alvaro Prieto and Jen, hosts of the Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast, discuss their backgrounds in firmware engineering at companies like Apple, Amazon, and Planet. They contrast the high-volume, rapid-cycle nature of consumer electronics with the flexible timelines of industrial hardware, highlighting challenges like silicon errata, OTA update strategies, and the difficulty of finding competent firmware engineers. The conversation covers reverse engineering techniques, including protocol analysis and firmware dumping, inspired by creators like Micah Elizabeth Scott and Dimitri Greenberg.

  • 017 - Supercon 2018 Part 2

    Jen and Alvaro interview Sarah Petkus and Mark Koch, who discuss reverse engineering at the Blue Man Group and their projects like the Shibon suit and Solstice board. Rick Altherr details his work reverse engineering Xilinx FPGA bitstreams and automotive engine control protocols using tools like Hex Fiend. Ruth Grace Wong and Joe Rozner share experiences with firmware debugging and prototype failures, while Piotr Esden and Dominc Spill discuss the Black Magic Probe and HackRF One for wireless reverse engineering.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 49m

    An Interview with Piotr Esden-Tempski

    Piotr Esden-Tempski, founder of One Bit Squared, discusses the development of open-source hardware and software tools for embedded systems, specifically the Blackmagic Probe and OneBitC board. He explains the technical rationale behind creating these tools, citing licensing issues with STMicroelectronics libraries and the need for robust, open debugging capabilities like GDB integration. The conversation covers the hardware design of the Lisa series autopilots, the software architecture of Paparazzi UAV, and the community-driven growth of the Blackmagic Probe project following a successful Kickstarter.

  • Hackaday Podcast · 50m

    Ep 139: Furter Burner, Glowing Potato Peeler, Hacked Smartwatch, and The Last Atlas

    Hackaday editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi discuss a range of hardware hacks, including Sail Drone's autonomous ocean-going vessels, an analog computer by Berlin-based Anabrid, and a Nernst lamp built with a ceramic potato peeler. They also cover the reverse-engineering of a cheap smartwatch for open-source firmware, the teardown of a defective USB power bank module, and the use of corrugated political signs as prototyping material. The episode concludes with an analysis of the retirement of the Atlas rocket family due to reliance on Russian engines and the development of the new Vulcan rocket.

  • Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 1h 09m

    004 - 0x0FF the Rails

    Micah Scott (scanlime) discusses her career in hardware reverse engineering, detailing her work at Sifteo on resource-constrained graphics engines and her recent 'Winchbot' project for her cat Tuco. She explains the mechanical design of the winch system and the complex process of reverse engineering a FeiyuTech gimbal's encrypted firmware using Sigrok and community assistance. Scott also reflects on her past projects like CoasterMelt and her preference for tools like IPython for interactive debugging.

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