180: Chickens in Helmets

Embedded.fm · 20 Dec 2016 · 1h 05m

What this episode covers

Peter Esden-Tempski of 1BitSquared and Gareth McMullin of Black Sphere explain the Black Magic Probe, an open-source J-Tag/SWD debugger that uses the GDB extended remote protocol to eliminate the need for middleware like OpenOCD. They discuss the device's architecture, its support for Cortex-M devices from vendors like ST and Atmel, and the accompanying 1Bitsy development board. The conversation covers their Kickstarter campaign to fund mass production, the technical differences between J-Tag and SWD, and the future roadmap including Cortex-A support.

Mentioned

Companies
1BitSquared, Black Sphere, Swift Navigation
Products
Black Magic Probe, 1Bitsy
Chips
STM32
Tools
OpenOCD, GDB, PlatformIO, Visual Studio Code

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • 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.

  • 010 - T0015! Part 0x3 - Debug Interfaces

    Hosts Alvaro Prieto and Jen Castilla discuss debugging interfaces like JTAG and SWD, explaining their history from boundary scan testing to modern in-circuit emulation. They review key hardware tools including Segger J-Link, BlackMagicProbe, ST-Link, and the BusBlaster, noting how open-source alternatives have drastically reduced costs. The conversation highlights the JTAGulator for finding hidden debug pins and argues that affordable, accessible tools have lowered barriers for hardware startups and security researchers.

  • Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast · 1h 43m

    044 - Scots Army Knife

    Piotr Esden-Tempski of 1BitSquared discusses the company's role in manufacturing open-source hardware, specifically the Glasgow digital interface explorer, the iCEBreaker FPGA board, and the Black Magic Probe debugger. He explains the economic rationale for using an old Quad 4C pick-and-place machine for small-batch production and details how Glasgow uses an FPGA to dynamically generate hardware protocols via the nmigen HDL. The conversation also covers the geopolitical shift toward RISC-V in China, the challenges of debugging legacy industrial equipment, and the importance of documentation and community education in the open-source hardware ecosystem.

  • 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 45m

    An Interview with Scott Shawcroft

    Chris Gammell, a software engineer at Adafruit, explains the architecture and philosophy behind CircuitPython, the fork of MicroPython designed for beginners. He details the technical differences between interpreted and compiled languages, the use of a virtual machine to execute byte code, and the uniform API that allows drivers to work across different microcontroller families like the SAMD21 and SAMD51. Gammell also walks through the low-level debugging process using J-Link and GDB, explaining how hardware breakpoints and the Micro Trace Buffer help troubleshoot firmware issues.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.