# 238: My Brain Is My Toolbelt

- Show: [Embedded.fm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm)
- Published: 2018-03-15
- Length: 54m
- Episode: 238
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-03-15-238-my-brain-is-my-toolbelt
- Listen: https://makingembeddedsystems.libsyn.com/238-my-brain-is-my-toolbelt

## Summary

Elecia White presents a 2008 retrospective on her work at ShotSpotter, detailing the embedded sensor network, acoustic signal processing, and time-difference-of-arrival algorithms used to locate gunshots. She and Chris White also discuss the engineering trade-offs of dynamic memory in embedded C, specifically regarding heap fragmentation and fixed-size allocators, and the challenges of maintaining shared codebases across multiple hardware platforms.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-03-15-238-my-brain-is-my-toolbelt#t=7) Introduction and Tooling Philosophy
- [9:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-03-15-238-my-brain-is-my-toolbelt#t=588) Dynamic Memory in Embedded Systems
- [16:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-03-15-238-my-brain-is-my-toolbelt#t=1014) ShotSpotter Presentation: Detection and Triangulation
- [33:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-03-15-238-my-brain-is-my-toolbelt#t=1996) ShotSpotter Presentation: Classification and Notification
- [46:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-03-15-238-my-brain-is-my-toolbelt#t=2782) Modernizing ShotSpotter and Shared Code Challenges

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- ShotSpotter (company)
- Raspberry Pi (company)
- PC Lint (tool)
- Jetson (chip)
- BeagleBone (chip)
- LoRa (chip)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [#023: Running Edge AI in Their Sleep: How Elemind Built Embedded Firmware for On-Demand Rest](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2026-06-25-023-running-edge-ai-in-their-sleep-how-elemind-built-embedded-firmware-for-on-de) (Coredump Sessions)
- [Ep 323: Impossible CRT Surgery, Fuel Cells, Stream Gages, and a Love Letter to Microcontrollers](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-05-30-ep-323-impossible-crt-surgery-fuel-cells-stream-gages-and-a-love-letter-to-micro-a749ff00) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Linux Profiling with Mohammed Billoo](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-pragmatic-embedded-podcast/2026-04-30-linux-profiling-with-mohammed-billoo) (The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast)
- [Audio DSP with Shannon Parks](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2020-10-19-audio-dsp-with-shannon-parks) (The Amp Hour)
- [Ep 280: TV Tubes as Amplifiers, Smart Tech in Sportsballs, and Adrian Gives Us the Fingie](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2024-07-19-ep-280-tv-tubes-as-amplifiers-smart-tech-in-sportsballs-and-adrian-gives-us-the) (Hackaday Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-03-15-238-my-brain-is-my-toolbelt. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Embedded.fm.