Embedded.fm · 28 Dec 2018 · 1h 27m · Episode 272
Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics Consulting joins hosts Chris White and Alicia White to discuss the state of the embedded industry, the shift towards rapid 'Lego prototyping' using cheap dev boards, and the challenges of IoT device management. The conversation covers the longevity of the ESP32, the complexities of Wi-Fi provisioning and OTA updates, and the rise of LoRaWAN for long-range sensor networks. They also touch on career transitions, including Chris Gammell's move to iOS development and Alicia White's work with autonomous robots.
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Chris Gammell joins Alicia White and Dave Jones of Embedded.fm to recap the year and discuss the state of the electronics industry. They cover the shift in PCB prototyping costs, the rise of the ESP32, and the challenges of IoT device management, including firmware updates and security. The conversation also touches on career transitions, remote work trends, and specific technologies like LoRaWAN and CircuitPython.
Brandon Satrom, Vice President of Experience Engineering at Blues Wireless, explains how the company accelerates IoT development by providing embeddable cellular infrastructure like the Note Card and the new Sparrow device cluster solution. He details the transition from complex, developer-hostile cellular modules to JSON-based APIs that simplify integration for microcontrollers like the ESP32 and Arduino. Satrom discusses the strategic choice between connectivity technologies, advocating for LoRaWAN in device cluster applications to reduce BOM costs while using cellular for backhaul, and highlights the importance of solving use cases rather than just selling hardware.
The host reviews several maker projects, including Tomasz of Mellow Labs' Dry Laundry Smart Sensor using an ESP32 and resistance measurement, and Eamon Magd's fortune-telling wizard staff built with an Arduino and vibration sensor. The episode highlights DonutsOrElse's weather-predicting cloak utilizing a Blues Wireless board and ESP32, and announces the winner of an ESP32 C6 development kit competition. The Product of the Week is the Seeed Studio SenseCap S2104, a rugged LoRaWAN soil sensor with a 10-year battery life, followed by a roundup of Embedded World microcontroller announcements and crowdfunding projects like Whisker and BioData MIDI Interface.
Chris Gammell and Dave Jones discuss recent industry layoffs at MakerBot, Microchip, and Intel, highlighting the risks of hardware career stability. They critique the fragility of cloud-dependent IoT products, citing Nest's discontinuation of the Revolve, and advocate for local processing and tools like Pi Shift. The conversation also covers Dave's prototype struggles with firmware constraints and Chris's exploration of machine learning via Wekinator.
Dave Jones of EEVblog discusses the final stages of his 121 GW multimeter, specifically the decision to use an SD card for firmware updates instead of Bluetooth due to reliability and bootloader complexity. Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics shares his experience hand-assembling 0402 components and advocates for KiCad's OpenGL rendering mode for PCB design. The hosts also debate the industry's reliance on always-connected IoT devices, citing the WPA2 vulnerability and Tesla's Powerwall, before touching on CircuitPython and the future of embedded development.
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