François Baldassari from Memfault on IoT Observability

The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast · 15 Feb 2023 · 53m

What this episode covers

François Baldassari, founder and CEO of Memfault, discusses the evolution of embedded software and the critical need for IoT observability tools. He recounts his experience at Pebble, where a lack of field data led to a severe firmware update bug affecting Android users, which inspired the creation of Memfault's crash reporting and OTA solutions. Baldassari argues that modern embedded teams must adopt agile practices, such as decoupling software from hardware via emulators and implementing 'day 0 updates,' to iterate effectively. He highlights persistent industry challenges, including C language memory management issues, code space constraints, and the emerging crisis of embedded security and privacy.

Mentioned

Companies
Memfault, Pebble, Oculus, NXP, NetRise, Edge Impulse
Products
HockeyApp, TensorFlow Lite Micro, MicroPython, JerryScript
Chips
STM32, ESP32
Tools
Renode, QEMU, CodeChecker

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