Crossover with Embedded AI Podcast

The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast · 18 Nov 2025 · 55m

What this episode covers

Jeff Gable, Luca, and Ryan Torvik discuss integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into embedded systems engineering workflows, emphasizing that AI must augment rather than replace rigorous engineering discipline. They identify 'vibe coding' as a critical anti-pattern where developers lose control of architectural decisions by letting AI generate too much code at once, leading to unmanageable outputs and hallucinations. The hosts advocate for strict context management, test-driven development (TDD), and small, incremental commits to maintain deterministic quality, particularly in safety-critical domains like medical devices and automotive systems. They conclude that while LLMs accelerate prototyping and boilerplate generation, human code review and ownership remain non-negotiable for reliable production software.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Oxide and Friends · 1h 31m

    Are LLMs Insufficently Lazy?

    Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company are joined by software engineer Gregoirein to critique Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan’s claim of writing 37,000 lines of code daily using LLMs. Gregoirein used Claude to audit Tan’s public projects, revealing broken assets, legal non-compliance, and a site outage, while the hosts discuss the 'peril of laziness' and the difference between generating code and engineering elegant systems. They argue that while LLMs are useful for review or low-stakes tasks, they cannot replace the deep thinking required for complex, high-consequence software like kernel linkers or signal handlers.

  • Oxide and Friends · 1h 32m

    Engineering Rigor in the LLM Age

    Bryan Cantrill, Adam Leventhal, Rain Paharia, and David Crespo of Oxide Computer Company discuss using LLMs like Claude Code and Opus 4.5 to increase engineering rigor rather than just velocity. They share specific examples of using AI to refactor the Helios kernel, build the 'iddqd' Rust map library, debug the Ghostty terminal in Zig, and manage type drift in Oxide's APIs. The group argues that rigorous documentation and strong typing are essential for effective LLM collaboration, contrasting this with the 'vibe coding' narrative.

  • Coredump Sessions · 55m

    #007: AI, Open Source, and the Future of Embedded Development: How Much Code Will We Actually Write?

    François Baldassari, CEO of Memfault, and Thomas Sarlandie, Field CTO of Memfault, host a panel with Jonathan Beri, CEO of Golioth, and Dan Mangum, CTO of Golioth, to discuss the intersection of AI, open source, and embedded development. The group analyzes the maturity of edge AI for audio and video processing, the challenges of integrating LLMs into hardware due to rapid model iteration, and the current state of using AI for firmware development. They conclude that while AI is transforming code generation and review, open source remains critical for training models and providing trusted, complex infrastructure like Zephyr and FreeRTOS.

  • OnTrack · 56m

    Embedded Systems Engineer Discusses AI-Driven Testing Revolution

    Ari Mahpour, an Embedded Systems Engineer at Rivian with prior experience at NASA JPL and Virgin Hyperloop, discusses the integration of AI and DevOps into embedded hardware development. He demonstrates 'vibe coding' with an Arduino using voice commands and LLMs, explaining how AI agents can autonomously write, compile, and test firmware. Mahpour also covers the challenges of managing hardware revisions, the importance of Model Context Protocol (MCP) for tool guardrails, and the future of AI in automated PCB design and testing.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 05m

    53: Being a Grownup Engineer (Repeat)

    Jack Ganssle, author of 'The Art of Designing Embedded Systems' and 'The Embedded Systems Dictionary', argues that embedded software development has failed to adopt true engineering discipline, relying on 'heroics' rather than process. He cites the Toyota unintended acceleration case, where Michael Barr identified 11,000 global variables, as evidence of the catastrophic costs of poor software practices. Ganssle advocates for rigorous requirements gathering, static analysis tools like LDRA and Spark, and metrics-driven benchmarking to reduce debugging time and improve code quality. He contrasts this disciplined approach with the 'hacker' and 'maker' cultures, emphasizing that safety-critical systems require proven processes rather than ad-hoc coding.

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