Embedded Developers to Share Practical, Real-World Expertise at ESC Boston 2015

Exciting new format provides platform for engineers to share post-mortem reports around the embedded system development process

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UBM Canon

Dec 11, 2014, 04:05 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM Canon announced the first confirmed set of local-area embedded developers who will deliver talks in a new session format at the Embedded Systems Conference/Expo Boston on May 6-7, 2015. Registration for the conference opens January 12, 2015 at http://embeddedconf.com.

These new "post-mortem sessions" chronicle in technical detail the design and development of a real-world embedded systems application, including a detailed discussion of the trade-offs and choices made (and reasons) during the design process.

"We know that other engineers are one of the most important sources of information for engineers, and that embedded developers know that no product design is a cakewalk; in truth, there's a lot of BS involved," said Karen Field, Creative Director of ESC. "These talks are intended to 'tell it like it is,' meaning speakers will present a detailed discussion of things that went wrong, what the workarounds were, and what would be done differently the next time around."

In a talk on defensive programming, Ark Khasin, a senior software engineer at General Electric, will share real-world techniques deployed in some GE industrial devices that have helped engineers avoid hardware and software glitches and bugs in the field.

"Firmware architects and developers at all levels will benefit from taking a second look at a critical component--or even recognize that it was missing in the design in the first place," said Khasin.

Using code snippets and toy-size examples, Khasin will cover some of the most dreaded glitches for embedded developers, from managing last-ditch processing of unhandled exceptions before and after reset to detecting stack overflow to ensuring the integrity of critical data and outputs in case of a trap.

Bigbelly Solar's VP of Engineering Michael Feldman will chronicle the company's sometimes rocky road to success as an early pioneer in the constantly-evolving IoT space, noting there has not been a shortage of pitfalls that engineering has run into over the years. Feldman will describe the evolution of the embedded system, from the early constraints to what they would do differently if they were to start from scratch today.

Given the rapid evolution of processors and architecture, is it possible to make the hardware in an embedded system independent of the choice of processor? Boston-area Engineer Peter Anderson tackles this topic in a session on an open-source electromagnetic tracker he is developing. A hobby project that he intends for others to replicate, he will describe the unusual requirements this application places on the processor and share insight into the design decisions and trade-offs he made to allow hardware compatibility with multiple processors.

Though well-intentioned, many engineers seem to forget that the most important customer of their code or schematic is not their compiler or CAD program, but rather other engineers. So their documentation isat times somewhat lacking. Speaker Chris Svec, senior principal software engineer at iRobot, loves to tell the story of getting ready to track down the engineer who documented his code poorly--only to find out he wrote it himself.

In his talk "Empathy Driven Development," Svec will share examples of documentation both good and bad. He will also explain why coding with empathy is not nonsense, but a mindset that leads to communicating what you've done so that others can understand it easily, which in turn can lead to a significant competitive advantage.

ESC has expanded its North American portfolio to include events in Boston and Minneapolis. These additions join an already successful lineup that includes events in Silicon Valley, California, Bangalore, India, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

ESC events provide an innovative approach to continuing education for embedded systems designers and technical professionals involved in designing electronics products and systems. Attendees will hear from industry leading speakers and get an insider's look into the latest tools and technologies in the business. For more information visit: www.embeddedconf.com.

ESC USA 2015 – Important Dates

ESC Boston: May 6-7, 2015; Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Call for speaking proposals closed; registration opens January 12, 2015

ESC Silicon Valley: July 20-22, 2015; Santa Clara Marriott
Call for speaking proposals now open through January 12, 2015; registration opens March 16, 2015

ESC Minneapolis: November 4-5, 2015; Minneapolis Convention Center
Call for speaking proposals open March 9, 2015; registration opens July 6, 2015

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About the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) 
The Embedded Systems Conference (ESC), produced by UBM Canon is the world's leading technical two-day and three-day conference and expo series for embedded systems designers, engineers, entrepreneurs and technology professionals who are involved in designing electronic products and systems. ESC is the only educational event that provides highly practical, technical training for anyone involved in product development that wants to apply the latest techniques and strategies to reduce cost, accelerate schedules, and manage risk in the product development process. ESC is held annually in Boston, MA; Santa Clara, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Bangalore, India and Sao Paulo, Brazil. More information is available at: http://www.embeddedconf.com/  

About UBM Canon
UBM Canon is the leading B-to-B event producer, publisher, and digital media company for the world's $3 trillion advanced, technology-based manufacturing industry. Our print and electronic products deliver trusted information to the advanced manufacturing market and leverage our proprietary 1.3 million name database to connect suppliers with buyers and purchase influencers. We produce more than 50 events and conferences in a dozen countries, connecting manufacturing professionals from around the globe. UBM Canon is part of UBM plc (UBM.L) a global provider of media and information services for professional B-to-B communities and markets.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.embeddedconf.com
CONTACT: Karen Field at [email protected]

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SOURCE UBM Canon