Embedded software is a software of the computer whose function is controlling the devices that are exceptionally not regarded as computers. The software is usually written purposely for the specific hardware it runs on. Embedded software serves the same purpose as firmware. The embedded devices are currently found everywhere, for instance, Hospitals, Banks, automobiles and microwaves. The specific examples of embedded devices include; Smartphones, Calculators, Digital cameras and watches amongst others. These wireless devices have spread drastically due to their efficiency and reliability hence many people own them today. However, the Embedded software development currently experiences some challenges.
Integrity and compatibility
According to a survey done recently, studies have shown that young companies are fond of releasing devices frequently. This is a major challenge as many of these companies lack solid experience in the development of these embedded devices. The development of the embedded devices must be done by people who understand how to operate and even maintain the embedded devices. Many of these devices which get destroyed or damaged easily are as a result of poor production, done by the young inexperienced companies. Integrity is based on the security of the embedded devices as they need protection from the external environment.
Stability
One of the most crucial aspects in the development of the embedded devices is stability. Any act that may be foreign in the embedded device is not allowed to occur as the user of the device expects it to function efficiently without any hitches over a long period of time, regardless of the climate changes or any other circumstance.
Safety
Safety is an important aspect in the embedded devices. Strict and critical requirements need to be followed when using the embedded devices. These safety requirements are meant for protection from harm for the user. Every device has instructions on how to use the device and also warnings. The software Development Life Cycle has more crucial requirements. It also has other limits on the embedded device’s quality. All these requirements and limitations may be too much hence becoming a challenge on the development of the embedded devices.
Limitations on the design
The design of these embedded devices has been limiting for a long time. The devices often are required to be small in size, low energy consumption and a stable long-term durability without any maintenance. These design limitations are a great challenge to the manufacturers of these products, as they have to ensure that the device has a powerful battery which is long lasting and have more processing power packed in very small spaces. Ensuring that all these design requirements are met harmoniously becomes a challenge in some of the embedded devices.
Security
In the current digital world, security is a great feature which developers look into. As much as the device’s development keeps improving, the security risk also increases from time to time. The Internet of Things (IoT) devices have gained a wide popularity worldwide. This creates more risk on the embedded devices as they can be hacked easily. Embedded devices such as refrigerators and electric cookers cannot be hacked since their connectivity feature is incorporated by default. Other embedded devices such as smartphones are however at high risk of being hacked.
The rate of change
The development of the embedded devices keeps increasing rapidly in the digital world. In the past decade, many devices were released into the market and the improvement on the different generations of the devices was immense. In the modern world however, the technology keeps improving daily and many devices are released but the developers do not have a deeper understanding of the devices as they lack sufficient time to learn more about the devices before they are released to the market.
Debugging
The complexity in the development of an embedded device often increases because of involving many teams in the process. This results to an increase on the time spent debugging the device. Debugging is time consuming and consumes high amounts of money for each project done. It is therefore a requirement for the developers to create a way of preventing the debugging process during the development, in order to save time and money as well.
Conclusion
The development of these embedded devices is essential in the current digital world. Unlike before, the development has become more competitive. To avoid many challenges when developing the embedded devices, efficient training and understanding is required to produce high quality products.
Reference
Infopulse, 2019. Challenges and Issues of embedded software development.
Jacob Beningo, 2018. The 5 biggest challenges facing embedded software developers in IoT
