We are relying more and more on wearable and connected technology, but how do we configure them without a human interface? A great example are the wireless headsets we now all use for video conferencing (thank you, Covid). The initial set up of the minimal devices can be challenging, holding buttons in what can sometimes […]
RISC-V: Dividing efficiently across different hardware
In previous blog posts I have described the division algorithms SEGGER implemented in emRun. However, which algorithm is best (in terms of code size, execution speed, or power efficiency) is very dependent on the target instruction set architecture (ISA) and the way the ISA is implemented in silicon. This article explains how we help to […]
Size matters – Comparing tool chains and CPUs
Many people think that in today’s world, the size of a program does not matter. In many cases, that is not true, especially in the world of embedded computing systems. I explain why and introduce a benchmark that makes it possible to easily compare the code-size efficiency of different tool chains (Compiler, assembler, linker, run […]
C++ pitfalls – Memory allocation from interrupts
Modern C++ programming very much abstracts what is happening “under the hood” – i.e. what code the CPU is actually executing. This is nice for the programmer … if it works well. Unfortunately, C++ also introduces a stability problem in embedded systems. Many programmers are unaware of this problem. This post gives some background, explains […]
Securing embedded systems with digital signatures: The basics
Securing an embedded system is incredibly important, and having a digital signature plays a crucial role in that. A digital signature confirms that a specific piece of information came from a specific organization (i.e. the one with the private key as described below) and has not been modified. Follow-up articles will firstly cover related issues […]
C++ real-time allocation — a chess engine
This article describes a new capability that I added to SEGGER emRun, now available in Embedded Studio 6, to support real-time dynamic storage allocation. These enhancements were inspired during my development of a chess engine, and I’ll describe some of the engine design and why emRun now offers a new allocator.
Hacking emSecure?
On October 24th of 2021, we were contacted by the Moscow based security company BI.ZONE Research Lab. BI.ZONE is a security research firm, checking software and computer systems for vulnerabilities. They were trying to find weaknesses in J-Link.
Algorithms for division – part 4 – Using Newton’s method
In the previous article I presented an algorithm for division by calculating a reciprocal. This article presents a way to calculate the reciprocal, rather than looking it up, trading size of lookup table against speed of calculation.
Algorithms for division – part 3 – Using multiplication
We’ve explored simple algorithms that develop a quotient one digit at a time: reliable, understandable, but ultimately quite slow. Now it’s time to change up a couple of gears and turbocharge division for speed!
Saving power in embedded systems – Reducing idle CPU speed
Dynamic power, meaning power consumption that is proportional to a clock speed, is a significant part of the power usage of a computer system. Reducing CPU load is one way to reduce this. More interestingly, reducing CPU clock speed in idle mode is another way. And there is hardly any downside!