How would you assess the current situation in the embedded industry?

Prof. Dr. Peter Fromm : We are certainly still some way from a 'back to normal', but the very good booking figures for embedded world and the embedded world Conference show that things are booming.

Sustainability is one of the buzzwords this year - embedded technology plays a strong role here. We don't know exactly what the cars of the future will look like, but many of them will very probably be electric. The same applies to heating our homes and many other areas - simply because electricity is currently the only form of energy that we can generate sustainably. Intelligent control technology paired with innovative machine learning algorithms will play a more important role in all areas of the process industry, smart homes and the transportation sector.

The availability of components remains a challenge. This seems to have improved somewhat after the massive slumps of the last two years, but a simple Raspberry Pi, for example, is still currently around 200 euros. A PSOC 5 LP, which was very popular in the maker scene and cost just over €10 before the coronavirus crisis, is now only available on eBay for a good €200. Various aspects come together here: high demand, strategic decisions by producers to consolidate product ranges following the slump in sales during coronavirus, manufacturing difficulties, supply chains, international embargoes, etc. Unfortunately, there is no one button that we can press to get the global engine running again.

What I can see, especially in medium-sized companies, is a high level of positive creativity in dealing with these challenges. This starts with rethinking storage capacities and 'just-in-time production' and ends with revising designs - instead of hard-to-get special chips, for example, FPGAs are increasingly being used. Although this increases unit costs, it reduces dependency on individual suppliers and promotes the development of in-house expertise. 'Design for availability' could become the new motto.

Keyword shortage of skilled workers: What is your assessment of the situation?

Prof. Dr. Peter Fromm: In addition to component availability, I believe that the shortage of skilled workers is the even greater challenge of the future. This is also reflected in the technical degree courses: overall, the number of students on technical degree courses is declining. Compared to when I started as a professor almost 15 years ago, the number of graduates in the relevant engineering courses has more than halved. Significantly fewer students are starting and at the same time significantly more are dropping out.

In Darmstadt, we have a successful English-language Master's degree course in Embedded Systems, which focuses on the areas of systems and embedded software engineering, including FPGA technologies, which are in demand from industry. We are now acquiring our students worldwide with great success. To express this in figures: We have around 1,500 applicants per year for our international Master's degree, and fewer than 100 for the German-language Bachelor's. However, we certainly have similar logistical problems as with the components - ever new regulations and formal hurdles do not necessarily make Germany a more attractive place to study, although the high quality of our education system perceived abroad and also the waiver of tuition fees coupled with good job prospects offer a perfect starting point for recruiting specialists.

In Darmstadt, we have a successful English-language Master's degree course in Embedded Systems, which focuses on the areas of systems and embedded software engineering, including FPGA technologies, which are in demand from industry. We are now acquiring our students worldwide with great success. However, we have similar logistics problems here as we do with components - ever new regulations and formal hurdles do not necessarily make Germany a more attractive place to study: We have around 1,500 applicants per year for our international Master's degree, and now fewer than 100 for the German-language Bachelor's degree.

What role does the open source trend play in the embedded sector?

Prof. Dr. Peter Fromm: The added value of an embedded system comes primarily from the application software. SMEs in particular cannot afford a development department that spends a lot of time developing drivers or other basic components. At the same time, the capabilities of embedded systems are increasing due to ever greater computing power and storage capacities; artificial intelligence is a prominent example here. No one would think of developing a complete AI framework themselves. This means that the importance of open source solutions will continue to grow.

How do safety and security fit in with open source?

Prof. Dr. Peter Fromm : Unfortunately, this is where we reach the limits of open source solutions - the question of liability. We have to look at the areas of safety and security differently: If I as a manufacturer build a third-party component into a safety architecture, it either has to be qualified or I have to qualify it myself. If this is perhaps still possible with a simple MCAL driver by means of code review and tests, it becomes difficult or practically impossible with complex systems such as a Linux operating system. In the lower safety levels, depending on the standard, I may still be able to pull the 'proven in use' card, but does this always work? Individual safety standards such as ISO 25119 make it possible to offset the reliability of hardware and software. In other words, if I have very safe hardware with very good diagnostics, I can also 'afford' QM software. But here, too, the question arises as to whether such an approach makes technical sense.

Security is a different matter: due to its complexity, developing your own solution does not make economic sense and is not technically feasible for many companies. Open source solutions certainly have the advantage that many eyes are on the lookout for vulnerabilities, which can be quickly made public and responded to accordingly.

In your opinion, what technological trends will shape embedded world this year?

Prof. Dr. Peter Fromm : The topic of embedded AI will certainly still be a big issue, especially the computing of AI algorithms in the edge or directly in the embedded controller. I can also imagine that the issue of 'design for availability' will become increasingly important - also in light of the current and future trouble spots on our planet. As I said at the beginning, we are unfortunately still some way from a 'back to normal', but there are many opportunities in every crisis!