Embedded Electronics Development
The orthodox PCBA and basic microcontroller embedded implementation is a shrinking market.
Firmware, software, and hardware are moving into an area dominated by the influences of AI and ASIC miniaturisation.
This doesn’t mean the orthodox PCBA and microcontroller combination controlled with firmware using binary logic for decision making is dead – there are scenarios for which this still works – but the products of the future are moving away from it.
Where is embedded hardware going?
To put in layman’s terms:
The multiple component PCBA is being replaced by the bespoke single (or almost) chip solutions.
The motivations and history are covered in this ASIC article, but the essence of it is explained in the following bullets:
- Thousands of good ideas for wearable technology have died because, for the tech SME, the investment and volumes to implement miniature ASICs for the idea were unavailable at a reasonable budget.
- Design engineers and CEMs (contract electronics manufacturers) woodenly stuck by the pseudo mantra in the first bullet – in fact, as at 2026, many still do.
- This is now wrong! VLSI ASIC development is well within the budget of tech SMEs.
- There is an immediate ROI benefit in the fact manufacturing costs can notionally be divided by ten in exchange for an approximate doubling of development cost. Most companies that this applies to are oblivious of it.
- For most wearable technologies to be feasible, ASIC development is essential.
- AI is and will continue to demand more power in less space, orthodox PCBA technology will not cut the demands of Edge AI.
There is another movement in the marketplace regarding hardware that is analogous with open source software/firmware. Open hardware is becoming more prevalent – design information available to all as source code is for software. This does present a dilemma because many tech SMEs lock up there IP (intellectual property) in their hardware and firmware.
It is the EM’s opinion that open source hardware and firmware will be limited to those disciplines that have no invested IP.
The above is slightly exaggerated in its claim that everything goes on one chip. This is essentially true because to the human eye it appears as one chip, but in many applications it is actually several dies and hence several chips. This technology is known as SoC (system on chip).
If you wish to discuss the impact of this article on your hardware to see where your next developments steps might be, please don’t hesitate to Contact Us.
Where is embedded firmware going?
There are changes going on in the embedded firmware world that are arguable less profound but no less far reaching. The following bullets cover some of these:
- C has dominated firmware for decades. Problems for memory overflow have allowed a new kid onto the block: Rust. Developers would be well advised to keep their ears to the ground with this one.
- Traditionally, hardware has blocked change. There are moves to decouple firmware from its hardware basis so that all control is soft. This is know as Software Defined Everything (SDE).
- Security and connectivity is changing. Encrypted booting OTA updates are becoming the norm; cryptographic co-processors, as Apple has been using with its home kit, are also prevalent.
How does this affect Tech SMEs with extant last generation hardware?
In short, there is quite simply a wonderful opportunity to re-develop existing technology such that manufacturing costs of electronics are an order of magnitude lower.
Coupled with this, if the opportunity for ROI is present, the product in question can simultaneously enter the Edge AI world.
This article should induce excitement for the future rather than fear of missing the boat. Please feel free to Contact Us if you like to discuss your product/s or visit our dedicated page on ASIC Development for more information.
Where do I (tech SME) go next?
Talk to the EM is the simple answer. We can devlop your margin improving or next generation ASIC and Edge AI products. Please feel free to Contact us.