💻 Improving Embedded Systems with Design-by-Contract

Design-by-Contract (DbC) is a method that helps embedded software developers reduce the time spent debugging by ensuring each function has well-defined pre-conditions, post-conditions, side effects, and invariants. This approach creates "contracts" that must be followed for a function to operate properly, outlining what must be true before and after a function executes.

To enforce these contracts, developers can use assertions, which check that the conditions are met at runtime. If a condition isn't satisfied, the assertion signals a defect, making it easier to catch errors early. Assertions aren't used for error handling but for defect detection, ensuring that the system behaves as expected when calling functions or components.

// Example of DbC using assertions
void Dio_Init(DioConfig_t const* const Config)
{
  assert(sizeof(Config) > 0);
  assert(NUMBER_OF_CHANNELS_PER_PORT > 0);
  assert(NUMBER_OF_PORTS > 0);
  assert(Mcu_ClockState(GPIO) == true);

  // The rest of the function
}

DbC can be implemented simply, often through code documentation tools like 😹 Doxygen or directly within the code using assertions. While there may be a slight performance impact, developers can disable assertions before final deployment if necessary. Overall, DbC helps improve software quality, decreases debugging time, and enhances the reliability of embedded systems.

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#articles #programming

🖥 MIT Researchers Pioneer 3D-Printed Semiconductor-Free Electronics

MIT researchers have developed semiconductor-free, 3D-printed logic gates, marking a significant step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics. Using a copper-doped polymer material, they created resettable fuses that mimic some functions of semiconductor-based transistors, such as switching. Although their performance doesn’t yet match silicon transistors, these devices could be used for simpler tasks, like controlling electric motors.

The biodegradable, energy-efficient fabrication method could democratize electronics production by enabling people to print functional electronics outside of specialized facilities, with potential applications in areas like spacecraft. Further research aims to enhance device complexity and performance.

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#news #electronics

🤖 Robot Races Champion: Swiss-Mile Takes Second Place

In a recent video, Swiss-Mile engineers put their high-tech delivery robot to the test by racing it against a champion runner and the members of the team. The robot reached nearly 14 mph, securing second place and demonstrating impressive agility for a machine built for urban delivery. Equipped to shift from four wheels to two legs, the robot is designed to handle complex tasks autonomously. The video highlights its potential for agile, efficient urban deliveries, almost keeping pace with a human champion.

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🎹 FlexiPi: A Bendable, Versatile Raspberry Pi Clone (Kickstarter)

FlexiPi is a unique, bendable microcontroller board based on the 🍓 Raspberry Pi RP2040. Designed by TOP Gadgets, this innovative take on the Raspberry Pi Pico integrates a flexible PCB and USB-C connectivity, offering the same power as the original but with added versatility for compact or irregular enclosures.

Features of the microcontroller:
➡️Ideal for tight spaces and curved surfaces.
➡️Built on the dual-core Cortex-M0+ RP2040, overclockable to 133 MHz.
➡️Features a USB-C port for modern compatibility.
➡️26 GPIOs, including ADC, UART, I2C, SPI, and PWM.
➡️Includes RGB LED, temperature sensor, and RTC.
➡️Supports Raspberry Pi Pico SDKs (C/C++, MicroPython, CircuitPython) and Arduino IDE.

The project is ongoing on Kickstarter and it is interesting to see how people are trying to commercialize this technology. Overall it is a useful project for engineers looking to integrate powerful microcontroller functionality into constrained or curved spaces.

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#projects #raspberry

👩‍💻 Kickstart Your Raspberry Pi Pico with VS Code

Setting up a development environment for the 🍓 Raspberry Pi Pico can be daunting, especially with the variety of languages and tools available. While MicroPython and CircuitPython simplify things for beginners, using C/C++ offers greater control and flexibility—at the cost of a more complex setup process.

Fortunately, Raspberry Pi's official extension for Microsoft Visual Studio Code is a game-changer, making it easier than ever to get started with C/C++ on the Pico. This guide will give you a quick walk though the steps needed to start embedded development with Pico on Windows environment.

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#articles #programming #raspberry

🤖 Chinese Company Unitree Robotics Pushes Boundaries in AI-Powered Motion Control

Unitree Robotics, a company based in 🇨🇳 Hangzhou, China, has made impressive strides in motion control technology using artificial intelligence. In a recent video, the company showcased its ability to teach robots human-like walking within just two days through reinforcement learning.

The video opens with 🤖 Unitree’s humanoid robot, the G1 (priced at over $16,000), walking fluidly across a room. In another segment, 🐕 Unitree’s robot dog Go2, demonstrates remarkable balance on two legs—even as it’s nudged and struck with a stick by a human.

This development highlights the potential of AI-powered robotics to adapt and acquire new skills quickly, a crucial capability as robots become more integral to our daily lives.

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#news #robotics #artificial_intelligence

🖥 Open-Source Cardiography Signal Measuring Device

This open-source project is designed to build a fully-functional device for recording, analyzing, and visualizing a range of cardiography signals. Powered by a 🍓 Raspberry Pi Pico W microcontroller, the device captures physiological signals, then amplifies and transmits them to a PC for real-time display and in-depth analysis.

Features of the device:
➡️Isolated USB communication for data transfer.
➡️Power regulation features for stable performance.
➡️Signal conditioning for accurate stethoscope and ECG data collection.
➡️Firmware in C++ for device control and data acquisition.
➡️Python-based graphical interface for real-time data display and recording.
➡️Data analysis scripts in Python for post-collection analysis.

This project offers valuable insights into signal processing and data analysis methods, making it a practical resource for hands-on learning and experimentation with cardiographic measurement.

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#projects #raspberry

📺 ESP32 Software Battle: AWS IoT Core vs Blink for Cloud Control

Over a month has passed since the second ✈️ PCB Design Duel was posted on this channel. In a new episode, the format stayed the same but instead of hardware developers, the author has invited two embedded software engineers.

In his video, they compete to program an 🇨🇳 ESP32 microcontroller in just two hours, using AWS with PlatformIO and Blink with PlatformIO, respectively. The challenge highlights how cloud integrations differ between AWS IoT Core and Blink's user-friendly interface for IoT control.

Despite encountering setup and debugging obstacles, both participants successfully sync their ESP32 devices to cloud interfaces, demonstrating the unique advantages of each platform for real-time IoT applications.

⛓ https://youtu.be/-caKi39nF64

#video #esp32 #programming #IoT