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Robert Cravotta

I'm Robert Cravotta, Technical Editor at EDN since January 2000. My interaction with computers and processors really picked up in 1980 when I created a two-pass, cross-platform assembler targeting an 8-bit z80 core. From there, I had a brief stint in the computer-game industry. I also developed a database system and created a mechanism to safely and dynamically relocate code on a system without a memory-management unit. I spent a number of years automating production-operation processes in a mainframe environment in an Information Systems (IS) group. From there I spent more years developing and working with embedded-control systems including autonomous vehicles, multiprocessor vision systems, power-management systems, and R&D for a dynamically tunable laser-sensor system. My focus evolved during those years from software- to system-level responsibility. I then spent a handful of years directing and overseeing the architecture, migration, and consolidation of independent and informal storage and computing LANs (Local Area Networks) into a single division-wide production computing environment with an Information Technology (IT) group.

My experience working with all these disparate processing architectures helps me identify and share insights with you about differences in the "care-abouts" from one development and operational context to another. My goal is to identify and put words to the issues and challenges facing the different types of developers and problem spaces so that, as an industry, we can better scale our lessons learned beyond our relatively small islands of immediate peers in the ocean that is embedded processing.

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Recent Posts

I'd like to buy a µ

The net number of microprocessor offerings available to embedded developers continues to grow every year. Each update of the microprocessor directory is our attempt to help you improve your chances of being aware of and considering the best processor options for your design in this constantly changing landscape. Consider the sheer size of this year’s microprocessor directory. The device table alone is 172 pages – in a 6 point font – and the table mostly lists product families under a single entry rather than every possible device available as a separate entry. The company overview and product family detail pages approach 100,000 words in content.

One thing to note is that the number of ISAs (instruction set architec...Read More

Microcontrollers and human-machine interfaces

When I wrote about gesture interfaces two years ago, the Apple iPhone, Nintendo Wii, and the Microsoft Surface were brand new version 1.0 products. It was not a certainty that any of these products would be commercially successful a few years after their roll out. Two years later, all of these products are still available commercially, and in fact, they have moved well beyond version 1.0 into version 2.0 or even 3.0 versions. The iPhone operating system is version 3.1 and the product has incorporated many lessons learned into the system and software. The Wii Motio...Read More

Student competitions

Olivier Bloch, Windows Embedded Technical Evangelist at Microsoft, was kind enough to share his experience and observations after participating in the Imagine Cup 2009 finals in Egypt. He makes some encouraging observations about embedded designs and the visibility it is gaining among students around the world.

Based on my personal experience, I am a strong supporter of competitions for students. In fact, I can attribute an unexpected success in a computer programming competition (sponsored by Rockwell International), which I participated in high school, which “opened my eyes” and cemented my continuing relationship with computers and the engineering world. These compet...Read More

Imagine Cup 2009

This summer I participated as a judge at the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2009 finals in Egypt, and I am finally taking time to reflect on my experiences.

You can think of the Imagine Cup as the Olympic Games for Software. It is an amazing event for student developers to compete in categories such as Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Development, Robotics and Algorithm, IT Challenge, Mash Up, Photography, Short Film and Design. After several local rounds of selection, Microsoft invited the top teams from around the world to compete in Egypt for the finals.

Cairo was amazing. Everyone visited historic places such as the ...Read More

The Core Matters…or Does it?

Let me make it clear right away that I don’t want to start another debate about the merits of various benchmarks (or deal with the infinite thread of flaming comments that follows). Fact is, we often need a metric; a way to measure and compare the performance of the “apples” and “oranges” available to us. My focus is always on microcontrollers in embedded-control applications, so it happens that the apples and oranges I usually end up talking about are microcontrollers of different architectures, which are implemented in a seeming infinite variety of CMOS processes.

We all have the right to our opinions on the relative value of counting the cycles, MIPS or DMIPS of choice. I just wanted to bring to your attention the fact there is a new kid on the block. It is called ...Read More

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How We See Embedded Processing	0	22
Embedded Processing	0	45

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