Where Do Embedded Engineers Come From?
Recently, I was talking with a famous paleontologist about AI use in his field. He told me of machine vision and AI being used in the field to sort through piles of small stones to pick fossil bones out of the mere rocks. “So,” I volunteered, “they basically replace undergrads in the field.” He agreed. And that’s a problem.
Undergraduate students sorting rocks in the field ultimately become famous paleontologists (or, at least, working paleontologists). Something similar is true in the embedded systems world. People who shove jumper wires into breadboards and write the equivalent of “Hello, world” in code can eventually become solid embedded systems professionals. But they can’t do that if AI has automated all the tasks for which companies traditionally hire beginning engineers.
Every professional needs a place to start. I had people who helped me get started in both electronics and writing. And now that I have a bit more, ahem, life experience, I feel as though it’s part of my responsibility to help others who are at the front end of their careers.
Statistically, if you’re reading this, you’ve had a few years in the embedded systems world. How do you feel about helping younger people and beginners enter the field? Are you what the HAM community calls an “Elmer,” offering advice and informal instruction? Do you work with young people in a more formal setting, teaching or coaching classes or STEM teams? Or maybe you know the best way to say “welcome to the club” is by gifting a Circuit Cellar subscription—like a secret handshake, but with more circuits.
I try to do a little of most of these things. AI, as we know, can be a very useful and powerful tool for design and software development, but it is being used (by some organizations) in ways that have serious implications for the future of the industry. Personally, I think it’s a great tool for amplifying our efforts and a terrible tool for replacing us. I’m curious to know what you think about how individual behavior can buffer some of the potentially bad side effects of AI use.
Speaking of beginners, we have a couple of articles this month from writers nearer the start of their careers than the end. From Sarah Zhong, Ruby Wu, and Gebran Kastoun, there’s an autonomous drawing car, with hardware and software components to build. Then Michelle Yang brings us an automated system for testing 7400-series ICs in a project that will be a great addition to any workbench.
Pedro Bertoleti is also here with a solid article on optimizing the relationship between transmitters, receivers, and antennas for the wireless data communications we all seem to be using in our projects these days.
I also want to call attention to a new Circuit Cellar columnist that some of you will recognize from other publications: Rob “Dr. Torq” Reilly has joined Circuit Cellar with his “Uncharted Hardware” column. Rob writes from a classic Circuit Cellar perspective of making the most of hardware components, even if that means thinking (and soldering) outside the box. I’ve seen some of his future articles and there is a lot of fun coming soon!
email: c.franklin@circuitcellar.com
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PUBLISHED IN CIRCUIT CELLAR MAGAZINE • October #435 – Get a PDF of the issue
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Curtis Franklin has been a journalist working in the computer and technology fields for more than forty years. From his early career as a columnist at Computer Shopper and the founder of the BYTE Testing Lab, he has covered computing devices from handheld to supercomputing and applications from trivial to life-altering. In 1988, he was the first editor of an exciting startup publication that was then called Circuit Cellar INK. Since then, he has edited and written for publications including ComputerWorld, NetworkWorld, InfoWorld, InformationWeek, and Dark Reading. Most recently, he was Principal Analyst for Cybersecurity Management at Omdia.
Curtis co-wrote one of the first books on podcasting and has been a host or co-host on more than 500 episodes of various podcasts, including hundreds of episodes of This Week in Enterprise Technology, a production of the TWiT Podcast Network.
When not telling stories of computers and the people who make them, Curtis is an amateur radio operator (KG4GWA), an artist, and a Florida Master Naturalist. He’s also active in the maker community, working on the teams that produce Maker Faire Orlando and Maker Faire Miami.
