Prototype to Product

Chapter 7. Smart Platforms: Processors

Processors and their attendant software are, of course, what put the intelligent into today’s constellation of intelligent devices. These days, processors and software support a very wide range of functions and products. On the high end lie sophisticated and reprogrammable products such as smart phones that require powerful processors and sophisticated operating systems. On the other end of the spectrum lie products with simple and fixed functionality implemented in a few lines of code on a tiny processor, such as a flashlight that has different blink modes.

The processor and operating system (or lack thereof) can be thought of as a product’s intelligent platform. It determines many of the features we can support and the limitations we have to live with. For example, if we select an ARM Cortex processor running Linux, we’re not going to run for years on a single disposable coin-cell battery. We’ll need a good-sized battery that will be recharged daily. If we pick an MSP430 running without an OS, we might indeed be able to run for years off a coin cell, but we won’t have the horsepower for a high-end touchscreen/LCD GUI.

Selecting our intelligent platform is probably the most far-reaching technology decision that we’ll make during design, particularly for devices that support significant complexity. Our choices will have a substantial impact on materials cost, power consumption, development complexity, and risk of failure.

In moderate quantities, ...