Question 1

What is embedded development and what does PettersonApps cover?

Accepted Answer

Embedded development is the design of the firmware and electronics that run inside a physical product, such as a sensor, controller, or smart appliance. PettersonApps covers the full chain: architecture, schematic and PCB design, firmware, wireless and cloud connectivity, validation, and production support, so one team is responsible for the working device.

Question 2

Do you design the hardware as well as write the firmware?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We design multilayer PCBs and flex cables in Altium Designer and KiCad, including power architecture, high-speed routing, and DFM/DFA review, and we bring up the boards ourselves. The same engineers write the firmware, which removes handoff gaps. If you already have a board, we can work on firmware only.

Question 3

Which microcontrollers, processors, and operating systems do you work with?

Accepted Answer

We build firmware for Espressif ESP32 and ESP8266 and STMicroelectronics STM32 microcontrollers, and Embedded Linux products on Raspberry Pi CM4/CM5, NVIDIA Jetson, and Lantronix Open-Q modules. We use FreeRTOS, Zephyr, Azure RTOS (ThreadX), Buildroot, and Yocto. We choose the platform by requirements, cost, and supply risk.

Question 4

Which communication protocols can you implement?

Accepted Answer

We implement wireless standards (BLE, Wi-Fi, Matter, Thread, Zigbee, LoRaWAN), industrial buses (Modbus, CAN, CAN FD, J1939), and building automation protocols (KNX, DALI-2, M-Bus, 0-10 V, 4-20 mA). We also build protocol gateways and connect devices to the cloud over MQTT, CoAP, WebSockets, or REST with TLS.

Question 5

How do you secure embedded devices and firmware updates?

Accepted Answer

We use Secure Boot, flash encryption, and hardware crypto such as TrustZone where the chip supports it, and protect device-to-cloud traffic with TLS (mbedTLS or wolfSSL) and X.509 certificates. Firmware updates are delivered over the air with signature checks and anti-rollback protection, so a device only accepts trusted, newer firmware.

Question 6

How long does an embedded project take, and can you help with production?

Accepted Answer

Timelines depend on scope: a firmware-only project on an existing board is typically shorter than a new device with custom PCB, validation, and certification prep. We support production through BOM management, component sourcing, second-sourcing, and coordination with your contract manufacturer.

Embedded Development

FAQ.

Embedded Development

FAQ.