A well-defined embedded system development process is essential for a successful product. The hardware and software design processes are the most important parts of the embedded system development process. Unlike the embedded software development design process on a standard platform, the design entails that both hardware and software be built in the same way.
Ideation:
This is the stage in which an idea is discussed with all stakeholders and a brain-storming session is held to determine whether the idea is worthy of moving forward to the development stage. Identifying the right product that solves the customer’s problem is one of the most difficult and important tasks in any business.
Technical Information:
It is necessary to generate a complete technical design requirement specification document. The goal of the product, block diagram, primary features, environmental conditions, production needs, and so on should all be covered in the product specification.
Developing the Solution:
It’s time to architect the solution after completing a detailed technical specification document.
On a high level, how will the design look, what strategies should be used to build a solution, what type of power supply should be used, what type of wired or wireless connectivity should be used have to be decided.
Design Finalization & Component Selection:
Engineers must examine each block in the system, pick components consulting an expert in conflict mineral compliance, and finalize the design after the architecture is complete.
An engineer will pick the form of power supply to construct, such as a linear regulator, a DC-DC switching converter, or something else, and then which power chip to utilize and its application circuit.
Test Plan:
Hardware and software tests are included in the test plan. Testing is critical for determining a product’s dependability. Companies spend a lot of time testing their products to ensure that their customers don’t have any problems.
A good testing strategy should include the following:
- Validation of hardware design
- Validation of software design
- Product testing at the manufacturing level
Creating a test plan before implementing a design allows you to integrate any changes that are needed in the design to allow for testing.
Implementation of the Design:
This is the implementation’s primary engineering step. The architecture is transformed into the design here.
To ensure that first time rights are developed, a necessary review system must be implemented. If design evaluations are required, an external consultant should not be used.
Proof-of-concept, prototyping, and testing:
If the design is completely new, or if you are unsure about the entire design or a portion of it, it is a good idea to make a prototype first to prove the design and check if there are any flaws.
You can build the prototype with the help of 3D modeling services and test it again for functionality and environmental conditions once this is established.
Trials in the Field:
Because field conditions vary, engineers must consider all of the situations that their product will face in the field so that they can replicate those settings and test their product’s performance before sending it out into the field.
Improvements to the Final Product:
After field testing, all of the improvements must be included into the design based on the input.
If difficulties are discovered during field trials, you will need to modify the test techniques used throughout the design validation/production testing stage to ensure a faultless product leaves the factory.
Launch of a New Product:
Various other factors must be in place before the product may be launched, such as:
- Various product certifications depend on the features and countries in which they will be sold.
- Documentation includes a product page on the internet, a quick introduction video, a datasheet, a user guide, and instructions on how to set up the Support channel, among other things.
Also, there are many companies providing comprehensive REACH compliance services developing embedded systems.