Hosted by Rich Nass, Embedded Computing Design
Episodes
30
Latest episode
Aug 2026
Language
EN
The DevTalk with Rich and Vin podcast features Rich Nass, EVP of Embedded Computing Design, and Vin D’Agostino, veteran embedded systems designer. Each episode tackles a different aspect of embedded system design, from the hardware to the software to the tools. It’ll also look at some higher level market issues, but only as it impacts the engineer/developer. Topics covered include artificial intelligence, embedded systems, machine learning, industrial automation and much more.
Do you know the difference between a microcontroller and a microprocessor, aka an MCU and an MPU? Many people use the terms interchangeably, but that would be inaccurate. But more importantly, when do you use one versus the other in your design? That’s the topic Rich and Vin tackle in this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin , using the Renesas devices as examples.
embedded world North America is right around the corner (Sept. 22-24, Anaheim, CA). The topics at the conference are fairly diverse, but many have a common theme, namely, AI. Artificial intelligence is creeping into all aspects of our lives, including what and how we design our embedded products. To see specifically how this technology integrates with the embedded world program, Rich and Vin sat down with Jason Hallstrom, the Chairman of the Embedded World technical conference. Check out the latest episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin .
MCU vendors always knew that, regardless of what they might say, it was relatively easy to retain existing customers and quite difficult to get engineers to switch from a competitive architecture. The biggest reason for that is the tons of software that the customer already has in its arsenal, and the difficulty of rewriting that code for a different architecture. However, and this is a biggie, AI potentially removes that hurdle and might allow for a complete code rewrite in a pretty short amount of time. That’s a game-changer (maybe good, maybe bad) for the MCU vendors. Hear what Rich and Vin have to say about it on this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin.
AI means different things to different people. For example, a marketer might have a different definition than an engineer when asked what AI is. In today’s complex world, both may be right. But when consumers need to understand what is AI about their devices, the waters can get muddied pretty quickly. On this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin, we share our definitions, which are open to debate. Once the AI issue is cleared up, Rich and Vin discuss a recent news item—Arm is becoming a silicon provider. While that could mean lots of things to Arm’s existing customers, we look at how it might affect the engineering community.
You need some sort of UI on your system. It may be quite elaborate, or it may be very simple. In either case, designing that UI should not be a barrier to entry for an embedded system. Enter LVGL , or Light and Versatile Graphics Library, an open-source embedded graphics library that aims to (and accomplishes) eliminating that barrier. To understand why this is even an issue and how designers can get past it, Rich and Vin spoke to Gabor Kiss-Vamosi, the Founder and CEO of LVGL, on this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin .
Does the academic world do a good job at getting its students ready to work in the real world? Is it even possible to do that now, given the pace AI is forcing industry to move at, and knowing that academia doesn’t typically move that quickly? This is the tip of the iceberg from the discussion that Vin and I had on our latest DevTalk podcast with John Janowiak, the Executive Director of ECEDHA (the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association). We look at who is doing a good job at addressing the issues and why, both domestically and globally.
We know that AI is everywhere. An area of particular concern for the DevTalk crew is how AI fits into today’s higher education programs. With our special guest Kevin Lu, the Associate Dean for Engineering and Science for Undergraduate Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology, we look at two specific areas—how do you ensure that students aren’t “cheating” by making use of AI, and second, how do you ensure that the careers you are getting them ready for are the right careers, in this changing world of AI? It’s a fascinating topic, and one that will evolve regularly.
The user interface, aka the HMI, is oftentimes the only interaction a user has with a platform. Hence, it represents your brand, and it needs to look great and work great. On this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin, we discuss what it takes to properly design a great HMI, as well as how much effort needs to go into it. And we get an assist from Renesas, who are making HMIs one of the company’s core enabling technologies. To further simplify the process, Renesas will host a webinar on this topic on February 25th.
Every once in a while, we hit a home run when it comes to bringing guests onto the DevTalk podcast, and today we did just that. We managed to wrangle in Hidetoshi Shibata, who has been in his current CEO role at Renesas for about six years. Toshi was very forthcoming with us, as we went through his fairly colorful past, and more importantly, the decisions he has had to make as the CEO of one of the most powerful companies in our space.
If you believe all the hype, it seems that AI is being integrated into nearly every embedded computing platform. It may not be every one, but the percentage is fairly high and growing. So, as a developer, do you know what your starting point should be for your project? What Vin and I discovered, thanks to Avijit Sinha, Senior VP of Strategy and Global Business Development at Wind River , is that a whole lot of questions need to be answered before you even get to the starting point. Hear it for yourself on this episode of the DevTalk with Rich and Vin podcast.
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