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Robert Cravotta
Our principal analyst, Robert Cravotta, has been following and commenting on the embedded processing space since 2001. Robert's library of embedded processing articles as a former Technical Editor at EDN spans nine years. Organized below is a sampling of his feature articles and hands-on projects with links to the HTML and PDF versions (where available).
Feature Articles
EDN, 2/18/2010, "How low can 32 bits processors go?"
As 32-bit processors approach price parity with 8-bit processors, will that parity change the market for 8-bit processors?
EDN, 1/21/2010, "Recognizing technology's inflections"
Inflections involve improving performance, cost, or both. More important, they simplify systems for their users.
EDN, 12/3/2009, "The evolving landscape of digital signal processing"
The continual evolution of microprocessors and a widening base of developers who need digital signal-processing technology are causing a trend away from stand-alone DSPs.
EDN, 6/11/2009, "Tee up your multiprocessing options"
A good processor taxonomy helps you understand processing architectures' sweet spots. You should probably look at multicore options in the same way.
EDN, 9/4/2008, "Shedding light on embedded debugging"
Embedded debugging gets a lot of attention for being a schedule and resource hog, but there may be more to it than just fixing bad software.
EDN, 7/10/2008, "Sensor-rich designs"
Designers are adding sensors and intelligent processing to fill the holes in their end-system capabilities, and it is yielding designs that cost less to produce and operate.
EDN, 5/15/2008, "Embedded software development tools make for more flexible silicon"
Evolving approaches to software development go beyond simply making processor-based design faster and easier. An emerging trend sees vendors making hardware more flexible and providing software that allows designers to more easily explore options and move among processing choices.
EDN, 8/16/2007, "Recognizing gestures: Interface design beyond point-and-click"
Gesture interfaces are evolving in complexity and capability, adding new dimensions to the control of electronic devices from game systems to mobile phones to industrial systems.
Hands-On Projects
EDN, 8/6/2009, "Hands-On Project: Speaking of porting software"
This software-porting hands-on experiment uncovers a potential audio decoder for embedded-system applications, adding audio or speech to the applications' user interfaces.
EDN, 2/7/2008, "Robots on the march, part two"
Evolving robotic-development platforms primarily focus on how to jump-start developers, but they also provide much-needed mechanisms to reuse the software components from one robotic project to another.
EDN, 12/3/2007, "Robots on the march: Robotics platforms and development tools"
Robotics is gaining momentum as an engineering discipline. A variety of available platforms and tools supports it. This article is the first of a two-part hands-on project exploring the topic.
EDN, 11/9/2006, "Embedded-processing platforms: a second look"
Processing platforms and their software-development ecosystems are becoming more important for the success of designing increasingly complex applications. A hands-on project with Texas Instruments' Davinci platform reveals some of the challenges designers face.
EDN, 11/10/2005, "Portable connection: Can USB work over a network?"
USB is a successful interface for point-to-point connections, But implementing USB over IP presents challenges.
EDN, 12/7/2004, "EDN hands-on project, part 2: Automate your acceleration"
The second installment in a two-part series explores how automation enables designers without hardware backgrounds to create custom hardware acceleration.
EDN, 11/11/2004, "EDN hands-on project: Accelerate your performance"
This two-part series explores the increasing options for hardware acceleration and how designers without hardware backgrounds can benefit from evolving development tools.
EDN, 3/6/2003, "Forge ahead?"
Targeting a preproduction processor for your application design may mean forging your own tools because you need them sooner than they will be available.
EDN, 2/7/2002, "Gaming as serious business"
Snicker about playing games at work, but the low cost, appropriate features, and availability of Gameboy resources might change your mind about using it as a nongaming, handheld terminal.