Amitabh Sharma, Features Coordinator

Embedded technology is not a new kid on the block. It has been around ever since the term technology was coined. We are surrounded by it and have been for decades now. The thousands of devices that form the fabric of everyday life use embedded technology.

In simple terms, who controls the temperature of your refrigerator? Who pours just the right amount of coffee into your cup from the coffee vending machine? What makes your remote control switch a channel with the simple push of a button? Who makes the microwave heat your food to just the right temperature? - It's a little known and not too talked about tech genie that goes by the name of embedded technology.

What is embedded technology?

As a definition, embedded technology is software and hardware that is embedded in a large device or system. It typically refers to a device which runs general-purpose applications. It performs a specific repetitive task and is typically instructions on a microchip.

The embedded system is a combination of computer hardware, software and perhaps, additional mechanical or other parts, designed to perform a specific function within a given time frame. Industry analysts estimate that over 54 per cent of future software development will be in the embedded technology space.

With consumer devices increasingly getting intelligent there is a huge demand for embedded chips which add connectivity and multiple other functionality to such devices.

The opportunities

Unlike other areas, embedded technology industry thrives on creating cutting-edge technology, which gives companies an advantage over competitors and the engineer's exposure level and growth prospects that are relatively high.

Embedded technologies have became an integral part of our lives, some of these technologies include smartphones, handhelds, microwaves, washing machines, CD players, X-ray machines, ultrasound machines, car entertainment systems, printers, fax machines, etc. Today, almost every industry one can imagine uses intelligent devices to deliver.

The various domains/industries in which embedded technology is used heavily include industrial automation and instrumentation, office automation, information storage consumer electronics, automotive electronics, medical electronics and telecom avionics.

For the incumbents, the technology work involves working in areas of hardware and chip design, board support packages, drivers, firmware, application programming interfaces real time operating systems and user applications.

The global embedded market is approximately worth $21-25 billion. This is the worth of money that will be spent in technology R&D by various companies across the globe. But looking from the perspectives of devices in which these systems will work, the market is huge.

The total embedded devices market is worth $1 trillion according to IDC and is growing at seven to eight per cent annually. Fourteen out of 15 processors produced today use embedded systems.

Skill sets

The embedded system course generally comprises topics like real-time embedded digital signal processing, microprocessor architecture, programming concepts, real-time operating systems (QXN, RT Linux, VxWorks) microcontrollers embedded systems programming, data communication and networking, C concepts and Linux, among others.

In one simple line, the most interesting software today is not written for any computer. This is one domain, which throws a lot of exciting challenges to people who have the ability to thrive on them.

The software that we create today will tomorrow drive, let's say, an X-ray machine that will save people's lives. Any mistake on our part cannot only lead to significant financial loss for our client but will also have impact on society at large Thus, one has to be very serious, conscientious, hardworking,focused and above all result-oriented to fit into this domain.

The salaries at the entry level for a fresh graduate may not be significantly different then graduates working in other domains of the IT industry. But as one grows in the embedded domain and develops technical and domain skill sets over a period of time, he/she can get significantly (20-30 per cent) higher salaries than people in other domains.

amitabh.sharma@gleanerjm.com