According to SAE International, “the extensive use of electronics has revolutionized the implementation and scope of many of the features and functions in a modern automobile.” We’ve all seen how cars have become smarter over the past 30 years and it’s all based on using new types of embedded electronics that make fancy gadgets and functions possible.
The Field of Embedded Electronics
In embedded electronics, engineers design, create, test, and verify advanced embedded electronic systems that incorporate both hardware and software. These systems are part and parcel of today’s electronics industry and involve integrating electronics, mechanics, and software into a functioning, working solution that is self-sustaining, runs in real time, and is often part or unit of a larger system. Over the next decade, the use of embedded systems is expected to increase in the auto industry, consumer electronics, health and medical equipment, industrial automation, telecommunications, and more.
It used to be that embedded electronics engineers worked solely with analog design, but today they work with both digital and analog design. Teams of industrial engineers now design state-of-the-art embedded products, often creating new intellectual property of great value to their companies. Underlying electronics and embedded technology is a vast field of theoretical knowledge combined with laboratory work where laws are tested.
The Future of Embedded Electronics
The greatest demand for engineers with knowledge of embedded electronics can be found in a number of fields including design engineers, electronics engineers, electronics drafters, software & chip developers, software engineers, and more.
Today’s most advanced embedded electronics companies design embedded software and electronics systems that access, control, process, and store data. The Internet of Things (IoT) and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are set to explode, and embedded electronics will be at the center of the explosion.
The following video explains how, because of the Internet of Things and the increase in the number of mobile devices, that embedded systems are becoming more and more important.
