1. Core Components Hardware Layer: Processor: MCU (e.g., STM32), MPU (e.g., ARM Cortex-A), DSP (e.g., TI C6000), or FPGA (e.g., Xilinx). Peripherals: Sensors, ADC/DAC, communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, etc.). Power Management: Low power design (e.g., dynamic voltage scaling). Software Layer: Firmware Development: Bare-metal code or RTOS (FreeRTOS, Zephyr) based on C/C++/Rust. Driver Development: Peripheral drivers, Interrupt Service Routines (ISR). Middleware: Protocol stacks (TCP/IP, BLE), file systems (LittleFS). 2. Development Process Requirements Analysis: Clarify functionality, performance (real-time, power consumption), and cost constraints. Hardware Design: Schematic design (Altium Designer/KiCad). PCB layout and signal integrity analysis. Hardware debugging (logic analyzers, oscilloscopes). Software Design: Choose development environment (Keil, IAR, VSCode + PlatformIO). Write Board Support Package (BSP) and Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL). Integrate RTOS or bare-metal scheduling. Joint Debugging: Use JTAG/SWD debuggers, serial logging. Performance optimization (reduce interrupt latency, memory usage). Testing and Certification: EMC testing, functional safety (ISO 26262), power consumption testing. 3. Key Technologies Real-time Assurance: Priority scheduling, interrupt nesting, watchdog timers. Low Power Design: Sleep modes (STM32 Stop mode). Dynamic clock adjustment (e.g., PLL switching). Security Mechanisms: Encryption chips (e.g., ATECC608A), secure boot. OTA Upgrades: Update firmware over wireless networks (e.g., LoRa, NB-IoT). 4. Common Challenges Resource Constraints: Optimize algorithms when memory is insufficient (e.g., use lookup tables instead of floating-point operations). Hardware Dependency: Quickly port code to alternative platforms when chips are out of stock. Debugging Complexity: Use trace tools (e.g., SEGGER J-Trace) for sporadic faults. 5. Toolchain Examples Hardware Tools: Oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power analyzers. Software Tools: Simulation: QEMU (virtual hardware), STM32CubeMX (pin configuration). Version Control: Git + Git LFS (managing large binary files). Static Analysis: Coverity, Cppcheck. 6. Suggested Learning Path Beginner: Start with STM32 or ESP32, learn HAL library and FreeRTOS. Advanced: Study Linux embedded development (e.g., Yocto build system), RT-Thread. Practice: Participate in open-source projects (e.g., Apache NuttX), DIY smart hardware (e.g., RISC-V based development boards).