Sample Agendas

Information to help you to navigate the vast number of sessions ESC Boston has planned for you!

To ensure you take advantage of everything ESC Boston has to offer, below are some recommended itineraries for engineers of different titles and functions.

View the sample agendas for:

Note: Certain sessions are available ONLY to All Access, 3-Day, 2-Day or 1-Day Pass holders. View all packages here.


The Embedded Software Engineer: Nailing Android

OK, I get it that Android is the new platform for embedded development. I’ve explored it on the Web, bought an Android phone, even tried my hand at a simple app or two. But I want to learn about using Android in embedded design from the experts. And I need something tangible that I can put on my resume. So I’m taking the Embedded Android Certificate Program at ESC Boston this year.

Monday
Android Jumpstart
This is the first course in the Certificate curriculum, and an introduction to Android as an embedded platform.

Tuesday
Android Variants, Hacks, & Tricks
This is the second required course in the curriculum, but it is also an insider’s view of making Android work for you instead of fighting it. The instructor is a well-known author on the subject.

Android’s Open Accessory Kit
I haven’t had time to look through all those libraries, so I’m going to get a guided tour. This is a required course as well.

Wednesday
There are no required courses today for the Certificate Program, so I’m going exploring:

How to Do Real Time Without an RTOS
This is very germane to the whole subject of other approaches to embedded design, and to the use of Android in real-time applications.

More Embedded Linux Jumpstart
I’m familiar with Linux, but this is a great refresher on using embedded Linux, which after all is the foundation of Android.

Thursday
Embedded Android Lab
This is the payoff for the Certificate curriculum: a half-day hands-on lab actually using Android to create an embedded system. And at the end, I get a document confirming and certifying my work.


Software Engineering Manager: Building Skills

I’ve moved from designing and coding to project management. I love the broader perspective, but I stay up nights realizing I’m responsible for keeping the project on track, keeping our methodology at the cutting edge, and delivering on schedule. ESC Boston is my chance to learn from experts who actually manage and consult on projects, and to acquire the techniques that have evolved in organizations a lot bigger and better-funded than mine.

Monday
Managing Firmware Projects
This is an all-day workshop with a consultant everyone in the business seems to know. I can’t imagine a more productive way to start the week.

Tuesday
Beyond Makefiles: Building Large-Scale C Projects
We have always been good at build control, but frankly, the complexity of our projects is starting to get beyond what I can understand with the tools we have. Don’t tell my VP that! But I need to get the build and version-control processes back under control, and this class is going to help.

Agile Model-Driven Development
Everyone is writing about the pros and cons of agile development. And managers from really big projects are starting to say that model-driven methodologies are a must. So I’ll spend my afternoon learning how to best combine the two approaches.

Wednesday
Agile Embedded Software Development
Back to agile again. Most of our projects are real-time, and some are mission-critical—at least in the eyes of the marketing department. How can I use agile techniques, but be sure I’m dealing with the special needs of embedded systems?

A Practical Review of Software Requirements Engineering Techniques
I know, Requirements Engineering sounds like something written by a military contractor. But the truth is, some of our worst, and hardest to identify, bugs have come either from poorly-written requirements of from failing to track the requirements through the implementation process accurately. This course could pay for my trip if it saves my team just one screw-up.

Agility Development of Safety-Critical Systems
Like I said, some of our designs go into mission-critical applications. If I’m going to move my team to agile development, I have to believe—and I have to convince my VP—that the approach can produce mission-critical software.

Thursday
Test-Driven Development for Embedded C
This is a hands-on lab—with my computer--on how to eliminate bugs during the design process, rather than after testing has uncovered them. Can I blend this approach with what I’ll learn about agile development? In intend to find out.


Embedded Hardware Designer: Staying Ahead of the Curve

My responsibilities include hardware design, supporting the software team, and sometimes writing drivers. I come to ESC to look at the latest hardware techniques, study system design, and understand what the software folks think they are up to.

Monday
FPGA Design for Embedded Systems
Normally I’d say I don’t need the complexity or trouble of FPGAs in my life. But some of the big, SoC-sized FPGAs are getting so inexpensive, and the tools so simple-looking, that I need to have another look at this question. Maybe I shouldn’t automatically be looking for another 32-bit microcontroller.

Designing Embedded Systems that Do Not Damage Humans
Some of our controllers end up in places where they could cause real havoc if we’ve messed up. I need to stay current on human-safety level design.

Tuesday
The Microprocessor at 40
32-bit MCUs, multi-core, ARM-vs.-Intel—this looks like a great way to get some perspective on an industry that has grown amazingly.

ASSPs with Programmable Logic
Buy an SoC off the shelf, and then configure some of the logic for my application? I need to look into that possibility for sure.

Model-Based Design for FPGAs
I hate the idea of starting out an FPGA-based design with a blank white-board, and then diving into Verilog. Can model-based design allow me to stay focused on my system design instead of getting bogged down in the details of the FPGA?

Wednesday
Build Your Own Embedded System
OK, this is my guilty pleasure day. I can learn about networking, user interfaces, and ARM-based embedded hardware in this hands-on lab, but mostly I want to get my own BeagleBoard-xM and eZ430 Chronos Watch and learn to play with them. Uh, I mean study concepts with them.
 
Thursday
Device Drivers Demystified
I have to write the occasional driver, and when I’m doing register maps and sequencers that will be visible to the real software team I need to understand their problems. This session should help a lot.

Securing Embedded Systems from Side-Channel Analysis
A guy I know lost a contract this year because he couldn’t pull together a proposal on how he was going to secure the design he was bidding on from hacking attempts. We do some work with utilities and transportation clients, and I’m starting to hear rumblings of concern from them. I absolutely have to be out in front of this issue, not scrambling to catch up after someone hacks into one of our designs.

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