DevTalk with Rich and Vin

Rich Nass, Embedded Computing Design

The DevTalk with Rich and Vin podcast features Rich Nass, EVP of Embedded Computing Design, and Vin D’Agostino, veteran embedded systems designer. Each episode tackles a different aspect of embedded system design, from the hardware to the software to the tools. It’ll also look at some higher level market issues, but only as it impacts the engineer/developer. Topics covered include artificial intelligence, embedded systems, machine learning, industrial automation and much more.

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20 episodes
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Monday · 15 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Comparing Today’s Embedded Systems vs. 25 Years Ago
The community has been designing embedded systems for a very long time. If we look at one slice of time, say the last 25 years, how have embedded systems changed over the last 25 years? The short answer is: immensely. You could argue that there’s very little resemblance between today’s AI-based computing platforms and large, generally single-function embedded computers of yesteryear. Rich and Vin decided to dive deeper into the topic, and it became quite animated in the latest episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin.
August 12 · 16 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: MCUs Vs. MPUs
Do you know the difference between a microcontroller and a microprocessor, aka an MCU and an MPU? Many people use the terms interchangeably, but that would be inaccurate. But more importantly, when do you use one versus the other in your design? That’s the topic Rich and Vin tackle in this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin, using the Renesas devices as examples.
July 14 · 31 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: AI and embedded world North America
embedded world North America is right around the corner (Sept. 22-24, Anaheim, CA). The topics at the conference are fairly diverse, but many have a common theme, namely, AI. Artificial intelligence is creeping into all aspects of our lives, including what and how we design our embedded products. To see specifically how this technology integrates with the embedded world program, Rich and Vin sat down with Jason Hallstrom, the Chairman of the Embedded World technical conference. Check out the latest episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin.
July 7 · 11 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: MCU Architecture Loyalty
MCU vendors always knew that, regardless of what they might say, it was relatively easy to retain existing customers and quite difficult to get engineers to switch from a competitive architecture. The biggest reason for that is the tons of software that the customer already has in its arsenal, and the difficulty of rewriting that code for a different architecture. However, and this is a biggie, AI potentially removes that hurdle and might allow for a complete code rewrite in a pretty short amount of time. That’s a game-changer (maybe good, maybe bad) for the MCU vendors. Hear what Rich and Vin have to say about it on this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin.
May 5 · 25 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Is It Really AI & Arm As a Silicon Provider
AI means different things to different people. For example, a marketer might have a different definition than an engineer when asked what AI is. In today’s complex world, both may be right. But when consumers need to understand what is AI about their devices, the waters can get muddied pretty quickly. On this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin, we share our definitions, which are open to debate. Once the AI issue is cleared up, Rich and Vin discuss a recent news item—Arm is becoming a silicon provider. While that could mean lots of things to Arm’s existing customers, we look at how it might affect the engineering community.
March 3 · 34 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: HMIs and LVGL
You need some sort of UI on your system. It may be quite elaborate, or it may be very simple. In either case, designing that UI should not be a barrier to entry for an embedded system. Enter LVGL, or Light and Versatile Graphics Library, an open-source embedded graphics library that aims to (and accomplishes) eliminating that barrier. To understand why this is even an issue and how designers can get past it, Rich and Vin spoke to Gabor Kiss-Vamosi, the Founder and CEO of LVGL, on this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin.
February 17 · 30 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: The Vital Connection Between Industry and Academia
Does the academic world do a good job at getting its students ready to work in the real world? Is it even possible to do that now, given the pace AI is forcing industry to move at, and knowing that academia doesn’t typically move that quickly? This is the tip of the iceberg from the discussion that Vin and I had on our latest DevTalk podcast with John Janowiak, the Executive Director of ECEDHA (the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association). We look at who is doing a good job at addressing the issues and why, both domestically and globally.
January 20 · 26 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: AI in University
We know that AI is everywhere. An area of particular concern for the DevTalk crew is how AI fits into today’s higher education programs. With our special guest Kevin Lu, the Associate Dean for Engineering and Science for Undergraduate Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology, we look at two specific areas—how do you ensure that students aren’t “cheating” by making use of AI, and second, how do you ensure that the careers you are getting them ready for are the right careers, in this changing world of AI? It’s a fascinating topic, and one that will evolve regularly.
January 9 · 16 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: UI Design
The user interface, aka the HMI, is oftentimes the only interaction a user has with a platform. Hence, it represents your brand, and it needs to look great and work great. On this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin, we discuss what it takes to properly design a great HMI, as well as how much effort needs to go into it. And we get an assist from Renesas, who are making HMIs one of the company’s core enabling technologies. To further simplify the process, Renesas will host a webinar on this topic on February 25th.
Oct 9, 2025 · 31 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO, Renesas
Every once in a while, we hit a home run when it comes to bringing guests onto the DevTalk podcast, and today we did just that. We managed to wrangle in Hidetoshi Shibata, who has been in his current CEO role at Renesas for about six years. Toshi was very forthcoming with us, as we went through his fairly colorful past, and more importantly, the decisions he has had to make as the CEO of one of the most powerful companies in our space.
Jun 11, 2025 · 28 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Knowing Where your AI Project Should Start
If you believe all the hype, it seems that AI is being integrated into nearly every embedded computing platform. It may not be everyone, but the percentage is fairly high and growing. So, as a developer, do you know what your starting point should be for your project? What Vin and I discovered, thanks to Avijit Sinha, Senior VP of Strategy and Global Business Development at Wind River, is that a whole lot of questions need to be answered before you even get to the starting point. Hear it for yourself on this episode of the DevTalk with Rich and Vin podcast.
Apr 24, 2025 · 32 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Rust
You likely have heard of the Rust programming language, known for its safety features. But, like me, you may not know its details, and frankly, why you should be considering it for your next design. For those reasons, Rich and Vin invited Jonathan Pallant, a Senior Engineer with Ferrous Systems, to join them on this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin.
Apr 10, 2025 · 22 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Reverse Engineering
Just about everybody in the engineering space has reverse-engineered a product at some point. It might have been for professional reasons, like seeing how a competitor is attacking a problem or simply seeing how they engineered a product. Or it could have been for personal reasons, because the product stopped working, or simply because they wanted to. Note: If you search for “Tear Down” on Embedded Computing Design, you can see the products we’ve reverse-engineered. Then there are those people, like the folks at emproof, who get paid to reverse-engineer products, particularly on the software side. Tim Blazytko, the company’s Chief Scientist, Head of Engineering, and Co-Founder, joined us on this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin to share some of his experiences with reverse engineering.
Feb 25, 2025 · 26 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Embedded FPGAs with Achronix
Theoretically, you can do whatever functions you require in hardware or software. The most efficient way to complete those functions is with the proper mix of hardware and software. The important question is how you determine what gets implemented in hardware versus what’s in software. What if you can do a quasi-hardware-software mix? That’s what is available through embedded FPGAs. To understand this technology far better than Vin or I can, we invited Steve Mensor, a Vice President at Achronix Semiconductor onto the DevTalk with Rich and Vin podcast to explain it in terms that we could understand.
Nov 21, 2024 · 31 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Steve Sanghi
Most people in our embedded industry are familiar with Steve Sanghi, who has been the CEO of Microchip for more than thirty years. Steve took over the company in its not-so-successful early days and brought it to the great heights we know today, as a multi-billion dollar semiconductor powerhouse. Steve stepped down from the CEO role a few years ago and is now doing lots of philanthropic work and writing a few books. We were thrilled and honored to have Steve join us on the latest episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin.
Oct 31, 2024 · 24 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Maher Matta, President, Infineon Americas
Maher Matta, the President of the Americas division of Infineon Technologies agreed to join Rich and Vin on this episode of the podcast. The audience will likely relate to the route taken by Maher, as he came up through the engineering ranks, starting as a bench engineer. As you might expect, there were some bumps and bruises along the way. If you subscribe to the theory that the proof is in the pudding, the evidence is clear—the reign under Maher is working. The company is thriving and is a leader in many of the spaces in which it competes. Hear what Maher had to say about his rise through the ranks.
Oct 11, 2024 · 24 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Buckle Your Seatbelt, We’re Going to Mars
The space program has come quite far in the last decade when it comes to sending people to Mars and building a colony there. If you’re wondering what it would take to accomplish that, check out the book Colonizing Mars by Frank Norris. Or, take the easy way out and check out the latest DevTalk with Rich and Vin podcast, where we invited Frank on as a guest.
Aug 21, 2024 · 23 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Requirements-Management Tools
As the complexity of our embedded systems has exploded, particularly in the automotive space, a requirements-management tool has moved into the “must-have” category. With the volume of people, the humongous code base, and the geographically disparate design teams, it’s nearly impossible to maintain and track every aspect of a design. With all that said, Rich and Vin talk about this need and the fact that many design teams choose to deploy ancient, rudimentary methods that too often lead to failure. The duo is joined by Neil Stroud, the General Manager for Automotive and Semiconductor at Jama Software. It results in a very lively discussion. Check out this episode of Dev Talk with Rich and Vin.
Aug 6, 2024 · 14 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin: Test Early and Often
Engineers know how important it is to test their prototypes. What they don’t seem to get is that the testing process needs to start at the beginning of the design process, not at the end. And testing must continue all the way through the entire design process. The reasons for this are what Rich and Vin go through on this episode of DevTalk with Rich and Vin.
May 24, 2024 · 32 min
DevTalk with Rich and Vin (and SiLabs CEO)
In this episode of DevTalk with Rich (Nass) and Vin (D’Agostino), Matt Johnson, the CEO of Silicon Labs joins us. It’s a lively discussion, starting in rural Maine, and ending with “Should engineers be concerned that AI will take their jobs?” Listen in for some interesting responses.

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