[TriEmbed] Circuit Cellar article related to Nick's presentation at the Oct. meeting

[Scott Hall]

I caught this from the latest Circuit Cellar newsletter:

* <https://www.circuitcellar.com/>*Inspiring the Evolution of Embedded
Design

October 14, 2025   The Pulse Between the Pins


Editor's Desk by Kirsten Campbell



The Ties That Bind: Engineering Reliability Through Connection

Modern systems are shifting toward zonal and modular architectures, where
intelligence is distributed instead of centralized. Each zone has its own
local microcontroller brain that makes fast, context-aware decisions and
report upstream only when necessary. It’s like having a team of specialists
rather than one overworked manager.


Now? That same microcontroller might be one of dozens inside a car door, or
part of a swarm of sensors in a factory line. It’s no longer acting alone,
it’s collaborating.


Once upon a time, the MCU was the loner on a board, running the show for
one simple task: spin this motor, read that sensor, toggle that LED.
Straightforward, self-contained, dependable.


But for that to work, all those little controllers need to talk to each
other quickly and without tripping over the physical limitations of power
delivery, synchronization, or signal integrity.


Speed Isn’t Just in the Silicon

We often talk about performance in terms of megahertz or MIPS, but for
microcontrollers, data movement is becoming the real benchmark.

Think about it: it doesn’t matter how smart your MCU is if it’s constantly
waiting on data to arrive, or can’t synchronize with its neighbors. In
distributed designs (from robotics to smart infrastructure), speed isn’t
just about computation, it’s about coordination.


That’s where innovations in synchronization, high-speed data transfer, and
power management step in. Engineers are finding clever ways to push more
data through existing hardware pipelines, to keep multiple microcontrollers
operating in lockstep. The irony? The fastest systems in the world depend
on slower chips that know how to talk efficiently.


Smart Power, Smarter Control

And then there’s power. The more intelligent and distributed our systems
get, the more complex their power topologies become. That’s why modern
designs rely heavily on smart power switches, which do more than just turn
things on and off. They monitor current, provide diagnostics, and
communicate directly with the MCU to optimize distribution in real time.


It’s no longer just about protecting against shorts or overloads. It’s
about letting each microcontroller act as a power manager, keeping its
local zone healthy, efficient, and responsive.


The Post-MCU World (That Still Runs on MCUs)

The irony of our so-called “post-MCU” era is that we’ve never depended on
microcontrollers more. They’re everywhere: hidden inside EVs, test systems,
industrial robots, even the devices that program other devices. But they’re
no longer defined by what’s inside them. Their value comes from how they
connect, how they communicate, and how gracefully they cooperate.


The frontier of embedded design isn’t about squeezing more horsepower into
a single chip, it’s about designing the circulatory system that connects
thousands of them.


The Future Lies Between the Lines

As embedded systems grow more distributed, the measure of a
microcontroller’s worth is shifting from processing to participation. The
brilliance now lies in orchestration: how data, power, and timing converge
without friction.


It’s no longer enough for a chip to be fast; it must be fluent. The
engineers who master those invisible interfaces (the arteries of data) will
define the future of microcontrollers and the future of every system they
touch.


Want to read more? Reach out to the Product Editor
<product-editor at circuitcellar.com>


Media Kit <https://circuitcellar.com/mediakit/>
Editorial Calendar <https://circuitcellar.com/editorial-calendar/>
About the magazine <https://circuitcellar.com/magazine/>

Circuit Cellar | circuitcellar.com <https://www.circuitcellar.com/>

KCK Media Corp. | PO Box 417 | Chase City, VA 23924 US




-- 
Scott G. Hall
Raleigh, NC, USA
scottghall1 at gmail.com
*Although kindness is rarely a job, no matter what you do it's always an
option.*
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