Boris Brodski · Embedded · since 1997
Microcontrollers & IoT
PIC microcontrollers since 1997 — assembler first, XC8 C++ later — plus Arduino, a Bluetooth LE device, and a home-grown simulator so firmware can be tested before the hardware exists.
Assembler native. PIC assembler since 1997, x86 protected-mode assembler, an operating-system kernel written at 19.
C++ on small targets. XC8 C++ firmware, Arduino, careful about every byte and every interrupt.
Radio and IoT. A Bluetooth 5.0 device on the Toshiba PAN1762 module.
Testable firmware. An own simulator so logic can be verified without the board.
Hardware the software has to respect
Microcontrollers are where I learned that the hardware is part of the design. PIC assembler from 1997, later XC8 C++ and Arduino where it fits. The IoT project around the Toshiba PAN1762 Bluetooth 5.0 module added the radio side; the simulator I wrote for firmware testing added the discipline of verifying logic before touching the board.
The same instincts come from the other direction: the Unix-like kernel written in 386 assembler and Watcom C in 1999 — memory management, scheduler, boot drivers — and the cross-platform C++ work described under Systems & C/C++.
What I do for clients
- Firmware for PIC and similar 8/16-bit targets in assembler or C++.
- Prototypes with Arduino and Bluetooth LE modules.
- Test strategies for embedded code: simulators, hardware-in-the-loop, continuous builds.
Relevant work
-
PIC microcontroller projects — assembler, C++, Bluetooth LE
Nearly three decades of PIC — assembler first, XC8 C++ later, Arduino where it fits. An IoT device around the Toshiba PAN1762 Bluetooth 5.0 module, and an own simulator so firmware can be tested before the hardware exists.
PIC assemblerXC8 C++ArduinoBluetooth 5.0 (Toshiba PAN1762)simulator
-
Unix-like real-time operating system (educational)
Bare-metal kernel work on x86 — the same discipline later applied to microcontrollers.
x86 assemblerWatcom C386 protected mode
Skills in this direction
Systems & embedded
- ★★★★★ C / C++ 1999–
- ★★★★★ GCC / CMake / Autoconf / Make 1999–
- ★★★★★ PIC microcontroller assembler 1997–2018
- ★★★★☆ PIC C++ (XC8) 2015–
- ★★★☆☆ Arduino 2015–
- ★★★☆☆ Bluetooth 5.0 (Toshiba PAN1762) 2015–2016