Embedded System Design

Embedded systems design can be a tricky thing. When you're developing, say, a piece of software, you can always just put something out, and if there's a problem, you can patch it up with an update. You can't do that with embedded, dedicated systems.
Quality embedded systems development takes a lot more than simply creating something that "gets the job done". Rather, designing good embedded arm boards and user interface needs to get the job done so well that the user winds up without a single thing to complain about and very little in the way of suggested improvements. Simply put, you have to get it right the first time.
That's simply the way it is with an industrial sbc, or, an industrial single board computer. It's tricky, but if you know what you want, if you know what your customer wants, and if you work closely with the people making your industrial microcontrollers, you should be able to come out with the perfect interface the first time. Forgive us if this is all old stuff to you, but here are a few tips for building a perfect system design and user interface:
Prioritize User Friendliness While it's easy to be lured towards the concept of a flashier, more aesthetically leasing style, the main thing users really want is that their devices are easy to se. As an example of style versus ease of use, take Windows. Windows is a retty boring system to look at, but it's also the simplest and easiest operating ystem in the world. For contrast, you have something like in science fiction ovies, whenever they show the robot's point of view and he has hundreds of wesome looking 3D grids and readouts and numbers popping up all over the screen. It looks awesome, but it would be a headache to try and use effectively.

Don't be Afraid to Redesign, and Redesign, and Redesign Next time you pick up a book, just remember that the writer didn't write the book just once. He or she wrote a first draft just to get the story on paper, then they went over it again deleting dozens of pages at a time, adding a few pages here and there, removing an entire chapter, then they asked a friend to read it, took in their comments, and went over the book again, and again, and again, and again. This applies to every realm of development. The movie Oldboy had a script that was written in two days, then rewritten over the course of a month, then rewritten again over several months. The game Team Fortress went through seven years of design changes before they finally settled on a design they liked and took just two short years to produce it.
You probably won't have to spend that much time getting the design of your embedded system design or user interface just right, but it goes to show that perfection does take a little bit of forethought. First you create some sort of prototype or design just to get the idea out there, then you ask everyone you know to give you some feedback on it, and then you redesign a few more times until you think you're as close to perfect as you're ever going to get.
Vesta Technology offers both custom and standardembedded controllers and industrial microcontrollers used in data acquisition and monitoring products in industries including agriculture, medical, food processing, semiconductor equipment, and obotics. VestaTech.com offers products for industry and ommercial applications such as embedded system rtos, single board computers, mezzanine card and a low power sbc.