Embedded software development is becoming exponentially expensive! Twenty years ago a developer using a simple 8-bit microcontroller needed to get a few interrupts up and running, a few peripherals and they were off to the races. Today, a developer not only needs to get low-level code running on the microcontroller, they must build or select an RTOS, middleware, cloud connectivity components, handle security and remote firmware updates just to name a few. All these software pieces add not only complexity to the software itself but also the debugging and testing process. The end result, exponential increases in development costs. One benefit for the Renesas Synergy™ Platform that may resonate strongly with many development teams is how the platform reduces the total ownership cost.
First, upfront development costs are reduced by purchasing just a single microcontroller which includes the full use, maintenance, and support for the Synergy Software Package (SSP) that includes commercial software such as Express Logic’s X-ware® along with commercial development tools such as the IAR Embedded Workbench, plus Express Logic’s ThreadX and GUIX Studio. The cost for the development tools alone would be quite the investment especially if the development team is considerably sized. The Synergy Platform provides these commercial tools with zero upfront investment costs, allowing teams to instantly decrease their development costs.
Beyond the tool costs, the Synergy Platform™ allows a team to reduce their total ownership costs by providing software components that are fully integrated, verified and tested. Just the fact that the components have been integrated can help reduce project risks associated with combining third party components, custom in-house software, drivers and real-time operating systems (RTOSes). Developers start their projects not at square one but instead leaps and bounds ahead. The upfront research phase is drastically reduced and a developer no longer needs to spend months becoming an expert on the microcontroller’s inner workings.
The fact that the SSP is fully qualified under strict software quality assurance (SQA) guidelines can assure developers that they aren’t getting rapid prototyping code, the kind we are used to getting, but instead receiving production intent code designed to reduce our development risk and time to market. The SSP is even warrantied to meet its datasheet specifications! A team can take a Synergy Platform development kit and with only their labor for upfront costs rapidly prototype proof-of-concepts and test new product ideas for a fractional cost compared to alternatives.
Finally, development teams often overlook the fact that maintenance costs can be the single largest total ownership cost. The initial development may last an entire year but maintenance can go on for a decade or longer! The Synergy Platform helps with these costs by providing regular maintenance updates and upgrades so that developers don’t have to! The platform is continuously adding new features, libraries and third party components that developers can then leverage in their own updates, once again saving teams upfront development costs.
Calculating the total ownership cost can be very tricky for a development team and is usually neglected. The fact that the Synergy Platform provides fully integrated and qualified components from the microcontroller drivers up to the application code clearly helps reduce the cost for developers that would otherwise be build-it-yourself enthusiasts. The risk reduction through tested and fully qualified software is unprecedented in the embedded software industry. The question to ask your team now is what is stopping you from reducing total ownership costs with Synergy?
Tip of the Week
Check out the new application note and its associated Synergy Platform software project here under the “Documentation” tab to explore Low-Power Modes and Mode Transitions on Synergy S124 Group MCUs. The software project runs on the Synergy Development Kit DK-S124. While you are there check out the other newly posted application notes and Quick Start Guide for the DK-S124.