Embedded Office was founded in 2003 in Germany, focusing on functional safety and industrial security consulting. The engineers are certified experts in embedded software development for safety-critical systems. The unique Safety Mentoring service guarantees the success of software approvals for use in products according to IEC 61508, ISO 26262, IEC 62304, EN 50128, or DO-178C. Provided software components like the “Flexible Safety RTOS” and complete platform integrations are completing the service to minimize efforts for new projects in the safety and security domain.
Interview with Michael Hillmann, Managing Director at Embedded Office.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Michael Hillmann: Embedded Office is specialized in providing software components and services for embedded systems and real-time applications in the safety-critical domain. The main areas of activity include:
RTOS (Real-Time Operating System): Embedded Office develops and licenses a real-time operating system (RTOS) for safety-critical systems called “Flexible Safety RTOS”. This RTOS is designed to provide deterministic and efficient task scheduling, inter-process communication, and resource management for embedded applications.
Safety-Critical Components: We focus on safety-critical software development, especially in industries like automotive, aerospace, medical devices, and industrial automation. Developing software that complies with safety standards (such as ISO 26262 in automotive) is a crucial area of our expertise.
RTOS Middleware: Embedded Office offers integrations of middleware components and libraries that complement the RTOS offerings. These middleware components include communication stacks, file systems, device drivers, and other software components commonly used in embedded systems.
Embedded Security: In today’s connected world, security is paramount. Embedded Office provide solutions for securing embedded systems against cyber threats and vulnerabilities. This includes secure boot processes, encryption, and authentication mechanisms.
Customization and Integration: Some customers may require tailored solutions to meet specific project requirements. Embedded Office offers customization and integration services to adapt the software products to individual needs.
Support and Maintenance: Ongoing support and maintenance for their software products are essential to ensure that embedded systems continue to operate reliably and securely. Embedded Office provides technical support and updates to their customers.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
M.H: The award-winning and pre-certified Functional Safety RTOS is now available for the broadest range of microcontrollers in the market. The RTOS is working with the most powerful CPU cores in the world. Some famous examples are ARM Cortex-M7, NXP PowerPC e200z7, and Infineon Aurix™ TC3xx. A complete list of supported CPU cores includes today more than 20 CPU cores in countless microcontroller devices.
The integrated Safety AddOns, which include the mandatory safety measures from IEC61508 and related standards, are improved for multi-core usage and future scope of 64-bit microcontroller CPU cores.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
M.H: Embedded Office provides software components, integration, and consulting services for any safety-critical product. The customer can take advantage, starting with a single product license up to a complete safety platform according to the needs of the customer’s safety-critical product.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
M.H: The functional safety market is well-established in most countries around the world. Hence, Embedded Office’s customer base comes from all over the world. For more than 20 years, we have observed an increasing demand for software development for safety-critical products, and there are no signs of saturation.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
M.H: In my opinion, the reasons behind the continuously increasing demand for safety-critical software development are related today to three primary market trends: Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity, and Electric Vehicles:
Digital Transformation: Businesses across various industries have focused on initiatives to improve efficiency, customer experience, and competitiveness. This trend includes adopting cloud computing, data analytics, IoT (Internet of Things), and AI (Artificial Intelligence) technologies. In the domain of functional safety, this leads to a rising system complexity and the need to separate software parts from non-safety-related parts. Embedded Office targets this challenge with different software separations, matching the specific needs of the safety-critical product.
Cybersecurity: With the growing reliance on digital technologies, cybersecurity has remained a top priority for our customers. Cyberattacks have become more sophisticated, prompting increased investment in security measures and solutions. With flexible software architectures and a strict separation of software components, this challenge is manageable in a cost effective way.
Electric Vehicles: The automotive industry has shifted toward electric vehicles (EVs) and investing in autonomous vehicle technology. Governments and industries have been working together to promote EV adoption. Furthermore, the standardization groups are working on required updates of functional safety standards regarding the accepted residual risks by society. The harmonization of safety goals and accepted residual risks are subject to worldwide harmonization, too.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
M.H: The Flexible Safety RTOS with the Safety Add-Ons and Multi-Core Extension is the top innovative offer. This offer allows the separation of multiple safety-critical software parts on the most modern architectures. With flexibility during development and certification, Embedded Office customers can react immediately to the described market trends with high stability and quality.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the rest of 2023?
M.H: In 2023, many companies are developing new products and services around the trending electric vehicles. We at Embedded Office are prepared to support any company in taking its first step into developing safety-critical software or helping to set up a new generation of safety-critical product families on a flexible and reusable platform. Functional safety development has been our passion for over 20 years and is today more needed than ever.
Embedded Office GmbH & Co. KG
Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 20/1
88239 Wangen, Germany