Frequently Asked Questions
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Embedded Software Solutions
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We define it as an engineer who is skilled in the process that makes embedded software different than simply writing an application for, say, a PC. There is nuance associated with embedded processes: They typically contain chronological tasks that must run in a certain order at a certain time; their processors are limited in computing power and available memory; they may require real-time or near real-time responses, and they may or may not have an underlying operating system. |
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Embedded Software Solutions
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C is the most common embedded programming language. We have also written embedded applications in BASIC, Ada and Assembler. |
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Embedded Software Solutions
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Yes. We have experience with the development of embedded software
that falls under FDA regulatory guidelines. We have done several projects in this area. |
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Energy Management
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A quote requires a building inspection, a review of existing equipment
and available electrical drawings, interviews with personnel to determine what they would like to accomplish, and any budgetary or other
constraints. |
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Embedded Software Solutions
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That depends entirely on the application. For high-speed communications the Freescale Coldfire series would seem appropriate. For small, cheap, low-power systems a Rabbit or an 8-bit PIC microcontroller may be all that is needed. For products where cost is everything, a very low-cost processor may be all that is needed, provided the application isn't too demanding or overly complex. |
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MES
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The Instrumentation Society of America (ISA) claims that when done correctly, MES systems: Reduce work in process by 20%Reduce plant efficiency/downtime by 30% Reduce manual data entry time by 75%Â Reduce waste by 15% The return on investment can therefore be pretty short, measured in months. Until a system is fully operational, however, it's difficult to gauge just what the practical savings will be. We believe that any application that provides improved automation and more/better/faster data into the hands of the decision makers will, in the long run, also improve the corporate bottom line. |
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Embedded Software Solutions
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Yes. Most of the embedded processors today support Ethernet (as well as USB, flash RAM and other peripherals) natively. When Ethernet is needed we generally choose a platform that already provides Ethernet drivers so that we don't have to develop something that's already available off the shelf. |
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Life Sciences
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Yes. Given a set of requirements, we can develop the test procedures necessary to validate the requirements, and perform all testing as well. |
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Embedded Software Solutions
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Our offices are located in the Buffalo,
New York area, and we attempt to perform the bulk of the work here, close to home. However, most of us do travel to our clients' sites regularly
to provide some level of development on site. We typically do that anyway at the beginning of the project (during requirements definition, high
level design and any reviews) and at the end, when the integration task requires tight cooperation among all players. |
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Energy Management
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This is like asking how tasty next year's wine crop will be. The number of factors with regard to energy usage, efficiency and savings are enormous. For example, if a facility is manually controlled by a diligent facilities manager, the savings may not be high at all. If the facility has little current regard for energy efficiency, the savings could be significant. The types of savings not only include a reduction in energy consumption, but also in demand and quite possibly power factor control (for electricity) as well as fuel savings for cooling and heating water and other fossil fuel consuming equipment. |
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Controls & SCADA
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We have worked on systems with hundreds of I/O points (thousands of tags) and systems as small as just a few I/O points. There is no typical application size, and ASG will provide a quote on virtually any sized system. |
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FAQ
