DevHeads (2025)

08/08/2025

🚨 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲!
Remember this tricky motor control question we shared? 👉https://hubs.ly/Q03BYHql0

Well -- 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 💡
The issue turned out to be in the switching method. Switching from SPWM to six-step commutation made a huge difference, smoother control, better speed, and way less noise. 🛠️⚙️

Want to learn more, share your insights, or showcase your own builds?

👉 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 & 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆: https://hubs.ly/Q03BYmlB0

📢 Also -- 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗱!
We’re launching a series of live tutorial events soon, covering practical projects, tools, and techniques for makers, engineers, and hackers. You won’t want to miss it.

05/08/2025

🔍 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝘀 𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗦: 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁?
In embedded systems development, choosing between 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 and a 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 (𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗦) can define your project’s success.

Let’s break it down 👇

🟦 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 (𝗡𝗼 𝗢𝗦):
Your code runs directly on the — no abstraction, no scheduler, just a main loop and interrupts.
✅ Extremely fast and deterministic
✅ Minimal resource usage (RAM/Flash)
✅ Ideal for ultra-low-power or memory-constrained devices
❌ No built-in multitasking
❌ More manual control of timing, task management, and synchronization

🟩 𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗦 (𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺):
An RTOS like , , or provides structured multitasking, inter-task communication, and real-time scheduling.
✅ Better modularity and scalability
✅ Simplifies complex systems (e.g., UI, sensors, connectivity)
✅ Tasks run independently, improving maintainability
❌ Requires more memory and Flash
❌ Slight performance overhead

🧠 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗽:
Start with for simple, deterministic applications. As complexity grows or concurrency becomes essential, move to an for better structure and scalability.

💬 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 — 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒓 𝑹𝑻𝑶𝑺?

01/08/2025

𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐬—𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝗔 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱:
“I’ve got a 0.96-inch ST7735 TFT (raw panel) that I want to run with an STM32. I’d like to avoid a pre-made breakout. If I use an FFC/FPC adapter (1.0 mm → 2.54 mm, 8-pin), is that enough to hook it up, or will I also need passives or a power IC? Any tips or references to get ST7735 + STM32 working would be great.”

If you’ve brought up raw ST7735 panels with STM32:
🔸 What’s the 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗕𝗢𝗠 you’d recommend?
🔸 Any must-have 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲, or 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹-𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 notes?
🔸 Favorite 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀/𝗮𝗽𝗽 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀?

Would love your insights—please share in the comments (and feel free to tag someone who’s done this).

Want more threads like this? 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆: https://hubs.ly/Q03B01MR0

29/07/2025

🔧 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲-𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 – 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟯: 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗦
Going bare-metal doesn’t mean going raw.

Hardware abstraction layers like HAL, , or -IDF give you structured access to peripherals — without the weight of an . You stay close to the metal, but skip writing endless register bitmasks.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝗪𝗟𝗶𝗯𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗲-𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘃?

✅ Faster prototyping
✅ Cleaner peripheral code
✅ Easier migration across MCUs
✅ Retain deterministic behavior & full control

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿:

🚗 Real-time automotive modules
📡 Wireless + low-power IoT firmware
🧪 Rapid prototyping with minimal overhead
🔐 Bootloaders and minimal runtime systems

You still control the hardware — you just don’t waste time reinventing every driver.

🧠 Abstraction isn’t the enemy. Misused layers are.
Use the right tools. Know what they generate. Audit what you don’t write.

💬 𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝑨𝑳𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆-𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔? 𝑶𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆?

24/07/2025

🔧 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲-𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 2: 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 & 𝗩𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲

In bare-metal embedded systems, everything starts before 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏() is even called. That’s where startup code and the vector table come in.

🧠 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲?
Startup code is a low-level initialization routine that sets up the environment for your C program. It does things like:
🔹 Set the stack pointer
🔹 Initialize .𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 and .𝒃𝒔𝒔 sections
🔹 Call 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏() after everything is ready

🗂️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗮 𝗩𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲?
The vector table is an array of pointers at a fixed memory location. It defines what the system should do when interrupts or exceptions occur:
🔸 Entry 0: Initial Stack Pointer
🔸 Entry 1: Reset Handler (calls the startup code)
🔸 Others: NMI, HardFault, ISR handlers

⚙️ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
Bare-metal means no runtime support. If you don't write or configure your startup code correctly, your system won't boot.
Learning this gives you full insight into how MCUs initialize crucial for debugging and custom bootloaders.

Have you ever debugged an MCU that refused to start? What was the culprit?
👇 Drop your story or questions in the comments — let’s talk low-level!

22/07/2025

One of our community members is tackling a DIY motor control project and hit a roadblock. Here's what they shared:

" 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙤 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 350𝙒 𝘽𝙇𝘿𝘾 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 42𝙑, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙭𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩 40𝙑 (𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘). 𝙄'𝙢 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝘼𝘿𝘾 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙋𝙒𝙈 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡. 𝙈𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 5𝘼 — 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙥𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙, 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙪𝙥. 𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣. 𝘼𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜? "

We're putting this out to the wider engineering & maker community:

🔍 𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧?
💬 𝙂𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨?
💡 𝙏𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙋𝙒𝙈 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡?

📢 𝘿𝙧𝙤𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙚 — 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤! https://hubs.ly/Q03ycd0l0

👉 Let’s crowdsource a fix and build something awesome together.

16/07/2025

🔧 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲-𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟭 — 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲-𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴?

Bare-metal programming means writing firmware that runs 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 — no OS, no scheduler, not even a HAL.

You configure registers manually, manage timing yourself, and handle interrupts at the hardware level.

🧠 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝘁?
Bare-metal gives you:

🔹 Full control over performance & power
🔹 Predictable behavior — ideal for

14/07/2025

🐛 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆𝗠𝗟 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆

You quantized the model.
You deployed it.
No crash. No errors.
Just... bad results.

Welcome to 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆𝗠𝗟—where your float32 model runs perfectly on your laptop, but gives nonsense on-device. 🎯

Here are some 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘀 we’ve run into:

🔸 Silent overflows during inference (int8 woes 😵‍💫)
🔸 Preprocessing drift between Python + C versions
🔸 Missing ops in TFLite Micro
🔸 Unstable sensor data or out-of-distribution inputs
🔸 Tiny memory overflows (especially with circular buffers)

💡 Debugging edge ML isn’t just “check your logs.” It’s timing, memory, quantization, and signal integrity—all in one.

𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗟 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀:
🛠️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆𝗠𝗟?
🎯 What’s your best trick for figuring out why the model misbehaves on-device?

👇 𝑫𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 — 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌.

09/07/2025

🧩 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆𝗠𝗟 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀

Designing ML for microcontrollers isn’t about shrinking a model—it’s about 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:

⚙️ 𝗠𝗖𝗨 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:

07/07/2025

🔧 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆
IoT • Embedded Systems • Edge AI • RTOS • Electronics • DSP • Firmware • Data Mining....

Build at the intersection of hardware and intelligence.
From microcontrollers to ML models, sensors to signal processing — DevHeads is where deep-tech engineers, hackers, and tinkerers connect.

💬 Real builders. Smart tools. Zero fluff.

👉 https://hubs.ly/Q03w67fF0

04/07/2025

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀! 🇺🇸
This 4th of July, while the skies light up with fireworks, we're thinking about the real spark behind progress: 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱, 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 across every layer of hardware and software.

Whether you're wrangling sensor data, fine-tuning embedded code, or scaling cloud pipelines—your work fuels the systems that keep the world connected and moving forward.

Today’s a reminder that freedom means the power to create, experiment, and push boundaries—exactly what was built for.

💥 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒚. 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒚. 𝑾𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕.

01/07/2025

𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐲𝐌𝐋 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 > 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐜()
Following up on our post about real-time sensor preprocessing — let’s talk memory.

Most MCUs (STM32, ESP32, nRF52) give you

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