/ NEW INSIGHTS INTO DESIGN PRACTICES USING DEVELOPMENT KITS
By Philip LIng, Technical Content Manager, Avnet
Every new project starts with some high-level choices. Development kits provide a fast and affordable way of answering the questions engineers have about new technologies and managers have about project viability.
As design complexity continues to increase, some of the challenges engineers face include higher integration and layers of software. Avnet recently completed a survey of design team leaders, managers and engineers to find out how they use development kits to help navigate today’s design challenges.
Our results show a trend toward combining multiple kits, leveraging bundled software, and how using off-the-shelf hardware and software in production provides faster time to market.
FINDING THE RIGHT KIT
Our survey shows that finding the right kit is one of the biggest challenges engineers face. Newark- Avnet Americas-based distribution arm has over 7,000 development kits and evaluation tools to give you a jumpstart with a new design. Avnet and its associated companies are working hard to make the discovery process simpler.
FINDING THE RIGHT KIT
Our survey shows that finding the right kit is one of the biggest challenges engineers face. Newark- Avnet Americas-based distribution arm has over 7,000 development kits and evaluation tools to give you a jumpstart with a new design. Avnet and its associated companies are working hard to make the discovery process simpler.
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We asked, what would make finding the right kit simpler. The top answer was being able to search by application, followed by the function of the primary part. This indicates engineering teams are open to considering solutions from any manufacturer at the start of a project.
WHAT ENGINEERS TOLD US:
After finding and purchasing the right kit, we discovered that building the toolchain is the next biggest challenge for engineers. This reflects the importance of software and programmability in modern (often cloud-connected) embedded devices.
Development kits are designed to help OEMs kick-start a project, but we discovered that new project starts aren’t always the trigger for purchasing development kits. Many engineers buy a kit just to learn about new devices. Teams are also buying multiple kits when they do start a project.
The relevance of embedded software
These results correspond to what engineers look for in a development kit. Access to software is important but being able to connect other hardware to a board using standard interfaces, and the ability to add their own design elements directly on a board, are more important to engineers.
Software-defined hardware is crucial in every sector. Our survey found that most development kits purchased by engineers of all levels were for devices that are programmable at some level.
Most development kits now come with extensive software support. We wanted to know how many engineers use the software supplied with development kits in their products. The majority of engineers now use code snippets, while a large proportion base their production code on the software provided. The results also indicate there may be a trend among team leaders toward this option.
Getting to market faster
Some engineers surveyed indicated they don’t use development kits; they instead either move straight to PCB design or use simulation. However, over 45% of engineers surveyed said they now use development kits in a production product. We asked why, and the biggest reason is that it gives easy access to the pre-integration of hardware and software.
There is a noticeable trend toward using production-ready modules in more products. Not long ago, modules were large and mostly targeted wireless connectivity. Today, more system-on-modules (SoMs) are available to OEMs. We wanted to know if engineers are now using SoMs as development platforms and starting to move to production with the same hardware. Around 70% of engineers have either tried this approach or are considering it. Of those who have tried it, 90% said it was successful, and they got to market faster, and over 93% of those who had tried it said they would do it again.
Development kits are clearly an important part of the engineering process. Manufacturers and distributors understand just how important they can be, and with more kits becoming available every day, Avnet is working hard to offer the right kit with the right support to its customers.
We asked, what would make finding the right kit simpler. The top answer was being able to search by application, followed by the function of the primary part. This indicates engineering teams are open to considering solutions from any manufacturer at the start of a project.
After finding and purchasing the right kit, we discovered that building the toolchain is the next biggest challenge for engineers. This reflects the importance of software and programmability in modern (often cloud-connected) embedded devices.
Development kits are designed to help OEMs kick-start a project, but we discovered that new project starts aren’t always the trigger for purchasing development kits. Many engineers buy a kit just to learn about new devices. Teams are also buying multiple kits when they do start a project.
The relevance of embedded software
These results correspond to what engineers look for in a development kit. Access to software is important but being able to connect other hardware to a board using standard interfaces, and the ability to add their own design elements directly on a board, are more important to engineers.
Software-defined hardware is crucial in every sector. Our survey found that most development kits purchased by engineers of all levels were for devices that are programmable at some level.
Most development kits now come with extensive software support. We wanted to know how many engineers use the software supplied with development kits in their products. The majority of engineers now use code snippets, while a large proportion base their production code on the software provided. The results also indicate there may be a trend among team leaders toward this option.
Getting to market faster
Some engineers surveyed indicated they don’t use development kits; they instead either move straight to PCB design or use simulation. However, over 45% of engineers surveyed said they now use development kits in a production product. We asked why, and the biggest reason is that it gives easy access to the pre-integration of hardware and software.
There is a noticeable trend toward using production-ready modules in more products. Not long ago, modules were large and mostly targeted wireless connectivity. Today, more system-on-modules (SoMs) are available to OEMs. We wanted to know if engineers are now using SoMs as development platforms and starting to move to production with the same hardware. Around 70% of engineers have either tried this approach or are considering it. Of those who have tried it, 90% said it was successful, and they got to market faster, and over 93% of those who had tried it said they would do it again.
Development kits are clearly an important part of the engineering process. Manufacturers and distributors understand just how important they can be, and with more kits becoming available every day, Avnet is working hard to offer the right kit with the right support to its customers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Philip Ling
Technical Content Manager, Avnet
Philip develops content covering the full range of technologies supported by Avnet.
Philip has more than 30 years of electronics industry experience, including working as a design engineer on mixed-signal embedded systems. He was also a technical journalist and editor covering the industry for several European technical magazines. He has worked for small, medium and large companies as well as startups, and is pleased to say he is constantly learning.
He holds a post-graduate diploma in advanced microelectronics.