Expectations of an Embedded Interface

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One of the interesting characteristics of the embedded interface system is, unlike PCs, we expect them to do the same thing each time. If I go to my microwave and I type in the number of minutes and then say start, and it does this thing each the same way each time that’s great. If I type start, or if I type some buttons and it stuttered, like how a PC does, I think it’s broken.

The embedded world is different than the PC world that’s why Android is great for PC consumer-type applications where we expect sometimes there’s a lag between pushing a button and seeing a result. Sometimes there’s a delay and the delay may change; that’s we expect with PCs, and maybe with tablets, and maybe with our phones, but with a piece of equipment like a medical device that’s dermatological skin laser, no, you want it to work the same way each time.

The way to guarantee that is to have a simple system, not one with layers and layers of complexity; layers that maybe you don’t even understand. Our system is very simple, which is actually a good thing when you try to make something reliable.