Platforms & Systems

Working with companies that would benefit from our platform and systems services.

25 Years of Embedded Firmware and Software Development Expertise

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If you want to fast track the launch of your next product without compromising quality or reliability, you can rely on our platform and systems services to deliver.

Our Platforms & Systems

This is comfortably the most complicated system on this page. We develop and maintain Android images so customers can implement products with a familiar UI, perhaps adapting an existing app. Custom Android images typically require an unusual form factor where an off the shelf tablet just will not do. Since Android 8, adding new hardware features to a device has become increasingly complicated. We leverage multi-core topologies to add real time capabilities to Android products, separating the real time requirements by running them on M class cores within the CPU complex. We can change the board support package to add custom peripherals or change configurations. Android is comfortably top of the tree in terms of embedded operating system complexity – and with it, reward.

Supported by the Linux Foundation, this is as close as it gets to embedded Linux on a microcontroller. While complexity, especially at low levels, is formidable, it offers many of the flexibilities of Linux, but in an MCU package. It is also notable as the underlying layer below Nordic Semiconductor’s offering. From Zephyr and up the complexity tree, we need to consider devicetree, Kconfig and other technologies not seen in the simpler OSes. While this can initially seem daunting to the newcomer, the payoff is a degree of flexibility and portability few other MCU OSes can match. Zephyr modules and subsystems continue to offer us pleasant surprises with ready-made libraries to cope with many common situations. Finally, we feel Zephyr’s logging support is best-in-class on MCU.

This formerly-proprietary OS is somewhat more complex than FreeRTOS. Ports make extensive use of hand optimised assembly. Supporting stacks require support for the peripheral involved (e.g. USB, IP), typically supplied by the silicon vendor. We approve of the strong code organisation (one function per file) coupled with a strong focus on what we consider best-in-class trace features (and so simple to configure!). ThreadX was one of the earliest microcontroller OSes to offer certification against safety standards. It still offers strong support for various stacks not seen everywhere (USB Host with hub support?) and offers large numbers of especially networking-related samples. Despite the complexity, when configured ThreadX is no more complicated than working in any other embedded OS.

This is usually the first step embedded C programmers take past bare metal. FreeRTOS started as a lightweight task switcher, and the kernel still is. However since coming under Amazon, ports and supporting libraries have proliferated. There is now a dizzying array of ports from simple 16b architectures up to current Cortex cores. Libraries are available for various connectivity technologies. We still rate FreeRTOS highly. It is simple enough that an engineer can reasonably understand it, yet it offers compelling capabilities while keeping a small memory footprint and low overheads.

Full embedded Linux needs a page translation device on the CPU (usually a memory management unit, or MMU). This allows for process isolation. In practice this means these CPUs are faster and more powerful than embedded CPUs, typically by orders of magnitude. Products using these processors will typically offers orders of magnitude more memory and storage. In turn this makes them act more like computers than embedded systems. The tradeoff is this flexibility must be harnessed and this is nontrivial. This is reflected in the complexity of the final products. These can be more capable than the simpler embedded systems we have been discussing.

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Industries we work with

We deliver our embedded software and firmware services across a wide range of industries, such as:

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Embedded Software Development

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Testimonials

Don’t take our word for it, these are kind words from our customers

Fault Investigation - Buildings Industry
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The Bermondsey Electronics team investigated all the options and understood the complexity of our problem and how dangerous it was for our workforce. We’d already tried to have our product fixed many times and our other providers had deemed it unfixable. Their solution enabled us to finally fix the product and as a bonus, they also reduced the time requirement, cost and complexity of installation. 
Leisure Industry​
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Peter's team were professional and easy to work with. They understood our challenges and helped us overcome them. Their technical expertise enabled us to solve the difficulties we were experiencing. We valued their support and have since built a productive working relationship with them.
Sportable
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We worked with Bermondsey on a project that was mission critical for us and Peter and his team were instrumental to its success. They worked quickly, methodically and produced sophisticated, neat solutions. Can't recommend them enough!
Dr Mike Fletcher, Technical Manager
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"We have contracted Bermondsey Electronics for a number of firmware projects relating to our embedded product developments. Their expert staff have helped to move projects forward quickly and efficiently, augmenting our own in-house development team. For detailed knowledge and speed of response I thoroughly recommend Peter and the team at Bermondsey."
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About Bermondsey Electronics

Bermondsey Electronics Limited is a highly experienced embedded system design house. Active in sectors that include aerospace, automotive, security, fitness and leisure, the company’s design and verification services shorten and de-risk product launches. These embedded engineering services also enable customers to go to market with increased confidence in their products; assured that they have been completely functionally verified.

How We Work

Requirements

We agree requirements with you and write them back so you know we understand them. 

Test Plan

We write this first in order to fully scope out the work required. This keeps us on track at all times. 

Expert Work

We do the work, testing as we go and will provide you with a test report when ever you require one.

Output

We supply the code and test report for your review and approval. You can then reproduce the test report by following the same method.

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Contact Us

If you have questions about how we can help your business please complete the form below and we will be in touch shortly.

Alternatively, please call us on +44 (0)208 0650 162

Email : [email protected]