August 2, 2012 -- The development of emerging technology is a race. Development takes time. The new generation of embedded components then needs more time before it's widely accepted in the industry. Of course, the manufacturer is challenged to keep costs in check while this whole process rolls out.

A look at the industry today draws attention to Ivy Bridge, the third-generation core processor from Intel. It's the newest processor on the market. Owing to its highly attractive feature set, it's also an ideal candidate for building sophisticated embedded applications. But such leaps in innovation increase the pressure on engineers to keep pace with their implementation.

Ivy Bridge is a good case history, since its improvements in performance, architecture, interface, power savings, graphics definition, and security are rendering it easier for embedded-systems manufacturers to advance their own designs and meet the tightening requirements of their markets. As designers take advantage of this technology, processor and systems engineers work together to collectively drive the embedded industry forward.

By Donald Palmer. (Palmer is Chief Technology Officer at General Micro Systems, Inc.)