BoardPilotLearn embedded systems from zero
Short lessons in plain words for people who have never touched a microcontroller, and for software developers moving into embedded. They are the same lessons as in the BoardPilot app.
Who it is for
Complete beginners
You have never wired a sensor. Each lesson starts from what you already know and explains every new word.
Software developers
You can code but hardware feels like magic. You get registers, interrupts and buses explained as events, callbacks and memory.
Students and job seekers
Every lesson ends with the questions real embedded interviews ask, and the last lesson is a roadmap to senior.
The path
Foundations
The core ideas of every embedded device
- 1What is a microcontroller?The tiny computer inside every device10 min
- 2Hardware basics for software developersVoltage, current, resistors, and how not to burn a pin15 min
- 3C for embeddedExact-size types, bits and volatile15 min
- 4GPIO: pins in and outLight an LED, read a button15 min
- 5Timers and interruptsExact timing without wasting the CPU15 min
- 6UART, I2C and SPIHow chips talk to each other12 min
- 7ADC: reading the analog worldFrom a voltage to a number10 min
- 8RTOS: many jobs on one chipTasks, priorities and queues15 min
- 9PWM, state machines and moreFive ideas every firmware engineer uses15 min
- 10The full pictureOne device, one cycle, every lesson8 min
Road to senior
What to learn next, and in which order
Keep going
Glossary
86 embedded and electronics terms, each in two or three plain sentences.
Interview questions
33 questions real embedded interviews ask, grouped by topic.
In the app, the lessons come alive
The lessons have interactive demos and hands-on labs checked on your board in the app. These pages are the readable version: the demos are described in words, and the labs need the app.