Blog

Your car runs on 100 million lines of code. Can your tools keep up?

shawn.prestridge@iar.com (Shawn Prestridge) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:31:42 GMT

The software that runs your car is outgrowing the tools that built it

Modern vehicles are no longer mechanical products with a software layer on top, they are software platforms on wheels. The average car today runs hundreds of millions of lines of code spread across dozens of independent Electronic Control Units (ECUs), and in some cases, rivals commercial aircraft in sheer software complexity. Power management, body control, infotainment, and advanced driver-assistance systems all depend on code, and that code never stops changing.

Why Smart Industry initiatives stall before they ship

rafael.taubinger@iar.com (Rafael Taubinger) — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 13:28:38 GMT

Factory automation, robotics, power systems, and Industrial IoT all face the same hidden challenge: development complexity that grows faster than teams can manage.

Your build environment is your safety evidence

rafael.taubinger@iar.com (Rafael Taubinger) — Mon, 04 May 2026 15:13:11 GMT

If your build environment cannot be reproduced reliably, neither can your compliance. Whether you are building a medical device, an automotive controller, or an industrial automation system, certification requirements do not bend to development schedules or budget pressures, but how much overhead that certification carries is something you can control.

Software-defined everything in embedded systems: Staying in control as complexity grows

shawn.prestridge@iar.com (Shawn Prestridge) — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:53:01 GMT

Embedded systems have always been software-driven. For decades, engineers have used software to differentiate products, improve performance, and extend functionality beyond what fixed hardware alone could offer.

What has changed is not the idea itself, but the scale and complexity.

From AI to CRA: The trends shaping the future of embedded development at embedded world 2026

Jakob Ågren — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:47:21 GMT

Embedded systems are entering a new phase. What I’ve been seeing and increasingly feeling is how the combination of edge AI, stricter security regulations, modern software workflows, and platform-based development is reshaping how embedded software is designed, built, and maintained.

Enterprise-ready embedded development: How IAR supports modern security policies

Johanna Frödevik — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:43:08 GMT

Embedded development is modernizing and security policies aren’t optional anymore.

Reducing RAM footprint to lower BOM cost in embedded systems

shawn.prestridge@iar.com (Shawn Prestridge) — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 09:41:12 GMT

In many embedded projects, RAM is not the resource engineers worry about first. Early prototypes often run comfortably on evaluation boards, test firmware grows organically, and memory usage feels “good enough”.

Getting the least out of GLIWA T1 with IAR

Nicholas Merriam - Guest author — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 14:10:07 GMT

Precise timing, predictable performance powered by GLIWA T1 and IAR

GLIWA T1 is the most frequently deployed timing tool in the automotive industry, being used for many years in hundreds of mass-production projects.

Renesas RH850 MCUs with IAR: Powering next-generation software-defined vehicle development

Micael.Borgefeldt@iar.com (Micael Borgefeldt) — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 12:54:03 GMT

The automotive industry is undergoing a seismic shift. Vehicles are no longer defined primarily by their mechanical components, they’re increasingly defined by the software that controls them. This transition to Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) is reshaping how engineers design, integrate, and deploy embedded systems, demanding unprecedented levels of performance, safety, and scalability from the underlying microcontrollers and development tools.

Key takeaways from embedded world North America 2025

shawn.prestridge@iar.com (Shawn Prestridge) — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 10:30:00 GMT

Inside embedded world NA 2025: Stronger ecosystems, smarter development

embedded world North America 2025 once again brought together innovators, engineers, and partners who are driving the next wave of embedded technology. From meaningful conversations to strengthened collaborations, this year’s event underscored the growing importance of safety, security, scalability, and strong ecosystems in modern development.