From making the brakes in our cars work to saving lives with medical devices, we depend on firmware every single day. While there are various types, the most common firmware in today’s world is embedded into products using microprocessors, for example, refrigerators and vehicles.

So, why does firmware cost so much?  When it comes to firmware versus software, the risk is much greater.  If your PC crashes you might have to deal with the headache of replacing it or a few lost files, but no one dies; however, if firmware fails when you step on your brakes, you or someone else could lose their life. There is much more safety involved with firmware development as it is vital in the operation of aircrafts, chemical plants, oil refineries, medical devices, and more. The risk of failure is so great that ensuring the product is fully operational comes at a cost.

Testing firmware is much more difficult, time-consuming, and costly because of the risks involved. The amount of development that goes into the creation of firmware requires a unique skillset. It might seem like anyone with an Arduino can write firmware code – but that isn’t the case. If the average coder writes something simple with a microprocessor board and it fails, no one dies or loses millions of dollars. A skilled engineer will adhere to the countless safety rules and regulations that impact firmware, knowing that when testing is not executed and documented properly you could face a serious problem.

Firmware that’s found in every day products involves thousands of lines of code that simply cannot be at risk for failure. “Five nines” (99.999%) uptime is considered a benchmark for reliability but when it comes to something that can cause disaster, this isn’t acceptable. For example, everyday about 100,000 aircraft take off and land in the US.   The US accounts for approximately 15% of aircraft flights.   To this we must add general aviation, air taxis, military, and cargo.  Conservatively, the worldwide estimate is between 500,000 to 1,000,000 flights a day.  With this standard uptime that means everyday a minimum of 5 planes would go down or over 2,000 aircraft a year. Would that be acceptable?

As technology advances, there will likely always be a need for firmware. Microprocessors are becoming smaller and faster, and they’ll be responsible for more and more things which means an increased need for quality and reliability. Keeping up with advancing technology is crucial to the success of the firmware industry and as technology improves, firmware is tasked with becoming faster and more complex. Keeping costs down in the future can be found in good design upfront, and if designed properly, there is virtually no maintenance. The cost breakdown is truly 20% in development, but 80% in maintenance.  This maintenance cost is highly dependent on the quality of development.

If you’re looking to hire someone to write firmware for you there are a few things you need to ask. What are their quality standards? What knowledge base do they have in the industry? What set of standards do they follow? What are their engineering practices? What’s their history in the industry? If a potential partner can’t provide detailed answers to these questions, be prepared to incur the risk of failure.

Hiring a good partner for your firmware needs is important. At Precision Systems Inc., our motto is “It’s easy to make it look hard, it’s hard to make it look easy.” Everything we do at PSI begins and ends with a sincere concern for our clients and what best serves them—and their customers. Regardless of a project’s scope, our process stays true to time-tested engineering principals that prioritize innovation, adaptability and usability. Contact us today to learn more about what our team can do for you.

Author: Walter Johnson, PSI President