Embedded Software Development

Firmware and control software, built to fit your hardware.

Firmware and embedded control software — from board bring-up to production — for instruments, sensors, controllers and connected devices.

Embedded software development services for hardware that has to work in the real world. We write the firmware and low-level control software that runs directly on your device — from bare-metal microcontrollers and RTOS-based systems to sensor signal processing and communication stacks — engineered by the same team that designs the electronics, so the software and the hardware are built to fit.

Embedded software development for connected devices and instruments

Our embedded software development services cover the firmware and low-level control software that runs directly on a device — the code inside spectrometers, lighting controllers, sensors, laboratory instruments and connected industrial equipment. We work from bare-metal microcontrollers to RTOS-based systems, handling board bring-up, device drivers, sensor and signal processing, communication stacks and low-power design.

Because the same Cambridge team designs the electronics and the higher-level software, the firmware is written with the real hardware in front of us and validated against it — not developed to a datasheet and integrated later.

Core Capabilities

End-to-end embedded software — from board bring-up to production firmware — for instruments, sensors, controllers and connected devices.

• Firmware Development — Production firmware for microcontrollers and embedded processors — the software that runs on spectrometers, lighting controllers, sensors and instruments, optimised for stability and performance.
• RTOS & Bare-Metal Systems — Real-time and bare-metal architectures for deterministic, timing-critical control, from simple state machines to multi-task RTOS designs.
• Device Drivers & Board Bring-Up — Low-level drivers, board bring-up and hardware abstraction layers that turn a new PCB into a working, testable platform.
• Sensor & Signal Processing — On-device acquisition, filtering and processing of sensor and optical data — for example inline UV/Vis spectroscopy and precision measurement pipelines.
• Communication & Connectivity — Robust protocol stacks and interfaces — DALI, Modbus, serial, USB, BLE and IoT connectivity — linking devices to each other and to the wider system.
• Low-Power & Battery Design — Power-aware firmware and sleep strategies for battery and portable devices, maximising run time without compromising responsiveness.

How it works

Requirements & Hardware Review

We map the functional requirements against the target hardware — MCU, memory, timing, power and interfaces — so the firmware architecture fits the silicon from day one.

Architecture & Toolchain Setup

We choose the architecture (bare-metal vs RTOS), toolchain and build/test setup, and define the driver and communication layers up front.

Board Bring-Up & Prototyping

We bring the board up, prove the low-level drivers, and build working prototypes that exercise the critical paths — sensors, timing and comms.

Integration & Testing

We integrate the full firmware, test against real-world conditions and edge cases, and instrument the device for diagnostics and field debugging.

Production & Long-Term Support

We deliver production-ready firmware with documentation, update paths and long-term support options, ready for manufacturing and deployment.

Frequently asked questions

Can you develop embedded software for existing hardware?

Yes. We write firmware and control software for hardware you already have, as well as for electronics we design ourselves. Board bring-up and driver development for an existing PCB is a common starting point.

What kinds of devices do you write firmware for?

Instruments and connected devices across sectors — spectrometers and laboratory equipment, LED lighting controllers, optical and industrial sensors, and test and control systems — from bare-metal microcontrollers to RTOS-based designs.

How is embedded software different from your general software development?

Embedded software runs on the device itself — firmware, real-time control, sensor and signal processing — where timing, memory and power are tightly constrained. Our broader software development covers the applications, platforms and data pipelines around those devices.

• Firmware engineered specifically for your hardware and use case. — Written by the team that understands the electronics underneath.
• Deterministic, reliable behaviour — built for timing-critical, real-world operation
• Delivered with documentation, test coverage and update paths for long-term maintainability
• Ready for manufacturing, certification and deployment at scale