Coredump Sessions – Details, episodes & analysis

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Coredump Sessions

Memfault

Technology

Frequency: 1 episode/23d. Total Eps: 15

Coredump Sessions is a podcast for embedded engineers and product teams building connected devices. Hosted by the team at Memfault, each episode features real-world stories and technical deep dives with experts across the embedded systems space. From Bluetooth pioneers and OTA infrastructure veterans to the engineers who built Pebble, we explore the tools, techniques, and tradeoffs that power reliable, scalable devices. If you're building or debugging hardware, this is your go-to for embedded insights.

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https://interrupt-slack.herokuapp.com/
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-coredump-sessions-271043539/
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https://goodpods.com/podcasts/coredump-sessions-668730
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#014: Why Your IoT Project Still Hasn’t Taken Off — And How to Fix It

Season 1 · Episode 15

Tuesday, August 5, 2025 • Duration 57:04

In today’s Coredump Session, the team takes a hard look at why some IoT projects stall before they ever hit scale. From organizational missteps to product-market fit challenges, they explore the hidden forces that derail even technically sound products. You’ll hear candid insights on why being “connected” isn’t enough—and what it really takes to succeed in IoT today.

Key Takeaways

The biggest blockers for IoT teams aren’t always technical—they’re organizational, strategic, and systemic.
Shipping a connected device doesn't guarantee product-market fit, especially if it's missing the right workflows or visibility.
Engineers often build what's technically possible instead of what's valuable for the business.
Collecting data from devices is table stakes—but what matters is how you use that data to drive action.
Many teams lack a clear owner for post-deployment success, leading to blind spots in field performance.
“Observability” should go beyond crash logs and include signals that help prioritize engineering work.
Product-market fit isn’t static—it has to be reevaluated and maintained across the device lifecycle.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to IoT Challenges

01:54 Afzal’s Journey in IoT & Early Expectations

04:11 The 500K SIM Card Mirage

08:10 Why IoT Projects Stall: Internal Resistance & Misaligned Incentives

14:25 Rethinking the “IoT” Label: Lessons from Pebble

17:28 When Good Tech Still Fails: The Organizational Blindspot

20:43 Field Reality Check: Why Real-World Feedback is Critical

26:00 Who Owns It? Accountability After Launch

29:07 Designing for Fault Tolerance in Connected Devices

32:52 Fragmentation in IoT: Meeting Diverse Customer Needs

37:27 Niche Focus as a Winning Strategy

39:57 What IoT Can Learn from AI’s Go-to-Market Playbook

44:42 Drivers for Success in the IoT Space

47:14 The Future of IoT: Regulation, Trust & E-Waste

50:32 Final Reflections on Long-Term Ownership & Customer Impact

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#013: Prepping Your AI Model for the Wild: Building Edge AI Models That Work in the Real World

Season 1 · Episode 14

Wednesday, July 23, 2025 • Duration 57:40

In today's Coredump Session, we dive into the fascinating world of building Edge AI models that truly work in real-world environments. Joined by David Tischler, Developer Program Manager, and Alessandro Grande, Head of Product at Edge Impulse (A Qualcomm Company), we unpack what it takes to deploy AI on tiny devices, explore practical applications from wearables to industrial use cases, and discuss why customization, hardware choices, and continuous monitoring are critical for success. Tune in to explore how Edge AI is transforming device development and enabling smarter solutions.

Key Takeaways:

Edge AI empowers devices to process data locally, significantly reducing latency, bandwidth usage, and improving privacy.
The best use cases for Edge AI today often involve video and audio analytics, wearables, and industrial sensor applications.
Customization is the key value of AI, making it easy to fine-tune models for specific tasks or customer needs without extensive traditional coding.
Effective Edge AI requires thoughtful pre-processing (DSP), not just AI models—this combination significantly improves model performance.
Hardware selection is crucial; developers must balance model complexity with device constraints, such as available RAM and compute power.
Many AI co-processors marketed for embedded systems today are essentially DSP units rebranded as AI accelerators, and usability matters more than raw performance.
Observability and OTA (over-the-air) updates are critical components in Edge AI deployment, enabling continuous monitoring, data-driven refinements, and quick responses to issues in the field.
Production readiness in Edge AI involves not only initial deployment but ongoing data collection, model retraining, and continuous improvement cycles.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro & Teasers: Edge AI's Real-World Promise01:57 Meet Our Guests: David Tischler & Alessandro Grande from Edge Impulse05:19 How Edge AI Took Off: From Hyped to Essential09:21 Beyond Voice Commands: Emerging AI Use Cases12:02 Defining the Edge: Wearables to Factories19:09 AI's Hidden Superpower: Customization and Fine-Tuning26:15 Why AI Belongs at the Edge: Latency, Privacy, and Power28:38 Building the Software Stack: Edge AI for Embedded Engineers34:17 Choosing Your Hardware: Constraints and AI Accelerators45:42 Observability and OTA Updates: Essential for Edge AI52:28 Audience Q&A: Fine-Tuning, TinyML, and the Future

#012: Plug-and-Play Cellular Connectivity: Nearly Here or Never Happening?

Season 1 · Episode 13

Tuesday, July 8, 2025 • Duration 55:05

In today's Coredump Session, we delve into the evolving landscape of cellular connectivity, particularly focusing on eSIM technology and its implications for IoT devices. The discussion features insights from industry experts on the challenges and opportunities presented by cellular connectivity, the cost considerations for device makers, and the technological advancements that are shaping the future of connectivity. Key themes include the vision behind Kigen, the role of SIM technology, emerging business models, and best practices for managing device connectivity and profiles.

Key Takeaways

Cellular connectivity is essential for modern IoT devices.
Kigen aims to secure trillions of connected devices.
Cost reduction in cellular modules opens new opportunities.
Device makers must consider the total cost of ownership.
Emerging business models include rental and subscription services.
iSIM technology is gaining traction in the market.
Device management and profile updates are critical for success.
Security by design is a priority for device manufacturers.
Interoperability between eSIM products is improving.

Chapters

00:00 Intro & Teasers

03:54 The Vision Behind Kigen

06:36 Challenges and Opportunities in Connectivity

09:09 Cost Considerations in Cellular Technology

12:01 Innovative Business Models for Device Makers

14:46 Understanding SIM Technology

17:22 The Future of iSIM and SoftSIM20:19 Global Considerations for Cellular Products

30:25 Navigating IoT Network Choices

#011: Memfault Joins Nordic Semiconductor: What This Means for the Future of Connected Product Development

Season 1 · Episode 12

Tuesday, July 1, 2025 • Duration 55:46

In today's Coredump Session, François and Chris share a major milestone in Memfault’s journey: Memfault is joining forces with Nordic Semiconductor. They’re joined by Kjetil Holstad from Nordic to explore Nordic’s history, how the acquisition came to be, and the exciting future they envision together. Along the way, they dive into the evolution of Bluetooth, the challenges of building complex embedded systems, and why developer experience is at the heart of it all.

Key Takeaways:

Nordic Semiconductor’s journey from design services to global Bluetooth leadership hinged on bold bets and developer-centric decisions.
The inclusion of Bluetooth Low Energy in the iPhone was a pivotal moment that accelerated Nordic’s growth.
Building robust embedded systems today requires deep attention to software complexity, which has significantly increased over time.
Decisions that prioritize developer experience—like open documentation and accessible SDKs—have been instrumental to Nordic’s success.
Memfault’s partnership with Nordic was driven by a shared vision to make embedded observability easy, accessible, and deeply integrated.
Memfault’s pre-integration with Nordic’s SDKs and their collaborative engineering work have helped reduce barriers for developers.
The vision for a “chip-to-cloud” platform is about delivering seamless device management, monitoring, and OTA updates with a scalable, unified solution.
Both Memfault and Nordic are committed to supporting non-Nordic hardware, focusing on building solutions that serve the broader embedded ecosystem.

Chapters:

00:00 Episode Teasers & Intro

02:59 The Origin Story of Nordic Semiconductor

06:11 The Evolution of Bluetooth Technology at Nordic

09:40 Bold Decisions and Learning from the Market

14:24 Nordic's Commitment to Developers and Software

#010: From Pebble to Intel: can hardware startups beat the big players?

Season 1 · Episode 11

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 • Duration 59:16

In today's Coredump Session, we explore the wild early days of Pebble and what it takes to scale a hardware startup against industry giants. From scrappy hackathons to 100+ person engineering teams, Kean Wong, former VP of Software at Pebble and now CTO at Igor, joins Memfault’s François and Chris to unpack how startups can outpace Big Tech by staying nimble, hiring wisely, and embracing constant change.

Key Takeaways:

Early-stage hardware startups benefit from direct engagement with developer communities for recruiting.
Transparency and shared business context can create stronger, more motivated engineering teams.
Scaling a hardware company requires embracing organizational change—not resisting it.
“Trial by fire” can be an effective onboarding path for technical leaders in fast-moving environments.
Engineering leadership should balance short-term firefighting with long-term vision setting.
Hackathons and passion projects can be powerful hiring channels in embedded tech.
Growth requires thoughtful infrastructure investments—even when it's tempting to keep things scrappy.
A good leader earns respect by doing the hard work, not just delegating it.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Today’s Topic

06:00 Lessons from Scaling Teams at Pebble

12:00 Chaos, Structure, and Growing as a Startup

18:00 Building Process Without Killing Agility

24:00 Hiring Smart in Fast-Growth Environments

30:00 From Product Complexity to Organizational Change

36:00 Staying Productive Through Engineering Transitions

42:00 Applying Startup Lessons in Larger Organizations

#009: Zephyr’s Meteoric Rise and What It Means for the Future of Embedded

Season 1 · Episode 11

Tuesday, May 27, 2025 • Duration 59:17

In today’s Coredump Session, we dive into the origins and evolution of Zephyr RTOS with Kate Stewart, VP of Dependable Embedded Systems at the Linux Foundation. From Intel’s early ambitions to a thriving global community, Kate unpacks how Zephyr grew into a leading open-source RTOS and what makes it uniquely resilient and developer-friendly. This conversation also explores the technical shifts shaping embedded development and how governance, safety, and collaboration continue to steer Zephyr’s trajectory.

Speakers:

Kate Stewart: Vice President of Dependable Embedded Systems, The Linux Foundation
François Baldassari: CEO & Founder, Memfault
Thomas Sarlandie: Field CTO, Memfault

Key Takeaways:

Zephyr was born from Intel’s desire for a scalable, secure, and open RTOS, evolving from Wind River roots.
Early adoption of Linux-inspired practices, like Kconfig and "signed-off-by" contributions, lowered friction and encouraged community participation.
The project’s governance model, emphasizing multi-vendor participation and elected leadership, prevents corporate capture and boosts resilience.
Zephyr’s pragmatic reuse of tools like MCUboot accelerated development and expanded capabilities.
Long-term support (LTS) releases—now extended to five years—make Zephyr production-friendly and aligned with regulatory demands like the CRA.
Innovations like the Twister test framework and open testing infrastructure set Zephyr apart for visibility and maintainability.
Zephyr thrives as complexity in embedded systems increases, filling the gap left by simpler RTOSes ill-suited for modern MCU workloads.
Not every project is a fit for Zephyr—especially ultra-low-end 8-bit systems—but it excels in growing, connected device classes.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction

#008: Navigating the Changing IoT Security Landscape: A Survival Guide for Product Leaders

Season 1 · Episode 9

Tuesday, May 13, 2025 • Duration 58:04

In today's Coredump Session, we dive into the evolving landscape of IoT security regulations with Giovanni Alberto Falcione, CTO at Exine. From the impact of the EU's CRA to the complexities of OTA updates, Giovanni, François, and Thomas unpack what these new requirements mean for product engineers and how to navigate the increasingly stringent security landscape.

Speakers:

François Baldassari: CEO & Founder, Memfault
Thomas Sarlandie: Field CTO, Memfault
Giovanni Alberto Falcione: CTO, Exein

Key Takeaways:

The EU's Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) mandates stringent security measures for all connected devices marketed after December 2027, with a particular focus on runtime security monitoring.
OTA updates are essential for mitigating vulnerabilities in the field but can also introduce challenges in regulatory compliance.
Giovanni highlights that less than 1% of IoT device manufacturers actively monitor cybersecurity state awareness, a critical area of compliance under CRA.
Implementing a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and tracking Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) are low-hanging fruit for product teams to start bolstering security.
eBPF technology offers powerful, low-impact monitoring capabilities that can detect unauthorized activities at the syscall level without kernel-level intervention.
Companies need to plan for at least five years of security updates under CRA, with potential for longer support based on device lifecycles.
Even seemingly innocuous devices, like coffee makers, can pose significant cybersecurity risks as entry points for broader attacks.
Giovanni emphasizes that while regulation can stifle innovation, it also raises the bar for security practices across the board.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction02:30 The Unseen Costs of Cybersecurity Regulation04:40 OTA Updates: Security Savior or Hidden Risk07:21 CRA vs. Other Regulations: What Matters Most10:30 The Rise of Runtime Security Monitoring12:23 Why Manufacturers Are Freaking Out About CRA15:09 The Hidden Cost of Legacy Firmware17:30 Inside the Automotive Cybersecurity Playbook21:22 eBPF: The Next Frontier in IoT Security55:38 Coffee Machines, Coffee Attacks, and Unexpected Entry Points

#007: AI, Open Source, and the Future of Embedded Development: How Much Code Will We Actually Write?

Season 1 · Episode 7

Tuesday, April 29, 2025 • Duration 55:14

In today's Coredump Session, we dive into a wide-ranging conversation about the intersection of AI, open source, and embedded systems with the teams from Memfault and Goliath. From the evolution of AI at the edge to the emerging role of large language models (LLMs) in firmware development, the panel explores where innovation is happening today — and where expectations still outpace reality. Listen in as they untangle the practical, the possible, and the hype shaping the future of IoT devices.

Speakers:

François Baldassari: CEO & Founder, Memfault
Thomas Sarlandie: Field CTO, Memfault
Jonathan Beri: CEO & Founder, Golioth
Dan Mangum: CTO, Golioth

Key Takeaways:

AI has been quietly powering embedded devices for years, especially in edge applications like voice recognition and computer vision.
The biggest gains in IoT today often come from cloud-based AI analytics, not necessarily from AI models running directly on devices.
LLMs are reshaping firmware development workflows but are not yet widely adopted for production-grade embedded codebases.
Use cases like audio and video processing have seen the fastest real-world adoption of AI at the edge.
Caution is warranted when integrating AI into safety-critical systems, where determinism is crucial.
Cloud-to-device AI models are becoming the go-to for fleet operations, anomaly detection, and predictive maintenance.
Many promising LLM-based consumer products struggle because hardware constraints and cloud dependence create friction.
The future of embedded AI may lie in hybrid architectures that balance on-device intelligence with cloud support.

Chapters:

00:00 Episode Teasers & Welcome

01:10 Meet the Panel: Memfault x Golioth

#006: Pebble’s Code is Free: Three Former Pebble Engineers Discuss Why It's Important (PART 2/2)

Season 1 · Episode 7

Tuesday, April 15, 2025 • Duration 01:13:19

In today’s Coredump Session, the team reunites to unpack the behind-the-scenes lessons from their time building firmware at Pebble. This episode dives into the risks, decisions, and sheer grit behind a near-disastrous OTA update—and the ingenious hack that saved a million smartwatches. It’s a candid look at the intersection of rapid development, firmware stability, and real-world consequences.

Key Takeaways:

Pebble’s open approach to developer access often came at the cost of security best practices, reflecting early startup trade-offs.
A critical OTA update bug almost bricked Pebble devices—but the team recovered using a clever BLE-based stack hack.
Lack of formal security measures at the time (e.g., unsigned firmware) unintentionally enabled recovery from a serious update failure.
Static analysis and test automation became top priorities following the OTA scare to prevent repeat incidents.
The story reveals how firmware constraints (like code size and inline functions) can lead to high-stakes bugs.
Investing in robust release processes—including version-to-version OTA testing—proved vital.
Real security risks included impersonation on e-commerce platforms and potential ransom via malicious OTA compromise.
The importance of "hiring your hackers" was humorously noted as a de facto security strategy.

Chapters:

00:00 Episode Teasers & Welcome

01:22 Why Pebble’s Firmware Was Open (and Unsigned)

05:01 The Security Tradeoffs That Enabled Speed

11:00 The OTA Bug That Could Have Bricked Everything

15:26 Hacking Our Way Out with BLE Stack Overflow

17:47 Lessons Learned: Test Automation & Static Analysis

26:30 How Pebble Built a Developer Ecosystem

29:56 CloudPebble, Watchface Generator & Developer Tools

42:55 Backporting Pebble 3.0 to Legacy Hardware

#005: The Current Realities of Cellular IoT

Season 1 · Episode 6

Wednesday, March 19, 2025 • Duration 59:35

In today’s Coredump Session, we zoom in on the rapidly evolving world of cellular IoT—what’s working, what’s changing, and what developers should know. With expert insight from Fabien Korheim of ONES, the conversation breaks down MVNOs vs MNOs, dives into certification hurdles, explores connectivity trade-offs like NB-IoT vs LTE-M, and unpacks why cellular is quietly powering more devices than you think. Whether you're building metering devices or baby monitors, this one hits the full stack—from tech to business models.

Key Takeaways:

MVNOs simplify global IoT deployments by abstracting regional carrier relationships and reducing SKU complexity.
LTE-M is currently the safest bet for low-power cellular applications, with 5G RedCap positioned as a future alternative.
Certification processes are lighter with MVNOs, especially when using pre-approved modules.
Cellular IoT is ideal where Wi-Fi isn’t guaranteed, like basements, forests, and mobile tracking.
Consumer IoT has huge untapped potential—cellular can dramatically improve usability and reduce returns.
Battery life and data costs are major design considerations, especially when scaling fleets globally.
Multiradio devices and smart fallback strategies (e.g. BLE/Wi-Fi + Cellular) are becoming more common.
Debugging tools and observability platforms are essential for maintaining reliability across networks, devices, and regions.

Chapters:

00:00 Episode Teasers & Intro02:34 MVNO vs MNO: What’s the Difference?06:28 Certifications, SIMs & Simplifying Deployment12:31 NB-IoT, LTE-M, LoRaWAN & Satellite—Explained23:43 5G for IoT: Hype or Here?27:14 Top Use Cases: Meters, Trackers & Wildlife33:28 The Big Opportunity: Cellular in Consumer Devices36:33 Business Models: Who Pays for Cellular?37:49 Getting Started: Kits, SIMs & Copy-Paste Firmware41:59 Common Mistakes & What to Watch in the Field47:15 What to Measure: Observability That Scales49:13 Q&A: Prioritization, Firmware Updates, RedCap & More

Coredump Sessions – Details, episodes & analysis

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Coredump Sessions – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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