Embedded software development

Software designed to improve the reliability of microprocessors within consumer electronics has just been launched on both sides of the Atlantic only a year after its developer, Alan Parkinson, graduated from the University of the West of England.

His code-generating tool, called xState Developer, can be seen at the Embedded Systems Show at the National Exhibition Centre at Birmingham on October 19.

This follows its US launch at the industry’s leading international event, the Embedded Systems Conference in Boston, MA, in September.

xState Developer itself is a graphical state machine programming tool for the development of event based control logic. It covers both the design and implementation stages of the development life cycle using a ANSI C90 code generator to quickly implement designs.

Parkinson’s business idea is a direct continuation of the work he undertook for his final year project on code generation tools while studying for a BSc Software Engineering at UWE.

His company AGP Micro was set up in January 2005 in UWE’s city-centre business incubator, seven months after he graduated in June 2004.

A 30 day evaluation of xState Developer is freely available for download at: http://www.agpmicro.co.uk/xstate/eval.htm