We flip the script for episode 100! Instead of hosting, Luca and Jeff become the guests as Joe Schneider and Jacob Beningo take over the interview chair. We look back at how two consultants from opposite sides of the world accidentally started a podcast, share war stories about the hardest bugs we've ever chased (spoiler: weeks of work for one-line fixes), and discuss why "Agile" might not be the buzzword it once was. The conversation touches on everything from helicopter avionics to the future of AI in embedded systems, plus some honest talk about what keeps us going after five and a half years and 100 episodes.

• [02:30] Origin story: How a consulting group for solopreneurs brought together two embedded engineers from California and Munich
• [08:00] Favorite episodes and memorable guests: James Grenning, Miro Samek, Matthew Eshelman, and the value of reaching out to people you admire
• [15:00] Why "Agile Embedded"? Finding an unclaimed niche at the intersection of Agile practices and embedded systems
• [25:00] War stories: The hardest bugs to fix - from five-day hunts for one-line interrupt bugs to months tracking down temperature-dependent DDR RAM failures
• [35:00] The dynamic between hosts: Jeff keeps things concrete, Luca pulls back to the big picture - and why that balance matters
• [42:00] Looking ahead: AI as "the new Agile," requirements engineering's renewed importance, and navigating the hype cycle
• [50:00] The Gartner hype cycle and AI: Are we heading for the trough of disillusionment, or is this an exponential that never stops?

"No one gives you permission. You're listening to us because we started talking, and maybe some of you found it interesting. But you can put yourself out there, and you learn by speaking." — Jeff Gable

"Testing is like vacuuming. It's only fun if it rattles in the hose. It's just no fun to test a system that has no bugs." — Luca Ingianni

"AI really is the new Agile - the magical fairy dust that you can sprinkle over your team. It'll take a while for people to realize that this is also much harder than it looks." — Luca Ingianni

• Embedded Vibe - Joe Schneider's benchmarking site testing LLMs' ability to generate embedded code in one shot
• Beningo Embedded Group - Jacob Beningo's consulting and training services for embedded systems development
• Dojo Five - Joe Schneider's embedded systems consulting and development company
• Embedded Systems Summit - In-person conference organized by Jacob Beningo and Stefan, planned for mid-November in the Bay Area
• Agile Embedded Podcast Slack - Community discussion channel where you can reach the hosts and connect with other listeners

You can find Jeff at https://jeffgable.com.
You can find Luca at https://luca.engineer.

Want to join the agile Embedded Slack? Click here

Are you looking for embedded-focused trainings? Head to https://agileembedded.academy/
Ryan Torvik and Luca have started the Embedded AI podcast, check it out at https://embeddedaipodcast.com/

We talk with Pete Staples, founder of Blue Clover Devices, about the often-overlooked challenge of flashing firmware in production. Pete shares insights from running a contract manufacturing operation in Shenzhen and explains why the handoff from engineering to manufacturing is more like "hucking it over a fence" than a smooth relay race.

We explore the gap between engineers' assumptions about factory capabilities and the dusty reality of production floors. Pete discusses security challenges, the complexity of modern microcontroller programming, and how Blue Clover's Production Line Tool addresses the middle ground between expensive custom automation and ad-hoc bench setups. We also touch on provisioning, calibration workflows, and why the engineer who designs the product must also define how it's tested.

• [02:30] The reality of factory firmware flashing - dusty PCs, hot glue, and cables everywhere
• [06:15] Security challenges: managing sensitive firmware and the "glass room" solution
• [09:45] The gap between engineer assumptions and factory reality - no, they don't have better equipment than you
• [14:20] In-circuit testing and bed-of-nails fixtures explained
• [22:30] The Production Line Tool: standardizing hardware and software across engineering and factory
• [28:00] Recording what matters: firmware versions, hardware serial numbers, and test results per device
• [31:45] Provisioning and security: webhooks, cloud databases, and managing secrets in production
• [38:20] The Test Agent: a companion device for running third-party software and complex programming workflows
• [43:00] Who should write the test plan? Why engineers must define "good enough" before production

"Engineers assume that the factories are a lot more sophisticated than they really are. In reality, it's a lot more like just hucking it over a fence and just hoping there's somebody there waiting." — Pete Staples

"They show you their pick-and-place machine and 10-zone reflow oven, and you're like, 'wow, these guys are tipped off.' And then rarely do they say, 'oh, and here's where we do firmware flashing.' It's normally another floor of the building, dimly lit, dusty old PCs." — Pete Staples

"The engineer responsible for the product has to not only engineer the product, but how it's tested. They can't just say, 'here's a bunch of design files, build it and let's see what happens.'" — Pete Staples

• Blue Clover Devices - Pete's company specializing in factory firmware flashing solutions
• Embedded World (Nuremberg) - Annual trade show in March where Blue Clover exhibits
• Embedded World North America (Anaheim) - North American version of Embedded World, September 22nd
• Kinetic (San Francisco) - Hardware-focused event put on by Hardware FYI

You can find Jeff at https://jeffgable.com.
You can find Luca at https://luca.engineer.

Want to join the agile Embedded Slack? Click here

Are you looking for embedded-focused trainings? Head to https://agileembedded.academy/
Ryan Torvik and Luca have started the Embedded AI podcast, check it out at https://embeddedaipodcast.com/