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Hello everyone!

大家好！

In this article, we will consider common errors in the design of electronic devices and how to solve them. We will see how to calculate the cost of rolling back a batch of devices, get familiar with the main prototyping cycle.

在本文中，我们将考虑电子设备设计中的常见错误以及如何解决它们。 我们将了解如何计算回滚一批设备的成本，并熟悉主要的原型设计周期。

介绍


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Introduction


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You have probably heard that various manufacturers recall batches of electronic devices from time to time. Smartphones hanging up, cameras turning off suddenly, electronic cigarettes exploding — these are the results of an incorrect approach to prototyping devices and savings on-device testing.

您可能听说过，各个制造商不时召回一批电子设备。 智能手机挂断电话，相机突然关闭，电子烟爆炸-这些是对原型设备使用错误方法并节省了设备内测试的结果。

For users, such cases look like routine and can only undermine their trust in the device manufacturer. For a company that has released insufficiently tested devices in a series, defects can lead to recalling of the entire party of devices, paying compensations, and even bankruptcy.

对于用户而言，这种情况看起来很常规，只会破坏他们对设备制造商的信任。 对于一家发布了一系列未经过充分测试的设备的公司，缺陷可能导致召回整个设备方，支付赔偿金甚至破产。

真实案例


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Real-world cases


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Nowadays almost all portable or stationary devices have intelligent control. They use the computing capabilities of microcontrollers, microprocessors and processors for their work. This means that to change complex electronic logic, one will need to make changes in the software. This approach simplifies debugging, development, and error fixes, also reducing the cost of devices. Besides, manufacturers try to protect themselves by preferring software solution to hardware solutions for flexibility of the manufacturing process. As technologies develop, technical requirements for devices become more and more complex. Due to their complexity, modern devices should be properly designed and tested.

如今，几乎所有便携式或固定式设备都具有智能控制。 他们使用微控制器，微处理器和处理器的计算功能来进行工作。 这意味着要更改复杂的电子逻辑，就需要对软件进行更改。 这种方法简化了调试，开发和错误修复，还降低了设备成本。 此外，制造商试图通过选择软件解决方案而不是硬件解决方案来保护自己，以提高制造过程的灵活性。 随着技术的发展，对设备的技术要求变得越来越复杂。 由于其复杂性，应适当设计和测试现代设备。

Software errors are resolved by updating the device software, normally it doesn’t cause serious damage. Below you can find some examples of errors made by well-known companies:

通过更新设备软件可以解决软件错误，通常不会造成严重损坏。 您可以在下面找到一些知名公司所犯错误的示例：

• 2019 — a login error on a Samsung smart watch:

  2019 —三星智能手表上的登录错误：

• 2018 — an error causing the Apple iPhone restart when receiving messages with certain characters:

  2018年—当收到带有某些字符的消息时，导致Apple iPhone重新启动的错误：

• 2016 — a vulnerability in Android enabling attackers to access a number o smartphone models:

  2016年— Android中的一个漏洞，攻击者可以通过该漏洞访问多种智能手机型号：

• 2016 — an issue with the shutter being stuck in Nikon D750 cameras:

  2016年—尼康D750相机快门卡住的问题：

Errors in the software are common for any device manufacturer. They only indicate that the device circuit was properly designed so the device didn’t stop working, and the error resulted in zero hardware damage.

该软件中的错误对于任何设备制造商都是常见的。 它们仅表明设备电路的设计正确，因此设备不会停止工作，并且该错误导致零硬件损坏。

The errors in circuitry, layout of electronic components or mechanical parts, insufficient protection of the device from external influence lead to more serious consequences. Unlike software issues, they cannot be resolved remotely and result in higher costs as the manufacturer needs to pay for repair or even release another series of devices. Moreover, hardware errors often mean that the device won’t work properly.

电路错误，电子组件或机械零件的布局错误，设备不受外部影响的保护不足会导致更严重的后果。 与软件问题不同，它们无法远程解决，并且会导致更高的成本，因为制造商需要支付维修费用，甚至需要发布另一系列的设备。 此外，硬件错误通常意味着设备无法正常工作。

However, errors in the firmware of the devices (especially those performing simple tasks without the possibility of remote firmware upgrade) should not be treated irresponsibly either. Even if such errors do not make their manufacturer rework the circuitry, they can still lead to reflashing. When designing devices on simple microcontrollers with peripherals used for outer word communication, it is possible to add the function of remote firmware updates and protect yourself from device recalls. We will cover remote firmware upgrades in more detail in one of our upcoming publications.

但是，也不应该不负责任地对待设备固件中的错误(尤其是那些执行简单任务而无法进行远程固件升级的错误)。 即使此类错误不会使他们的制造商对电路进行重新加工，也可能导致重新闪烁。 在具有外围设备用于外部字通信的简单微控制器上设计设备时，可以添加远程固件更新功能并保护自己免受设备召回。 我们将在我们即将发布的出版物中详细介绍远程固件升级。

Here are some examples of hardware issues:

以下是一些硬件问题的示例：

• 2017 — Spectre, Meltdown — major hardware vulnerabilities at the core level of most Intel, AMD, ARM processors were detected. The command execution optimization mechanism could be used to access the arbitrary memory allocated for specific applications:

  2017年— Spectre，Meltdown —在大多数Intel，AMD，ARM处理器的核心级别检测到主要硬件漏洞。 命令执行优化机制可用于访问为特定应用程序分配的任意内存：

• 2016 — The discovery of a known problem with Samsung Galaxy Note 7 batteries causing smartphones to burn. Due to possible fires, some countries banned this model from air transportation:

  2016年—发现三星Galaxy Note 7电池已知问题，导致智能手机燃烧。 由于可能发生的火灾，一些国家禁止将此模型用于航空运输：

• 2013 — nowadays — numerous incidents involving the ignition of electronic cigarette batteries resulting in severe burns and injuries to users (warning! explicit content):

  2013年—时至今日—涉及电子烟电池着火的众多事件导致严重的灼伤和使用者伤害(警告！明确内容)：

These examples show that hardware