Shaping embedded value chain across industries – key takeaways from Embedded World 2026

Although the conference lasts for three days, it is almost impossible to experience all the innovations presented at the Nuremberg Messe - unless you want to proceed in “speed-dating mode” driven by some sort of FOMO (fear of missing out) state of mind.  

Edge and Physical AI - from slides to real implementations 

We have already become accustomed to the statement that AI is shaping essentially every industry. At many conferences we have attended, this claim was usually backed up by fancy slides and high-level marketing pitches at exhibition booths, but something is often missing - the opportunity to see this “AI magic” in action. The embedded World was a bit different this time. We witness several demos where AI workloads (for various use cases across industries) were seamlessly executed using optimized on-device LLM models, running on low or even ultra-low-power MCUs.  

While silicon vendors and semiconductor companies are increasingly focusing on enabling AI on memory and power-constrained devices, another competitive front battle is already in the full swing: the race to bring production-grade physical AI to a wide range of robotics platforms (from humanoids to industrial, manufacturing robots). STMicroelectronics and Infineon showcased AI-enabled solutions related to gesture, sensing, computer vision and image recognition. MediaTek showcased Genio Pro – a processor built in 3nm technology (with 50 TOPS and AI acceleration) targeting industrial automation, robotics, commercial edge devices and drones which was given with the “Best in Show” award in IoT & Connectivity category. 
 
It is worth noting that, unlike many AI-themed conference discussions, edge AI and physical AI at Embedded World addressed very concrete challenges: ultra-low-latency requirements for safety systems, strict power constraints, and privacy considerations. That’s why, at Tieto Tech Consulting, we see them not as just another industry buzzword, but as a meaningful technological trend that is steadily moving toward real-world implementations as we could witness at Nuremberg Messe (mentioned Genio Pro will be started with production in Q3 2026).

“They say it’s going to be Zephyr year” 

Without any exaggeration, we can say that Zephyr RTOS was omnipresent in almost every hall at the conference venue. Apart from the Zephyr Project booth itself, we could spot the Zephyr logo in demos from Infineon, NXP, Nordic, Renesas, or STMicroelectronics (among many others). 

“Yes, we’re Zephyr-ready,” was a statement I heard numerous times from silicon vendor representatives. We can definitely tell that more and more companies are considering Zephyr as the future RTOS of choice. We see that at Tieto Tech Consulting, we help our customers evaluate the benefits and challenges related to the usage of this operating system (for example as an alternative to FreeRTOS or SAFERTOS) and build dedicated solutions on top of the Zephyr stack. 

There were also several conference sessions dedicated to different aspects of Zephyr. The common denominator of these sessions was a focus on safety and compliance considerations. This comes with no surprise, since Zephyr is being considered by more and more companies from heavily regulated domains, including automotive, medical, and industrial sectors. 

It’s all about safety and security 

When we check Embedded World conference program, we can immediately see that there’s a strong focus on safety and security related topics - from embedded safety and compliance, post-quantum cryptography, through open-source safety considerations, CRA (Cyber Resilience Act) regulations and ISO/SAE 21434 standard.  

While connectivity and cloud integration enable new capabilities for embedded systems, they also introduce certain cybersecurity risks. That’s why security cannot be treated as an afterthought anymore - security by design approach becomes a baseline requirement. The regulatory landscape reinforces this approach. Starting in September 2026, the CRA will require mandatory reporting of exploited vulnerabilities, with full CRA requirements implementation scheduled for December 2027. This heavily affects how products are designed, built, and maintained. A comprehensive approach needs to be implemented - from HW-level security, secure bootloader, trust zone and trusted firmware through lifecycle management and continuous vulnerability management. 

When it comes to safety considerations, Rust has become an important topic and the subject of various discussions and workshops at different events. It was no different in Nuremberg, where there were a few hands-on sessions and demos related to this programming language. We could also witness how Rust is being adopted in industry-recognized toolchains, such as those from Perforce or Lauterbach. Rust, as a memory-safe language, addresses vulnerabilities responsible for the majority of critical exploits in embedded systems and will definitely continue to gain traction across industries. 

Automotive landscape  

Although automotive industry is sailing through choppy waters of transformation affected by tariffs and fierce competition from China, it had its strong footprint at the Embedded World. One of the key topics that has been on the agenda of the automotive representatives for a long time already is RISC-V. It’s an open-source ISA (Instruction Set Architecture) which provides “manual” to design and build chips without obligation to pay royalties to “big players” like ARM. It comes with no surprise why it was present at Embedded World in Nuremberg (and the interest goes far beyond automotive industry). We were introduced to Infineon’s zone-oriented E/E architecture with TRAVEO SDV zonal demo, but also, it’s their approach towards RISC-V with Drivecore (software bundle for microcontrollers) that includes RISC-V virtual prototype for upcoming automotive MCUs. 

STMicroelectronics, another leading semiconductor company, once again entertained the audience with a wide range of demos and innovations across industries. We had the pleasure of discussing the ST Stellar automotive MCU roadmap for software-defined vehicles, as well as its system solutions (such as a virtual ECU platform) developed together with ecosystem partners like Aumovio. Since Ethernet seems to be the future of automotive wiring (and because Tieto Tech Consulting serves as automotive audio experts) we were impressed by an “Audio over Ethernet” demo based on the ST Stellar G MCU, which emphasizes the zonal architecture approach and its associated challenges. With this solution, based on time-sensitive networking, high-fidelity audio can be distributed through the same backbone as other vehicle data.

Beyond the buzz - embedded evolution 

As we wrote, the Embedded World conference proves that the embedded ecosystem is moving beyond high-level promises and considerations toward production-ready innovations. Edge and physical AI are no longer slides-driven ideas but are successfully deployed on constrained devices, enabling real-world applications across industries. AI implementations were also omnipresent in various toolchains and IDEs - LLMs running within development tools, supporting debugging or code analysis speeding up software development processes. 

After exploring a wide range of demos, engaging with interesting concepts, and taking part in insightful discussions, we left Nuremberg Messe reflecting on the future direction of embedded software. Will industry move further toward platform-centric development, driven by tightly integrated, end-to-end solutions from silicon vendors that help to address security and maintainability concerns? Or will it move in the opposite direction with hardware-independent and highly portable offerings from standalone software providers? We think that these two approaches will continue to evolve side by side, each addressing different needs within the embedded ecosystem.