🤖 AI Summary
Embedded systems face significant challenges in hardware-software co-development, including strong hardware dependencies, stringent real-time and safety requirements, and poor compatibility with conventional CI/CD practices. Method: Through a systematic literature review of 20 academic and industrial studies, we establish the first DevOps practice taxonomy specifically for embedded systems; propose a hardware-aware CI/CD framework supporting closed-loop hardware testing, resource-constrained execution, and safety compliance; and identify and address critical gaps in deployment automation and observability. Contribution/Results: We synthesize toolchain design, automated testing strategies, pipeline lightweighting, and firmware security practices into a structured knowledge framework. This work provides both a theoretical foundation and concrete research directions for academia, and delivers a reusable, industry-applicable methodology for realizing Embedded DevOps.
📝 Abstract
The adoption of DevOps practices in embedded systems and firmware development is emerging as a response to the growing complexity of modern hardware--software co-designed products. Unlike cloud-native applications, embedded systems introduce challenges such as hardware dependency, real-time constraints, and safety-critical requirements. This literature review synthesizes findings from 20 academic and industrial sources to examine how DevOps principles--particularly continuous integration, continuous delivery, and automated testing--are adapted to embedded contexts. We categorize efforts across tooling, testing strategies, pipeline automation, and security practices. The review highlights current limitations in deployment workflows and observability, proposing a roadmap for future research. This work offers researchers and practitioners a consolidated understanding of Embedded DevOps, bridging fragmented literature with a structured perspective.