Embedded system investigation

Every Fault Has a Cause. Every System Has a Logic.

Reproduce field failures. Decode undocumented systems.

Better Devices engineers reviewing figures on screen at the bench

Better Devices reproduces the failures that resist isolation and turns undocumented systems and protocols into something a team can document, trust, and build on.

There is no unexplainable behaviour, only behaviour not yet measured.

The Device Architecture and Feasibility Services

Each stands alone. Together they resolve a concept into an evidence-backed build decision. Select to expand.

01

System Characterization & Profiling

Map what the system actually does, not what the documentation claims.

Complex embedded products operate across many states, modes, and environmental conditions. As firmware matures and integration deepens, the distance between specified behavior and observed behavior widens, and that distance is where real risk tends to hide.

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DELIVERABLES
AInstrumented measurement of timing, latency, throughput, and resource use under realistic conditions
BMapping of system states, modes, transitions, setup flows, and control/status behavior
CCorrelation of performance metrics with specific operating states or input conditions
DIdentification of bottlenecks, behavioral constraints, and edge-case responses
02

Protocol Reverse Engineering

Decode what the system is saying when the manual is silent.

Embedded products rarely live in isolation; they integrate with legacy systems, proprietary modules, and third-party hardware that speak through undocumented or partly documented protocols. Protocol Reverse Engineering decodes message structure, command semantics, and timing constraints through direct traffic analysis to produce integration-ready specifications.

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DELIVERABLES
AAnalysis of bus traffic to decode message structure, timing, and sequencing
BCorrelation of messages with system states, actions, and control flows
CIdentification of command sets, status semantics, and state-dependent protocol behavior
DDocumentation of protocol constraints, error handling, and integration requirements
03

Analog & Digital Interface Profiling

Characterize the boundary between devices before integration commits to it.

Complex embedded systems rely on analog, digital, and electrical interfaces that must operate reliably across temperature, load, and timing variations. Analog & Digital Interface Profiling captures signal behavior, electrical constraints, and safe operating limits before a connection is made that could damage hardware or break communication.

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DELIVERABLES
ACapture and measurement of analog and digital signals across operating modes
BCharacterization of voltage, current, timing, noise margins, and logical behavior
CDocumentation of control/status semantics, electrical constraints, and safe operating limits
DIdentification of interface risks that threaten hardware damage or communication failure
04

Fault Root Cause Analysis

Isolate the mechanism behind the symptom.

Embedded products in the field meet failure modes that resist isolation, intermittent faults, state-dependent anomalies, and environmental triggers that refuse to reappear in a controlled setting. Fault Root Cause Analysis answers it through structured investigation, controlled reproduction, and evidence-based isolation of the triggering mechanism.

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DELIVERABLES
AStructured review of logs, telemetry, field reports, and test evidence
BControlled reproduction of intermittent, field-only, or state-dependent failures
CSystem instrumentation to isolate failure modes and validate causal hypotheses
DDocumentation of root cause findings, reproduction methods, and recommended remediation
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Engineering tools

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Featured case · Investigation
An engineer probing a board while decoding its protocol on a logic analyser
50+ undocumented RF protocols, turned into a living spec.

Undocumented RF protocols, turned into a living spec.

Better Devices reverse-engineered 50+ undocumented legacy RF protocols, with no documentation and no reference hardware, into an executable spec that let teams build in parallel and de-risked the program.

01 50+ legacy RF protocols decoded from bus traffic
02 An executable, integration-ready specification
03 Parallel development unblocked across teams
Read the case study →
“

They turned an opaque environment into a predictable system we could finally build against.”Engineering Lead, Global Automation Company · Confidential

Start at the uncertainty

Engagement models that match the decision stage.

Scroll through the timeline to step through each stage.

A measured baseline grounds optimization, integration, and release decisions in evidence.

STAGE

The device behaviour has drifted from what the documentation claims.

SERVICE

System Characterization & Profiling

Message structure and semantics become an integration-ready specification.

STAGE

An interface speaks through an undocumented or proprietary protocol.

SERVICE

Protocol Reverse Engineering

Signal behaviour and safe operating limits are measured before integration.

STAGE

The electrical boundary between subsystems is unknown and risky to connect.

SERVICE

Analog & Digital Interface Profiling

The triggering mechanism is reproduced, isolated, and documented with evidence.

STAGE

A field failure resists isolation and refuses to reappear on the bench.

SERVICE

Fault Root Cause Analysis

A complete investigation that turns an opaque system into a predictable one.

STAGE

Multiple unknowns across behaviour, protocols, and failures.

SERVICE

Full Investigation Engagement

Each service is useful independently. Together, they create a grounded basis for the device development commitment.

Latest articles & industry insights

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Reading an unknown bus

Reading an unknown bus: from capture to message dictionary
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What a HIL rig actually needs before it earns a release gate
Reproducing the fault that only happens in the field

Reproducing the fault that only happens in the field

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Straight, technical answers from the engineers who do the work, no sales layer in between.

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What if the failure cannot be reproduced?

Reproduction is the first objective. Where it is not fully achievable, the work narrows the fault domain and documents the triggering conditions, with remaining unknowns flagged rather than glossed over.

Can a legacy system be investigated with little documentation?

Yes, that is the typical starting condition for this work.

Is reverse engineering done lawfully?

Engagements are scoped for legitimate integration, modernisation, and interoperability on systems the client is entitled to investigate.

How quickly can an investigation respond to a field failure?

Investigations can start at short notice, the first phase focuses on containment and narrowing the fault domain before deeper root-cause work.

What does an investigation deliver at the end?

A documented root cause where reachable, the evidence behind it, and a concrete remediation or redesign path, not just a report.

Can hardware, firmware, and signals be investigated together?

Yes. Most real failures cross those boundaries, so the work spans electronics, embedded code, and bus or RF analysis as one investigation.

Every fault has a cause. Every system has a logic.