What happens when AI meets one of the hardest parts of the Internet of Things: embedded firmware?
In this episode of the Mr. Beacon podcast, I talk with Ismail Hamdad, Co-Founder of Adsum Networks, about the intersection of AI, IoT and embedded software, and why making IoT development dramatically faster could be essential to unlocking the technology’s full potential.
Ismail argues that while AI coding tools have transformed software development for PCs, mobile applications and cloud systems, IoT presents a fundamentally different challenge. An IoT development environment may involve many devices communicating simultaneously, with timing, hardware interfaces, serial ports, logs and power constraints all contributing to the complexity.
Adsum’s answer is their IoT Decoder, an extension for VS Code and compatible development environments designed specifically for embedded IoT development. Rather than replacing the underlying AI model, it gives the model the tools and context it needs to work effectively with physical hardware.
Ismail describes this as combining “tool bits” with “knowledge bits”: the tools needed to interact with IoT hardware, plus the right expert knowledge delivered at precisely the moment it is needed. The goal is to help developers get working firmware faster, use fewer AI tokens, and potentially achieve results with smaller, less expensive models.
The conversation also explores why IoT has not yet delivered on its full promise, the importance of open and programmable hardware, potential applications across manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, energy, agriculture and more, and Adsum’s vision for a contributor ecosystem where developers can share and potentially monetize their embedded expertise.
In the second half, Ismail takes me through his remarkable career journey, from Algeria and early telecom deployments, through Motorola, Nokia, Juniper Networks and Verizon, to entrepreneurship, and explains how those experiences ultimately led him back to IoT and AI.
Ismail’s Top 3 Songs:
- “Hurricane” by Bob Dylan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpZvg_FjL3Q
- “Pourquoi Cette Pluie” by Idir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlShQr3yO-E
- “Not Afraid” by Eminem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5-yKhDd64s
Mister Beacon is hosted by Steve Statler, CEO of ambientChat.ai — Using AI to connect people with places and products with an app that puts you in control of YOUR data.
Our sponsor is Identiv https://www.identiv.com, whose IoT solutions create digital identities for physical objects, enhancing global connectivity for businesses, people, and the planet. We are also sponsored by Blecon http://www.blecon.net. Blecon who delivers asset tracking and condition monitoring using the devices your team already carries.