Every microprocessor requires instructions to tell it what to do.

To most people, the term "software" means a program that runs on a PC, which is loaded onto the machine via some sort of removable media.

There is another "flavour" of software though: firmware, which is software that's embedded into the actual chips of the equipment itself.

Firmware is the basis of every microprocessor-based device. Your PC, without its myriad of chips (each of which is a microprocessor in its own right) and their corresponding firmware (the most common example being the BIOS) to tell the motherboard how to read the keyboard, etc., couldn't even begin to load the operating system and run your applications.

Firmware covers an enormous scope of functionality, from providing a mechanism to enable your PC to operate, to running a pop-up toaster, operating your air conditioner, controlling the engine in your car, running a pacemaker to keep you alive... there is an infinite number of applications.

We write the firmware for all of the boards that we design. Some clients come to us with pre-existing boards, in which case we can write firmware to suit.