Inventors.ECP
Inventors.ECP is a scalable communication protocol designed for embedded systems, from simple 8-bit microcontrollers to more advanced 32-bit platforms.
It provides a structured way to handle communication between devices without imposing heavy requirements on hardware or transport layers. The protocol is built to scale with your system — from minimal implementations on constrained devices to fully featured communication in more capable environments.
What it does
- Provides a structured protocol for communication between embedded devices
- Supports addressing of multiple devices
- Includes data integrity validation through checksums
- Enables two types of communication: functions and messages
- Supports transmission of large data payloads (up to ~4GB in a single transaction)
- Works across different transport layers (RS232, I2C, SPI, etc.)
Why it matters
Communication between embedded systems is often built ad hoc, tightly coupled to specific hardware, and difficult to scale or extend.
Inventors.ECP introduces a clear and consistent structure for communication, making systems easier to design, debug, and evolve — even as complexity increases.
When it is useful
- When building systems with multiple communicating devices
- When working across different hardware platforms
- When scaling from simple prototypes to more complex architectures
- When reliability and data integrity are important
Design philosophy
The protocol is designed to be scalable at its core.
Features can be included or omitted depending on the capabilities of the target hardware. A minimal implementation can run on very constrained devices, while more advanced systems can use the full protocol with addressing, validation, and complex data exchange.
The protocol also does not impose requirements on the underlying transport layer. It can operate over any communication interface that supports at least simplex or half-duplex transmission.
However, some features depend on the capabilities of the transport layer:
- Functions can operate over simplex or half-duplex communication
- Messages require full-duplex communication
This allows the same protocol to be used across a wide range of systems without forcing unnecessary complexity.
Open and available
Inventors.ECP follows our philosophy of making useful tools openly available where possible.
You are free to use it and explore how it fits your systems. If you need help designing communication architectures, integrating the protocol, or scaling your system, we are available to support you.