Rust in Embedded Systems: Tools, Developments, and Real Use Cases
If you’ve been following Rust in embedded development, you know the story so far: memory safety, zero-cost abstractions, and fearless concurrency are making waves. The ecosystem is maturing fast, and developers now have more tools, frameworks, and real-world examples than ever before, making Rust a serious contender in embedded systems.
Modern Tools for Embedded Rust
The Rust ecosystem for embedded has grown significantly, including exciting tools such as:
- embedded-hal 1.0: The long-awaited stable release of the hardware abstraction layer has standardized how developers interface with GPIO, SPI, I2C, and other peripherals. This makes driver code much more portable across microcontrollers.
- Embassy: An async framework that brings non-blocking programming to embedded devices. It allows developers to write concurrent firmware without dealing with complex interrupt logic or spinlocks, making asynchronous programming practical on MCUs.
- probe-rs: A versatile tool for flashing, debugging, and interacting with microcontrollers. It’s a modern, Rust-based alternative to traditional tools like OpenOCD, with smoother integration and simpler workflows.
- Ferrocene & HighTec ASIL-D Toolchains: Rust can now be used in safety-critical automotive systems, with certified compilers and toolchains meeting ISO 26262 functional safety standards. This opens the door for Rust in high-assurance embedded environments.
- MicroFlow & TinyML in Rust: Rust is being used to run machine learning inference on tiny devices with as little as 2 KB of RAM. This demonstrates Rust’s efficiency even in highly resource-constrained environments.
Latest Developments
Several milestones signal Rust’s growing maturity in embedded systems:
- Safety-critical certification: HighTec and Solid Sands are qualifying the Rust core library for ISO 26262 compliance, meaning foundational Rust components are now being formally safety-assessed.
- AUTOSAR integration: Companies like Elektrobit are now supporting Rust components within AUTOSAR ECUs, with build tools, static analysis, and safe “unsafe” code isolation, making Rust viable for production automotive software.
- Vendor support growth: STM32, Espressif, and RISC-V platforms now have active Rust HALs and community support, making it easier than ever to adopt Rust in new embedded projects.
Real-World Use Cases
Rust is being tested and deployed across industries:
- Automotive ECUs: Elektrobit + Infineon + HighTec have created hybrid stacks where Rust and legacy C coexist safely, with ASIL-D certified tooling.
- Compiler certification: HighTec’s ISO‑26262 ASIL-D Rust compiler enables Rust in production ECUs with guaranteed functional safety.
- Vehicle experiments: Early projects with Swedish automakers and companies like Grepit show Rust’s potential in real vehicle embedded systems.
- Safety library certification: HighTec & Solid Sands are qualifying Rust’s core libraries to meet automotive safety standards, reducing barriers for adoption in critical systems.
- TinyML on microcontrollers: Companies are deploying neural networks on constrained devices using Rust, highlighting its efficiency and safety.
The Current Landscape
The takeaway is clear: Rust in embedded is moving beyond its experimental phase. Companies have made significant investments to ensure the ecosystem is evolving rapidly, with mature tooling, frameworks, and certified compilers now available for production use.
What has been your experience working with Rust so far? I’d love to hear how Rust is shaping embedded development in your work.
If you are hiring or looking for opportunities in this sector, please reach out to luiza@akkar.com!