Editorial: Reimagining ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems (TECS)

Abstract

Welcome to the latest issue of the ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems (TECS). TECS is the flagship journal in embedded systems spanning the entire spectrum from software to hardware, from applications to design methodologies. The journal has evolved in tandem with the rapid transformation of the field and serves as the nexus of research and innovation. I am honored to have the opportunity to continue the tradition. I started my journey as the Editor-in-Chief of TECS in 2020 in the middle of a global pandemic. As we begin 2021 with cautious optimism about returning to some semblance of a normal life, it is also time to reimagine the vision and the future of the journal. On the one hand, it is the perfect time to be involved in the embedded systems research. Now more than ever, embedded system is firmly driving the technological revolution that blurs the line between physical, biological, and cyber entities. Embedded systems provide the foundation of almost all modern electronics systems today from automotive, avionics, smart grids to medical devices, wearables, and myriad consumer electronic devices. The challenge of designing complex, low-power, high-performance, safety-critical, secure, real-time, intelligent embedded computing systems that serve as the fundamental building blocks of these devices has grown exponentially. From a broader perspective, computing systems research, in general, is increasingly adopting a holistic, integrated, cross-layer, hardware-software codesigned approach that has been the cornerstone of embedded systems research from the onset. As a result, TECS is uniquely positioned to steer the course of these exciting developments. On the other hand, we are living in an unprecedented time where the well-established conference model needs rethinking and the distinctions between journals and conferences are getting fuzzy with the virtual events. We, the embedded systems community, are facing a predicament in both research and education with limited access to lab facilities in most parts of the world. But we are resilient, and I am confident that the journal will emerge stronger by embracing the emerging research opportunities and addressing the challenges imposed on us by the pandemic. I envision the journal to flourish at the forefront of research by continuing to engage with the core embedded systems community and aim to revitalize it by building bridges to the cognate research communities that contribute to the different theoretical and systems aspect of the embedded systems design including formal methods, real-time systems, machine learning, computer security, operating systems, sensor networks, compilers, computer architectures, design automation, and hardware-software codesign. Needless to say, TECS is evidently intertwined with the Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems in the form of intersecting but synergistic, complementary focus.