When people hear “power supply,” they usually think about hardware: schematics, PCB layout, components, thermal design. And yes — our project is indeed a significant hardware challenge. But the real killer feature of the Powerblock 323 won’t just be its silicon — it’s the embedded software running inside.

Why? Because in automated testing, reliability isn’t about shiny knobs or displays. It’s about software that can:

• Negotiate USB-C PD profiles,

• Parse SCPI commands without surprises,

• React to overloads,

• Stay stable after thousands of enable/disable cycles.

That’s why we’re starting to outline the firmware architecture early. The block diagram above illustrates our conceptualization of the system.

In short: we’re treating firmware as a first-class citizen, not an afterthought. A PSU for DUT testing is only as good as its software brain.

This is just the first sketch, but it already helps us see where complexity lies and what needs extra attention.
BTW, SCPI parser works + first USB PD negotiation tests ok. Next step - make them work together.