Abstract

Embedded systems are an important element of controlling wind turbines. Embedded systems development and learning are inseparable. This paper presents a study of wind turbine control systems and the developers’ learning with the hope of contributing to the understanding of embedded systems development and practice-based learning. Our approach focuses on the sociotechnical practices, including the reciprocity between constitutive means and the developers’ individual experience; central matters in this framework involve the process of understanding the indeterminacy and the handling of the IT. The embedded systems development case addresses development of hardware, software and their interfaces. Learning occurs, enabled by converging understanding of the indeterminate situation and the different experience of the developers. The case shows that embedded systems developers deliberately keep technical knowledge close to their chests, which constrains learning. The paper contributes to the understanding of the individual systems developer’s learning and the mechanisms of enablers and obstacles in the learning processes.

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