Container technologies, such as Docker and Kubernetes, emerged in the 2010s, revolutionizing the deployment of applications. These containers are operating-system-level or application-level virtualization running independently within a computing environment.
Docker’s subsequent open-source release catalyzed rapid growth and widespread adoption. Similarly, Kubernetes was announced by Google as an open-source project in 2014 and quickly became a de facto standard for container orchestration.
Container technology continues to advance on many fronts. One important area is WebAssembly (Wasm), an open standard developed by a W3C Community Group.
Wasm is:
…a binary instruction format for a stack-based virtual machine. Wasm is designed as a portable compilation target for programming languages, enabling deployment on the web for client and server applications.
LF Edge, an umbrella organization of the Linux Foundation, is hosting a webinar titled “Embedded WASI World: Modernizing Embedded Development with WebAssembly-based Containerization.” The multi-topic webinar will be conducted on October 29, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. You can register at the Embedded WASI World LinkedIn event page.
Emerson’s Marshall Meier joins other experts to discuss how Wasm is transforming development for embedded industrial solutions. Industrial sensors and similar field devices operate with memory and processing constraints while needing to perform increasingly sophisticated tasks, such as edge analytics and predictive maintenance. These constraints have traditionally limited software flexibility and made updates risky or impossible in live production environments.
Marshall is participating in the panel, “Use Cases for Wasm-based Containerization,” alongside experts from Sony, HMS Networks, and Schneider Electric. They will discuss:
…key use cases and benefits for Wasm-based containerization on resource-constrained hardware including enabling on-device AI, decoupling embedded development lifecycles to reduce engineering friction and protect IP [intellectual property], and enabling third parties to deploy their own software on embedded hardware.
He sees promise in this containerization technology because it provides a better way for manufacturers and producers to update intelligent field device software without the memory overhead of traditional approaches. This technology enables “fractional updates” where only the portion of the software that needs to be updated is updated, leaving the rest of the firmware in place and active. This would streamline updates, reduce downtime, and enable innovations such as containerized web applications and AI models within the intelligent field device.
Marshall serves as a Board Observer for Atym, an Emerson Ventures portfolio company. Atym delivers an industry-first orchestration solution for resource-constrained edge devices, enabling developers to easily build, deploy, manage, and secure containerized applications on fleets of devices that have as little as 1MB of memory.
Register to learn more about this innovative technology and the use cases it will enable. For other breakthrough industrial technologies and Emerson’s work with visionary entrepreneurs, follow the Emerson Ventures LinkedIn page.
