Is it possible to see the code of some device (Toys, remote control, etc.)?

Question

Electronics

Strange question, right?
For example, I have a toy, I want to see its code. I'll take it apart there will be some motor boards, etc. Is it possible to somehow connect the board or device memory to a computer and see / change the code?

Answer 1

Very not the fact that there in general the code is.
And so - open, look for a microcontroller, look for specs to it (how to connect, how to merge a dump, etc.) and dance from this.

Answer 2

This is usually too difficult without a good knowledge of radio electronics.
Most simple devices contain the simplest logic, there is not so much code as an electrical circuit.
Many simple microcircuits can be custom-made by a particular company, and they simply do not have official documentation available.
When going into production, the boards may be blocked from writing / interfaces are not soldered for connection to flashing, or the interface does not exist at all.

Answer 3

Theoretically - it is possible. In practice, special devices are required, and it’s good if this toy is on some more or less well-known platform (Arduino, PIC or something else low-level), then you can at least try to read its memory. It is much more difficult to change, some toys can be without the ability to change the contents of memory (ROM / PROM, blocked NVRAM, stupidly unsoldered interface for writing to the firmware, some other problems, not to mention such a banality as a chip under the resin, from which only the adductor legs and nutrition stick out).
That is, some subset of devices can most likely be read. In general, don't get your hopes up.

Answer 4

Microcontrollers are rarely put into toys. Most often there is no control circuit at all - a mechanical gearbox is capable of much.
Someone else's code is usually well optimized, and therefore it's easier to write the same thing yourself and then optimize it than to understand how it works.
Instead of wasting your time on reverse engineering children's toys, it is much more useful to take a normal debug board like DE-10 Standard or mikroElectronica and learn how to program different peripherals.