Originally standing for Peripheral Interface Controller, this line of integrated circuits combines a CPU, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals on a single chip. They are programmed in C or assembly and are heavily used in embedded systems due to their low cost, wide availability, and extensive toolchain. Engineers deploy them for tasks ranging from simple motor control to complex sensor reading.
Heard on the job
I threw a cheap 8-bit PIC on the board just to handle the button debouncing and LED animations.
Insider tip
Older PICs require a dedicated hardware programmer, but newer ones can often be flashed via a simple USB bootloader.