Embedded systems have become ubiquitous and are found in numerous application domains such as sensor networks, medical devices, and smart appliances. Software flaws in such systems can range from minor nuisances to critical security failures and malfunctions. Additionally, the computational power found in these devices has seen tremendous growth and will likely continue to advance. With increasingly powerful hardware, the ability to express complex ideas and concepts in code becomes more important. Given the importance of developing safe and secure software for these applications, it is interesting to observe that the vast majority of software for these devices is written in the C programming language -an inherently unsafe language as compared to other modern languages. This paper examines the characteristics and requirements that uniquely differentiate embedded systems from other application domains. The result is a blueprint for a modern, high-level programming language specifically designed for embedded systems.