Feature: Software and tools
Another benefit is design validation. By visualising task priorities,
blocking times and CPU utilisation, developers can assess whether their scheduling strategy behaves as intended. Issues such as unintended priority inversions, excessive interrupt load or over-utilised CPUs become obvious in a trace view. Trace data also supports regression testing. By comparing traces
before and aſter a soſtware change, it is possible to spot subtle timing regressions that functional tests might miss. Tis is particularly valuable as systems evolve and new features are added. Importantly, these insights are gained without modifying application logic or relying on intrusive debugging techniques.
Lowering the barrier to trace-based debugging Despite its advantages, RTOS tracing has historically been under-used in everyday development. Cost, perceived complexity and the assumption that specialised hardware is required have all contributed to a relatively high barrier to entry. Recent developments are beginning to change this. Te availability of no-cost trace visualisation tools for popular open-source RTOSs such
PERCEPIO VIEW – TRACE VISUALISATION TOOL
Percepio View is a free trace visualisation tool for embedded systems running FreeRTOS or Zephyr RTOS. It is based on the same core technology as Tracealyzer, Percepio’s commercial trace analysis platform, and is intended to make RTOS trace analysis more widely accessible.
Percepio View uses software-based snapshot tracing, recording RTOS and application events into a buffer in target memory. The trace data is extracted via a standard debug connection and visualised on a host PC, without requiring dedicated trace hardware.
as FreeRTOS and Zephyr makes it easier for engineers to experiment with trace-based analysis without committing to a commercial toolchain upfront. Tis matters because observability is most effective when it is used early and routinely, not only as a last resort. When tracing becomes part of normal development practice, system-level issues are identified sooner, design decisions can be validated with real data, and confidence in real-time behaviour improves.
Addressing the growing complexity As embedded soſtware continues to grow in complexity, understanding runtime behaviour at the system level is no longer optional. Traditional debugging tools remain essential, but they are insufficient on their own for analysing scheduling, concurrency and timing issues in RTOS-based systems. RTOS trace and observability provide a practical way to bridge this
gap, offering clear insight into how soſtware actually behaves under real conditions. With the emergence of accessible, no-cost tools, trace-based analysis is becoming a realistic option for anyone building modern real- time systems.
Figure 3: Percepio View is a free
software tracing tool based on Percepio Tracealyzer
The tool provides RTOS-aware views showing task execution, scheduling and interrupt activity, along with visualisation of kernel objects such as queues, semaphores and mutexes. It also supports user-defined events, allowing application-level behaviour to be correlated with RTOS activity.
Percepio View is intended for use during development and system-level analysis, providing practical insight into real-time behaviour whilst keeping integration effort and runtime overhead low.
Percepio View is available for free download at
https://traceviewer.io
40 March 2026
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
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