Modern embedded systems are increasingly complex. Many devices now run real-time operating systems (RTOS) such as FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or ThreadX, often with multiple threads and concurrent tasks. Traditional debugging methods, such as print statements or single-threaded stepping, are no longer sufficient. They cannot provide a complete view of runtime behaviour, leaving timing issues, scheduling conflicts, and intermittent bugs difficult to detect. Embedded engineers need advanced software-based tracing tools that can capture events in real time without stopping or significantly slowing the system.
