Abstract
Current instrumentation techniques are ill-suited for real-time and embedded software, because current theory and practice of instrumentation and data extraction concentrate on preserving only logical correctness. This means they ensure that the instrumented program still computes the right value. Real-time embedded software, however, also requires precise timing and resource bounds. Therefore, developers of real-time embedded software require instrumentation techniques that preserve logical correctness, timing, and resource bounds.

In this work, I will present and discuss three problems around the topic of instrumentation and data extraction for real-time embedded software: (a) software-based tracing of interrupts, (b) instrumenting time-sensitive applications, and (c) sampling-based control-flow monitoring. The techniques have a wide range of applications including profiling, testing, debugging, tracing, and monitoring of embedded software.

BIO
Sebastian Fischmeister is currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He received his MASc in Computer Science at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria, and his Ph.D. degree at the University of Salzburg, Austria. He was subsequently awarded the APART stipend for young, execellent researchers in 2005 and worked at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, as Post Graduate Research Associate until 2008.

He performs systems research at the intersection of software technology, embedded networking, and formal methods. His preferred application areas are distributed embedded real-time systems in the domain of automotive systems, medical devices, and avionics. He is now working on the theory and application of state-based schedules for adaptive systems and a debugging/tracing framework for time-sensitive systems.