Firmware freezes and CPU glitches can crash devices without a trace. Learn how a tool tracks these issues and gives developers clear insights.
Firmware on embedded devices can freeze, overload, or behave unpredictably, leaving developers frustrated because traditional debugging tools often miss these issues. Intermittent problems, like a device requiring a power cycle, leave no diagnostic data in RAM, making it hard to understand what went wrong. Timing-related bugs are especially tricky, as standard logs or breakpoints cannot capture missing events.
Percepio Detect 2025.2 tackles these challenges with TaskMonitor, a feature that continuously tracks CPU activity per thread on resource-limited devices. When a freeze, overload, or timing anomaly occurs, TaskMonitor automatically captures a trace for analysis in Tracealyzer®, giving developers actionable insight without manual intervention.
The update also improves support for Armv8-M cores, including the Cortex-M33, integrates more closely with IAR Embedded Workbench®, and produces smaller, more efficient core dumps. Its self-hosted platform allows unlimited on-device monitoring, recording only when unusual events occur, much like a security camera focusing on important moments.
Detect 2025.2 is aimed at embedded systems developers who need to debug complex, intermittent issues efficiently, without relying on guesswork or invasive instrumentation.
Key Enhancements in Percepio Detect 2025.2
- TaskMonitor – Automatic CPU Anomaly Detection: Runs in device firmware, continuously tracking CPU activity per thread. When a freeze, overload, or bug occurs, Detect captures a trace within milliseconds for analysis.
- Support for Armv8-M Microcontrollers (e.g., Cortex-M33): Allows modern secure MCUs to use Detect’s crash diagnostics and anomaly detection features.
- Smaller Core Dumps: Optimized core dump handling reduces memory usage. Example dumps can be as small as 332 bytes, enabling fast capture and upload on memory- or bandwidth-limited systems.
- IAR Embedded Workbench Integration: Provides a streamlined setup and workflow for one of the most widely used embedded development environments.
“The TaskMonitor was inspired by real customer pain points and addresses a common diagnostic blind spot,” said Johan Kraft, CTO and founder of Percepio. “With new Armv8-M and IAR Embedded Workbench support, Detect 2025.2 gives developers immediate clarity into the most difficult software issues.”
