SEGGER Announces embOS-Ultra with Cycle-Resolution Timing

By Tiera Oliver

Associate Editor

Embedded Computing Design

November 05, 2021

News

SEGGER Announces embOS-Ultra with Cycle-Resolution Timing

SEGGER introduced embOS-Ultra, a new RTOS using Cycle-resolution Timing, designed to eliminate the periodic tick interrupt used by traditional RTOS. 

Per the company, scheduling of all time-based events, such as timeouts, delays, and periodic timers, can now be specified in microseconds or CPU cycles. Cycle-resolution Timing technology is designed to replace ad-hoc, target-specific techniques for precise timing with API calls.

Upgrading to embOS-Ultra works as it maintains full API compatibility with classic embOS but, at the same time, provides CPU-cycle precision for scheduling through additional API calls.

According to the company, embOS-Ultra replaces the one-millisecond system tick with a single-shot hardware timer that generates interrupts when necessary. With this technique, traditional system tick interrupts are eliminated, CPU activity is reduced, and energy is saved.

Migration from a traditional RTOS to the cycle-based embOS-Ultra can be made simple with no application changes being required as the existing API and RTOS behavior is maintained. embOS-Ultra provides millisecond-aligned timing where classic embOS API calls are used and it provides microsecond or cycle resolution where the new API calls are used. The traditional embOS API can be mixed with the extended high-precision embOS-Ultra API in the same application.

For more information, visit: https://www.segger.com/products/rtos/embos/editions/embos-ultra/

Tiera Oliver, Associate Editor for Embedded Computing Design, is responsible for web content edits, product news, and constructing stories. She also assists with newsletter updates as well as contributing and editing content for ECD podcasts and the ECD YouTube channel. Before working at ECD, Tiera graduated from Northern Arizona University where she received her B.S. in journalism and political science and worked as a news reporter for the university’s student led newspaper, The Lumberjack.

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