Model based debugging and testing of embedded systems without affecting the runtime behaviour

Model-based approaches to develop software for embedded systems are becoming increasingly important in the last ten years. In this context, it is desirable to carry out debugging at the model level in conjunction with the model-based development of embedded software. This paper presents such a model-based debugging approach which can be used to visualize the behaviour of embedded software on a host PC. The various constraints in embedded software development and execution pose a big challenge to monitor the embedded system without affecting its runtime behaviour. The focus of this work is to describe the underlying monitoring mechanism and the methodology to visualize the embedded system behaviour in real time. This includes different approaches to get the trace data from the target without or with minimal influence on the runtime behaviour of the monitored embedded system.