Embedded Bytes #168: Is January Officially RTOS month?

Issue #168

Dear ,

If you didn’t know any better, you might think that January was RTOS month!

Just last week I finished the live run, now on-demand, version of my RTOS Best Practices Workshop, where I had a great group of engineers who learned best practices in Architecture, Processes and Implementation.

Yesterday, I posted a video entitled, RTOS Task Scheduling using Cycle-based Scheduling, on YouTube that discusses and demonstrates the differences between your typical periodic system tick and cycle-based scheduling!

Shortly, if not this very moment, I’m running a webinar on Getting Started with Zephyr RTOS: Hello Blinky!. I’ve been working with the NXP FRDM-MCXN-947 development board and finding it to be a very capable microcontroller!

But if RTOSes are old news and not as interesting to you as they once were, I’ve still put together a few of articles to help stimulate your embedded brain:

Don’t forget that there are still two more growth opportunities this month:

Getting Started with Zephyr RTOS: Hello Blinky! on January 22, 2025. That is a free webinar that will look at using Zephyr using an NXP MCXN FRDM board. (You can still register to get the link to the recording)
Expert C Techniques to Master Bare-Metal Programming January 27-31 on DesignNews CEC. We’ll explore techniques to make you an expert C programmer.

Save the date! The 2025 Embedded Online Conference is May 12-16. Register today and save $200 with the Early Bird Rate (Just $95!).

Happy Coding,

P.S. The Embedded Online Conference entry fee goes up February 1st, so register before the end of the month for the best pricing of the year!

Industry News and Cool Stuff

Embracing Containers for Embedded Software Development (Embedded.com)

Let’s look at how containers reshape embedded software development and why they’re worth adopting.

How to use Assertions (Embedded.com)

As you dig deeper into assertions, you’ll find that it helps you catch bugs quickly, resulting in more robust firmware.

5 Embedded Software Engineering Books Every Developer Should Read (DesignNews.com)

These are my top 5 favorite embedded software books that I believe every embedded developer should read. Have you read them?

Join the Conversation

Explore these topics and more with me on LinkedIn:

Have you explored Zephyr RTOS yet?

Only 35% of Embedded Projects are Delivered Successfully

The Most Underrated Technique in Embedded Systems: Simulation

January Video

RTOS Task Scheduling using Cycle-Based Scheduling

YouTube On-Demand

Discover the Future of RTOS: Cycle-Based Scheduling!

Real-time operating systems have been around for decades, but traditional periodic system ticks often waste energy and limit precision. In this video, Jacob Beningo introduces cycle-based scheduling, a groundbreaking innovation that enables sub-millisecond precision, improves energy efficiency, and simplifies RTOS-based applications.

Using SEGGER tools and real hardware, Jacob demonstrates:

The inefficiencies of periodic system ticks.
How cycle-based scheduling solves timing and energy challenges.
Hands-on examples comparing SEGGER’s Emboss Base and Emboss Ultra.
Learn how to integrate cycle-based scheduling into your embedded projects and see why it’s the future of RTOS development.
Links to tools and resources are in the description below.

Here are some useful links to tools, RTOSes and source code used in this video:

embOS-OS (Overview): https://shorturl.at/QEH25
embOS-Ultra: https://shorturl.at/buqqb
embOS-Classic: https://shorturl.at/auZUY
Embedded Studio: https://shorturl.at/PquhF
J-Link: https://shorturl.at/bx6cs
SystemView: https://tinyurl.com/5n84h9sc
emPower Board: https://tinyurl.com/2xx5af6r

Watch Here

January Workshop

2025 Live Dates and Times:

January 27-31, 2025

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 EST

Unlock the secrets of Bare-Metal development with techniques honed over the course of building dozens of successful products. In this course, you’ll discover how to master one of C’s most powerful tools—function pointers—and use them to design flexible, efficient systems. From building cooperative schedulers and command parsers to creating configurable, reusable code, you’ll gain hands-on insights that can transform your approach to embedded programming.

Day 1: Mastering Function Pointers for Bare-Metal Systems

Day 2: Building Cooperative Schedulers and Command Parsers

Day 3: Bare-Metal Performance Analysis and Architecture Design

Day 4: Assertions and Validation Techniques for Bare-Metal Programing

Day 5: Managing Interrupts in Bare-Metal Systems

Save the Date!

Now in its 7th year, the 2025 Embedded Online Conference is shaping up to be our best yet! With an exciting lineup of talks, workshops, and keynotes, this year’s event is packed with actionable strategies to boost your skills and career. And there’s more to come!

Want to learn more? Visit our website to find out more about Beningo Embedded or check out our blog to discover our entire article archive—read past articles, search by category, and much more!

Struggling to keep your development skills up to date or facing outdated processes that slow down your team, raise costs, and impact product quality?

Here are 4 ways I can help you:

Embedded Software Academy: Enhance your skills, streamline your processes, and elevate your architecture. Join my academy for on-demand, hands-on workshops and cutting-edge development resources designed to transform your career and keep you ahead of the curve.
Consulting Services: Get personalized, expert guidance to streamline your development processes, boost efficiency, and achieve your project goals faster. Partner with us to unlock your team’s full potential and drive innovation, ensuring your project’s success.
Team Training and Development: Empower your team with the latest best practices in embedded software. Our expert-led training sessions will equip your team with the skills and knowledge to excel, innovate, and drive your projects to success.
Customized Design Solutions: Get design and development assistance to enhance efficiency, ensure robust testing, and streamline your development pipeline, driving your project’s success.

Take action today to upgrade your skills, optimize your team, and achieve success.