Process-level virtualization for runtime adaptation of embedded software

Modern processor architectures call for software that is highly tuned to an unpredictable operating environment. Process-level virtualization systems allow existing software to adapt to the operating environment, including resource contention and other dynamic events, by modifying the application instructions at runtime. While these systems are becoming widespread in the general-purpose computing communities, various challenges have prevented widespread adoption on resource-constrained devices, with memory and performance overheads being at the forefront. In this paper, we discuss the advantages and opportunities of runtime adaptation of embedded software. We also describe some of the existing dynamic binary modification tools that can be used to perform runtime adaptation, and discuss the challenges of balancing memory overheads and performance when developing these tools for embedded platforms.