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Operating Systems

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    ARM RTX RTOS for safety-critical applications

    The use of a real-time operating system (RTOS) in a safety-critical system demands that the RTOS component also undergoes rigorous verification. In cases when regulatory certification is mandatory this also implies specific documentation and testing processes for the targeted safety standards.

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    Lynx Software

    LynxOS is a complete family of real-time operating systems, each enhanced for specific security and certification needs: LynxOS-178 for critical avionics systems requiring software certification; LynxOS-SE with time and space partitioning; and the LynxSecure separation kernel

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    Mapusoft

    MapuSoft Technologies provides embedded software porting and development tools. The company offers innovative software solutions for automated application porting, OS abstraction, OS simulation, profiling and software code conversion.

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HOW TO SELECT AN EMBEDDED OPERATING SYSTEMS (RTOS)
Developing embedded software is complicated. Software projects tend to have critical elements contributing to their success or failure.  One of the most important decisions to be made for each project is choosing the operating system (OS) or RTOS.  The operating system is a core component of the application design, and its capabilities must adequately the requirements of the project.  There are many commercial embedded operating systems and selecting one can be confusing and sometimes downright risky. Choosing the wrong OS/RTOS can be a major problem that can impact the project for many years and in some cases for decades.
So how do you select the right operating system for your application development? The key to selecting the correct operating system is to first consider the requirements, current and future.  Is your product going to expand in the future? Are you building your code base as software components that can be used in other projects? Is your software maintainable? What about safety and security?  These are just a few of the questions that engineering teams must grapple with.  So, what is an embedded operating system, and is it necessarily an RTOS?    One key element in selecting the right operating system is modularity.  When developing an embedded system, the configuration of the product will be different for every type of application.  Some products are standalone devices, while other need connectivity such as internet or Bluetooth.  The ability to add these features in the future is important for longevity of the product.    
Another elemental requirement is high-performance code.  This will reduce the need to use a more expensive, power-hungry processor.  In some cases, hard real real-time operating system (RTOS) designed specifically for embedded microprocessors is required.   It provides a basic multitasking environment.  Example for such RTOS is Arm Keil RTX which utilizes a modular architecture while providing a real-time multitasking kernel.  Adding other components to the kernel is as easy as including the code in the build system.
Moving to the next level of requirements we find the need for security.  Products in highly regulated markets such as automotive, industrial, railway, and healthcare should comply with functional safety standards. In the standards, safety integrity levels (SIL) specify the methods for verifying that the application code, software components and toolchains are suitable for their intended use.
There are several methods available for reaching functional safety.  For example, Arm’s FuSa RTS is a set of certified software components for safety certification in a wide range of embedded applications. It enables you to use the highest safety integrity levels (SIL) for your end applications. This set of qualified components is highly optimized for Arm Cortex-M processors. It contains a real-time operating system (RTOS), an independent processor abstraction layer and a verified C library. FuSa RTS is certified by TÜV SÜD for use in a wide range of safety standard certification processes. When using a processor with Memory Management Unit or ArmV8, you can use other alternatives.  This includes a real-time separation kernel and development kit that leverages multicore CPU hardware virtualization features.  Through virtualization and real-time control, you can isolate and protect fully independent computing environments. Pertech Embedded Solutions engineering team can help you select the correct solution based on your requirements. 

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