Real-Time Classics Prove They're Timeless
With Java, Linux and Windows pushing into embedded systems, the venerable RTOS vendors show they’ve still got what it takes
By Chris Lanfear
December 15, 2004 —
(Page 1 of 7)
Going strictly by trade publications and press releases, one would think that the entire embedded systems market has been taken over by Linux, Windows, Java and other nontraditional embedded operating systems.
However, that is not the full picture of the industry. While Linux and Microsoft Corp. have certainly had success, much to each other’s dismay, there still remains a large community of real-time operating system suppliers targeting deeply embedded, safety-critical applications with severe power, processing and memory constraints.
While commercial real-time operating systems have been around since the early 1980s, real growth started as electronic content in a wide range of devices began to expand in the 1990s, when the industry flourished. But starting in 2000 and running through 2001 into 2002, the real-time operating system came under pressure as macroeconomic growth slowed and key industries (including telecommunications) crashed.
Coincidentally, this time period also saw the rise of Linux, Windows and Java in the embedded market. Their success and the overall poor performance of the traditional players combined to obscure what had been a clear definition of the real-time/embedded operating system market. So the question is: What ever happened to the classic real-time operating systems that have been somewhat overshadowed by the new market entrants? Some have been acquired, some have gone end-of-life, and some are thriving.
Neutrino is perhaps the most recent example of an operating system in transition. In October, Neutrino’s maker, QNX Software Systems Ltd., was acquired by Harman International Industries Inc. for US$138 million. Harman, a supplier of home and car audio products, had been a QNX customer for several years. Why would a car audio company want an embedded operating system supplier as a wholly owned subsidiary? The answer is telematics.
QNX has established its Neutrino operating system as the de facto standard software platform for a number of top-tier automotive suppliers, including Harman. Apparently, the impetus for the acquisition was a lack of confidence in QNX’s longevity. Twenty-three years of growth and profitability were not enough for the automotive industry to alleviate fears about the company’s future direction. In the automotive industry, product development cycles are measured in years (not months), and committing to a software platform for telematics is a serious undertaking. Major automotive manufacturers demanded more certainty, and Harman obliged them by ensuring that the QNX platform would be around for the foreseeable future.
Share this link: http://sdt.bz/28319
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Zeichick’s Take: Radio moves from analog waveforms to digital packets
Streaming radio highlights the need for streaming applications to be designed to take up as little bandwidth as possible
|
|
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
|
|
Appcelerator Acquires Cocoafish to Add Instant Mobile Cloud Capabilities to its Industry Leading Titanium Platform
Appcelerator Offers Messaging, Social, Location and Storage Mobile Cloud Services to All Mobile App Publishers
|
|
ComponentOne Releases a Collection of 40+ UI Widgets Powered by HTML5 and jQuery
ComponentOne has announced the 2012 release of Wijmo: a kit of UI widgets for HTML5 and jQuery development
|
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
|
|
Top five apps to manage your workload
Web applications offer new ways to track your “to-do” lists
|
|
Not so fast when it comes to testing in the cloud
Developers face outsourcing, virtual lab management and mobile devices as obstacles
|
|
Xceed releases UX-focused suite for Microsoft’s WPF
"Blendables" helps match user experiences to developer visions
|
Are you at risk for burnout?
Burnout is a severe problem and it can strike at any time. Here's how to tell if you are nearing the edge.
|
|
Agility, mom, and apple pie
If we're to evaluate the state-of-the-art in software development, we should start with the values espoused in the Agile Manifesto.
|
|
RIM woos developers with free tablet
How do you get more apps ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook? By giving every developer a free tablet, of course!
|
|
GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
|
The Hidden Costs of Software Licensing
Moving beyond paper-based software licensing to more flexible, software-based licensing is a business decision. There is a growing trend tow...
|
|
Case Study: You May Need a Development Mechanic
As a contractor for a major financial player in Germany, SOBEGE, a German-based consultancy specializing in embedded IT and web services, wa...
|
|
Ensuring Software Quality at a Major International Bank
One of the world’s leading international banks has adopted AgitarOne technology for delivering generated unit tests for their Java software...
|
|
Load Testing Adobe Flex Applications
Adobe Flex applications may be different from applications you’ve worked with before. For classic HTML web applications, the server does all...
|