what Operating System that is used in Embedded Systems

Thread Starter

sistem

Joined Nov 3, 2013
2
hi,
there is a list of Embedded Systems in which Real Time Processors used..

1) Automatic toll systems
2) Automatic transmission
3) Camcorders
4) Cell-phone base stations
5) Cordless phones
6) Cruise control
7) Curbside check-in systems
8) Disk drives
9) Electronic instruments
10) Electronic toys/games
11) Factory control
12) Fingerprint identifiers
13) Home security systems
14) Life-support systems
15) Medical testing systems
16) MPEG decoders
17) Network switches/routers
18) On-board navigation
19) Pagers
20) Point-of-sale systems
21) Portable video games
22) Smart ovens/dishwashers
23) Speech recognizers
24) Teleconferencing systems
25) Temperature controllers
26) TV set-top boxes
27) Video phones

Can someone tell me what Operating System that is used in..
thx
 
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Danm1

Joined Jul 19, 2010
69
The operating system used in all of these is either Linux, QNX, VxWorks, Windows CE or some other OS or no OS.

I hope this helps.
 

Thread Starter

sistem

Joined Nov 3, 2013
2
thanks, Actually I want to ask about the name of OS which are used in...
for example,
Camcorders : os used : Linux, QNX etc
Let me tell any 10 operating systems name
 

ftsolutions

Joined Nov 21, 2009
48
I would hazard to say that MOST embedded systems have no OS in them at all. There are, of course, heavyweight systems like Linux/unix derivatives, QNX, and, (shudder) Windows CE.. Of course, there are many small footprint, lightweight OSes such as uCOS, FreeRTOS, and others.
 

Brownout

Joined Jan 10, 2012
2,390
Embedded controllers often use Real-Time OS (RTOS) One such example is the aforementioned Vx Works. I've used UCOS II in embedded projects.
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
12,998
It goes back to my question:

What is the definition of an OS?

What is the purpose of an OS?
What we see on most PICS are resource sharing executives/kernels not a computer OS in the normal sense of the word. The Linux kernel is a very comprehensive OS component but even it's useless without a complete operating system of utilities (GNU system) to make it 'general-purpose'.

You might need a complete OS for a 'general-purpose' computer application but most PIC sized Embedded Systems are very specific in their application so a complete OS, even if it would fit in the small memory space is usually a waste of resources.
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
12,998
Is an OS a collection of library routines such as BIOS?
The BIOS in most PC computers is the equivalent of configuration fuses/setting, debug/programming and direct I/O memory-mapped interfaces in a PIC controller. The BIOS traps can and are used by the OS kernel to load and execute program code but at the BIOS level the routines are usually specifically tied to hardware. A collection of routines that can provide a general abstraction of computer hardware at the application program level is part of a complete OS but just programming language interface libraries of specific hardware is not. The OS kernel usually provides the programming language hardware resource interface abstraction then application libraries create general program abstractions for use.

Most people who look for an OS in PIC sized Embedded System come from the PC world of computer resources mindset with the idea that every problem needs a hammer and a swiss-arm knife. :D
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,932
Is an OS a collection of library routines such as BIOS?
As per your earlier questions, the answer would be a definitive... perhaps.

At what point does a collection of useful functions reach the point of being able to be called an "operating system"?

Is there a set of minimal features that a function libray has to have in order to be called an OS?

I don't think either of these questions have a firm answer.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,618
I just completed an embedded system that has keyboard, mouse, LCD display, RTC, USB, real time data acquisition and spectral analysis into about 200kB of code.

Does this qualify as an OS?
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,932
I would argue that much of it could be lumped into a group of functions and called in OS. I don't know about the spectral analysis stuff and, perhaps, the data acquisition stuff. That seems more application-level code and not OS code.
 
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nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
12,998
I just completed an embedded system that has keyboard, mouse, LCD display, RTC, USB, real time data acquisition and spectral analysis into about 200kB of code.

Does this qualify as an OS?
Unlikely, but the distinctions are blurred in most embedded system that require time-critical deterministic control of bare hardware at the application-level. The POSIX specifications are the usual baseline for modern operating systems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PikeOS
 
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ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
I just completed an embedded system that has keyboard, mouse, LCD display, RTC, USB, real time data acquisition and spectral analysis into about 200kB of code.

Does this qualify as an OS?
<snif> <snif> Nope, doesn't smell like an OS.

Smells like an application to me.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,932
I would argue that much of it could be lumped into a group of functions and called in OS. I don't know about the spectral analysis stuff and, perhaps, the data acquisition stuff. That seems more application-level code and not OS code.

On further reflection, most of the items seem more like device drivers that would be called by an OS or an app.
 

ftsolutions

Joined Nov 21, 2009
48
As a counter-example, another engineer and I designed a commercial welder that is using an ARM7TMDI processor for its process control and user interface (LED displays, buttons, trigger/pedal/trimpot controls, etc). We sampled A/D channels at approx 16KHz, and run the main control loop at over 8KHz, and it works well. But, as an experiment, we ported FreeRTOS onto it and ran our application as a "task". While our code etc ran OK without significant code changes, the control board couldn't actually do any welding anymore as the interrupt latency grew geometrically, and the minimum clock timer interval supported was around 1 millisecond -> MUCH too slow.

So, one has to fit the software design (with or without an OS) according to the demands of the products application.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,618
Good point. An OS is for situations when you cannot or prefer not to roll your own.
Sometimes the price you pay, i.e. poor performance, inability to debug or customize, lack of source code, etc. may force you to abandon the OS route.
 
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