Abstract: From the history of RTOS (embedded real-time operating system), RTOS market and technology development, RTOS's future and RTOS in China, give RTOS, future development direction and RTOS application areas: system Level, board, SOC level.
Keywords: RTOS embedded system embedded application embedded development tool
With the rapid development of Internet applications, the application of embedded microprocessors is increasing, everywhere, from Boeing to mobile phones, there are embedded microprocessors. In the application development of the embedded microprocessor, the embedded real-time operating system (RTOS) is the core software, just as the desktop system of our daily computer, Microsoft's Windows 98 is as important as it is. RTOS has been formed in the world. According to US EMF (Electron Market Analysis) report, 1999 global RTOS market output value reached 360 million US round, related to the entire embedded development tool (including emulator, logic analyzer, software compilation The device and the debugger) up to 900 million US round.
First, RTOS development history
From 1981 Ready System developed the world's first commercial embedded real-time kernel (VRTX32), it has been nearly 20 years old. The products in the 1980s also support only 16-bit microprocessors, such as 68K, 8086, etc. At this time, the RTOS is only the kernel, which is mainly sold in sales binary code. In addition to VRTX at the time, there were IPI's MTOS and PSOS of the ISI company in the 80s. The products are mainly used for military and telecommunications equipment. Entering the design idea of modern operating system, such as micro-core design technology and modular design ideas, began to penetrate into the RTOS field. The old RTOS manufacturer, such as Ready System (merged with Microtec Research in 1995), also launched a new generation of VRTXSA real-time kernels, and a new generation of RTOS manufacturers WinDriver launched VxWork. In this period, all companies have strive to get rid of the constraints that completely rely on third-party tools, and make up a complete development environment through their own acquisition, authorize or use the free tool chain. For example, ISI's Prismt, famous Tornado (Windriver) and old SPECTRA (VRTX development system), etc.
Entered the mid-1990s, the wind of the Internet is getting popular in North America. Network equipment manufacturers, terminal product manufacturers require RTOS to have network and graphical interfaces. In order to facilitate the use of a large number of existing software code, they hope that the RTOS manufacturers support standard APIs, such as POSIX, WIN32, etc., and hope that RTOS's development environment is consistent with the Unix, Windows they have already familiar with. Representative products in this period are VxWork, QNX, Lynx, and Wince.
Second, RTOS market and technology development
It can be seen that after entering the 1990s, RTOS has determined that the dominant position in embedded system design has been determined. More and more engineers use RTOS, more new users are willing to choose to buy rather than their own development. We note that the technology development of RTOS has some changes:
1. Because new processors are increasing, the design of RTOS self-structure is easier to transplant to support more microprocessors in a short period of time.
2. Open source of the source has spread in RTOS manufacturers. When a quite number of RTOS manufacturers sell RTOS, the source code code is attached and the production is included.
3. More products using RTOS after the PC age, they are not high in real-time requirements, such as handheld equipment. Microsoft's WINCE, PLAM OS, Java OS and other RTOS products are developed by these applications. 4. Telecommunications equipment, high reliability requirements for control system, put forward new requirements for RTOS. Sweden Enea's OSE and WinDriver's new VxWork AE have tried to support HA (high availability) and heat switches.
5. WinDriver acquired ISI and formed a considerable monopoly in the RTOS market, but because WinDriver decided to give up PSOS, it turned to develop VxWork and PSOS to be a version, which makes PSOS users to re-select RTOS to reselect RTOS. Other RTOS manufacturers 1 chance.
6. Embedded Linux has been applied in consumer electronic devices. Some companies in South Korea and Japan have introduced handheld devices based on embedded Linux. Embedded Linux has got a considerable support and investment of semiconductor vendors such as Intel and Motorola.
Third, RTOS's future
Future RTOS applications may be divided into 3 different areas:
1. System level: refers to RTOS to complete real-time control in 1 small computer system. This area will mainly compete in Microsoft and Sun, and traditional Unix accounts for absolute advantages. Sun passed the acquisition, let his Solaris combine with Chrous OS (former European RTOS), Microsoft push NT's embedded version "Embedded NT". In addition, embedded Linux will rely on the advantages of the source code open and the advantages of software resources, and enter the market of system-level RTOS.
2. Plate: Traditional RTOS 'main market. For example, VxWork, PSOS, QNX, Lynx and VRTX will be mainly concentrated on equipment such as aerospace, telephone telecommunications.
3. SOC level (ie on-chip system): The field of new generation RTOS: mainly applied to consumer electronics, internet and handheld equipment and other products. Representative products include Symbian's EPOC, ATI's Nucleus, Express Logic's Threadx. The old-style RTOS manufacturers' products VRTX and VxWork also pay attention to this market.
To some extent, there will be no standard RTOS (like Microsoft's Windows is the same in the desktop system), because the embedded application itself is very diverse. In a certain period of time and a certain industry, there will be an absolute leadership RTOS, such as today's VxWork in broadband data communication devices, and Wince on the Asian handheld equipment market today is an example. However, this monopoly status is not difficult, because users and partners are more willing to cultivate 1 new competitor in some extent. For example, Intel Investment Montivista and Motorola Investment Lineo, these two embedded Linux systems are to explain that semiconductor manufacturers are more willing to see 1 affordable, open RTOS environment.
Four, RTOS in China
China will be one of the largest RTOS markets in the world. Because China has the world's largest telecom market. According to the Ministry of Information Industry, China will be the world's largest mobile phone market in the next 2 to 3 years (1 RTOS per 1 RTOS). Such a large telecom market will have a large number of telecommunications equipment manufacturers, which creates a large number of RTOS and development tool market opportunities. At present, most equipment manufacturers in China are first considered by foreign products when using RTOS. At present, RTOs in China's market are mainly VxWork, PSOS, VRTX, Nucleus, QNX, and Wince. Since most RTOS is embedded on the device's controller, most users are not willing to take a risk to try 1 new RTOS. But we also noticed that the sales of RTOS in the Chinese market is still small, mainly 2 reasons:
1. China's equipment manufacturers are generally universal than foreign companies, development and personnel costs are relatively high, so RTOS is relatively expensive for Chinese users.
2. Most domestic users have not started to buy RTOS, the main reasons are: the product failed to produce according to the planned mass production, and there is no awareness of the delivery. It should be noted that most binary RTOS must pay a taxation in the product quantity, or to buy or discuss one-time buyout with the manufacturer, but by the manufacturer directly to your Authorization Agreement. According to a foreign RTOS manufacturer, the 30% of their annual income came from the royalty.
In the past few years, national research institutions and companies have developed their own embedded Linux versions on the development of RTOs with intellectual property rights or on the open source Linux. The domestic RTOS market is mainly concentrated in consumer electronics, because there are many foreign RTOS that cannot be adapted, such as Chinese processing. At present, the main products are: "female 娲" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences system, English is "Hopen"; Δ OS (formerly known as CRTOS); Chinese Academy of Sciences Red Flag Linux; Shenzhen Blue Point Linux. It is possible to say that these RTOS market share is still very low, most companies still rely on policy support, domestic investment, overseas listing, etc., the huge development investment, and the real market return is just a drop in the bucket. How to develop long-term benign cycles will be one important topic. For these manufacturers, if you go deep into a specific application product development, such as a set-top box, it will be allowed to wait until the support of one or two users, while it will lose more users. Because users have strong competitiveness, they do not want suppliers to participate in the whole process of their product development.
How to develop 1 universal RTOS, make the user easy to use, easy to cut to a system, foreign countries use RTOS very well solved this problem. The Chinese designed RTOS should be more suitable for China's national conditions, in addition to Chinese processing, China has a wide single-chip application basis. It is easy to develop and design, and the RTOS development environment, which is easy to use, is launched in the price and more pragmatic technical support for Chinese people, and may find 1 normal market returns. The RTOS industry is a step-by-step industry, and any quick practice will lead to a loss. Users are familiar with 1 kind of RTOS requires 1 comparable process and manufacturers, and users are not willing to easily give up 1 RTOS. We believe that the Chinese people have developed the RTOS will be recognized by the Chinese, with unlimited bright future.
