A framework for customization of embedded real-time operating systems

Abstract

Academic and industry analysts point to the inevitable increase in complexity of embedded systems and devices and recognize that non-functional constraints such as Time-to-Market (TTM) and Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) costs will dominate design decisions. These concerns have mandated the shift to higher layers of abstraction and the reliance on commercial off-the-shelf software, such as real-time operating systems (RTOS) and middleware, to abstract low-level platform details. However, CPU overheads imposed by the RTOS grow with an increase in the number of RTOS resources used by the system. The author's Master of Engineering (by Research, Part Time) project has revisited the problem of RTOS acceleration towards reducing CPU overheads imposed by the RTOS in modern embedded systems.