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Is Zephyr the new Linux?
Zephyr is an open-source real-time operating system (RTOS) designed specifically for embedded systems. Read our Techtalk to find out why you should be interested in it and what strengths and weaknesses Zephyr offers.
What is Zephyr?
There has been a lot of talk lately about Zephyr, an open-source real-time operating system (RTOS) designed specifically for embedded systems. Do we still need an operating system? Why should we be concerned with it, and what are Zephyr's strengths and weaknesses?
Zephyr has its origins in a proprietary operating system called Virtuoso, developed by the company Wind River. It later became an open-source project, officially launched by the Zephyr Project Foundation under the umbrella of the Linux Foundation in 2016. The Zephyr project aims to provide an alternative to existing real-time operating systems such as FreeRTOS, RIOT and Contiki by offering better scalability, security and modularity.
Zephyr has developed rapidly. It is actively used and developed by numerous companies and developers worldwide. Some prominent supporters of the project are large technology companies such as Intel, NXP, Nordic Semiconductor and Google.
Where is Zephyr used?
Zephyr can be found in a wide range of applications due to its flexibility, including:
- IoT devices
- It is ideal for resource-constrained, embedded systems, such as those often found in IoT devices. Typical use cases include sensors, smart home devices, wearables and industrial IoT applications.
- Wearables
- Zephyr can be used in wearable devices that require low latency and low power, such as fitness trackers or smartwatches.
- Industrial controls:
- In industrial applications where reliability and response time are critical, Zephyr is used in control systems for machines and robots.
- Automotive:
- Zephyr is also used in the automotive industry for applications such as vehicle sensing and control, thanks to its real-time capabilities and support for safety-critical applications.
What are the advantages of Zephyr?
Zephyr offers a number of advantages that make it attractive in embedded software development:
- Small footprint Zephyr is lean and requires few resources, making it ideal for systems with limited memory and processing power.
- ModularityThe operating system is highly modular. Developers can integrate only the components they need, no more and no less. A system's hardware resources are used optimally.
- Real-time capabilities Zephyr offers reliable real-time processing, which is important for time-critical applications in areas such as industrial automation and automotive engineering.
- Platform independence Zephyr supports many different hardware platforms and architectures, including ARM, RISC-V, x86 and many microcontroller series such as STM32 or NXP i.MX. This makes it easy to port applications between different hardware platforms.
- Security: Zephyr places a strong emphasis on security and is one of the few real-time operating systems to undergo a structured security process. It meets strict security requirements for safety-critical systems, as required in the medical and automotive industries.
- Open source: As an open-source project, Zephyr is freely accessible and benefits from a large developer community. This ensures rapid innovation, regular updates, and extensive documentation.
Where are Zephyr's limits?
Despite its many advantages, there are some areas where Zephyr is less suitable:
- Complex user interfaces Zephyr is not intended for systems that rely on graphically demanding user interfaces or complex GUI frameworks, such as smartphones or tablets. In these cases, full-fledged operating systems such as Linux or Android are the better choice.
- High resource requirements While Zephyr is well suited for low-resource devices, it is limited when it comes to powerful systems that require large amounts of memory and computing resources. In these cases, operating systems like Linux can work more efficiently.
- Multimedia streaming Zephyr is not suitable for multimedia streaming or compute-intensive applications such as video decoding or processing. More complex operating systems with comprehensive multimedia support, such as Linux, are needed here.
Summary
Zephyr is a powerful, flexible and secure real-time operating system that is particularly well suited for embedded systems and IoT applications. Its modular features, broad hardware support and real-time capabilities make it an ideal choice for developers in various industries, such as industrial, automotive, healthcare and consumer products.
However, it is less suitable for computationally intensive applications or those with complex user interfaces. Zephyr should be seen less as a competitor to Embedded Linux and more as an addition to the platform toolkit for developers working on embedded systems with microcontrollers and limited resources.