What is an RTOS?
An RTOS is a specialized operating system designed to manage hardware resources and host applications in real-time. Unlike general-purpose operating systems (GPOS), which prioritize throughput and resource utilization, an RTOS is optimized for predictability and low latency. This makes it ideal for applications where timing constraints are critical, such as in safety-critical environments.
The need for predictability in safety-critical applications
Predictability in an RTOS means the system can reliably execute tasks within specified time constraints, known as deadlines. This predictability is crucial in safety-critical applications for several reasons:
Avoiding functional failures: What happens if you want to ensure that tasks are executed on time, every time in environments where missing a deadline can lead to catastrophic outcomes (e.g., automotive airbag deployment, medical devices administering treatments)? An RTOS is your answer.
Ensuring deterministic behavior: When validating and certifying safety-critical systems, determinism is essential. An RTOS provides a deterministic execution model, a cornerstone for achieving functional safety certifications like IEC 61508, ISO 26262, and IEC 62304.
Handling concurrency: Safety-critical applications often need to handle multiple tasks concurrently. An RTOS supports multitasking and prioritizes tasks based on their criticality, ensuring high-priority tasks are executed promptly.
Benefits of multitasking with an industrial-grade RTOS
An industrial-grade RTOS provides key benefits for safety-critical applications. It enhances real-time responsiveness, simplifies development, and improves reliability. With scalability and certification support, an RTOS meets the needs of various industries. Key benefits include:
Enhanced real-time responsiveness: As you can imagine, an RTOS enhances the real-time responsiveness of applications by efficiently managing task scheduling and interrupt handling. This ensures that critical tasks are prioritized and executed within time constraints.
Simplified development and reduced complexity: An RTOS simplifies the development process by abstracting hardware complexities and providing a robust scheduling mechanism. Developers can focus on application logic rather than low-level hardware management, reducing the system's overall complexity.
Increased reliability and safety: An industrial-grade RTOS is typically designed with safety features such as memory protection, error detection, and recovery mechanisms. These features are critical in preventing system failures and ensuring the application can recover gracefully from faults.
Scalability and flexibility: RTOSes are scalable to support various hardware configurations and application requirements. This flexibility allows them to be used in many safety-critical applications, from small embedded devices to complex industrial systems.
Certification support: Many industrial-grade RTOSes come with pre-certified components and comprehensive documentation, which streamline the process of achieving functional safety certifications. This is vital for industries where compliance with standards is mandatory.
Achieving functional safety
Functional safety certification ensures that a system operates correctly in response to its inputs and fails predictably under predefined conditions. RTOSes are pivotal in achieving these certifications due to their deterministic behavior and robust architecture. Certifications such as IEC 61508 (industrial), ISO 26262 (automotive), IEC 62304 (medical), and EN 50128 (rail) are critical for safety-critical applications.
PX5 RTOS: Certified RTOS for safety-critical applications
PX5 RTOS is a high-performance, real-time operating system designed for resource-constrained environments and critical applications that require deterministic behavior. It offers a lightweight, efficient kernel with advanced scheduling capabilities, making it suitable for embedded systems that need to meet stringent real-time requirements. PX5 RTOS is fully compatible and tested with the IAR Embedded Workbench and IAR Build tools, ensuring seamless integration and reliable performance for developers using these industry-leading development environments.
The certified edition of PX5 RTOS is pre-certified for several critical industry standards, including:
- IEC 61508 SIL 4 (Industrial)
- ISO 26262 ASIL D (Automotive)
- IEC 62304 Class C (Medical)
- EN 50128 SW-SIL 4 (Rail)
These certifications ensure that the RTOS meets the highest safety and reliability standards required for industrial, automotive, medical, and rail applications. The certified edition comes with comprehensive documentation, including a safety manual, technical reports, and certification reports, significantly streamlining the certification process for developers.
Combining PX5 RTOS with the IAR solutions
If you look at the combination of PX5 RTOS and the IAR-certified toolchain, you’ll find it provides a powerful solution for developing safety-critical applications. IAR Embedded Workbench, with its robust debugging capabilities, static analysis tools, and multi-core debugging support, complements the advanced features of PX5 RTOS. This synergy ensures that developers can efficiently build, test, and certify their applications, meeting the highest safety and reliability standards.
By leveraging the combined power of PX5 RTOS and IAR solutions, we’ve looked at how developers can ensure their safety-critical applications are robust, reliable, and compliant with industry standards, ultimately leading to safer and more efficient embedded systems.
Conclusion
An industrial-grade RTOS offers significant benefits for multitasking safety-critical applications. An RTOS is indispensable for developing robust and compliant safety-critical systems by ensuring predictability, reducing complexity, and enhancing reliability. Leveraging an RTOS like PX5 not only aids in meeting stringent real-time requirements but also facilitates the certification process, ultimately leading to safer and more reliable embedded systems. The certified edition of PX5 RTOS, combined with the IAR-certified toolchain, further simplifies achieving compliance, making it an ideal choice for industrial, automotive, medical, and rail applications.
For further details on the PX5 RTOS and the IAR-certified toolchains and to discover how they can enhance your safety-critical applications, please visit PX5 RTOS or IAR FuSa Solutions.
Additionally, join the on-demand webinar “Benefits of Multitasking Your Safety-Critical Applications with an Industrial-Grade RTOS” to learn more about how you can leverage these technologies for your projects.