Real-Time Linux based projects
Real-Time Linux variants are already used in many fields such as:
If you want to make your project show up on this list, just write and email to Peter Wurmsdobler with the project title, a short description, a web site and some contact information.
rt_com_zilog -- a real-time driver for the Zilog SCC 85x30 family
rt_com_zilog is a real-time driver for the Zilog SCC 85x30 family (8530, 85230) to use with RTLinux. It is released under the terms of the GPL license, and is based on many codes from the async zilog driver available in Linux and rt_com for RTLinux.
This driver can be used for asynchronous and synchronous modes (monosync, bisync, SDLC, HDLC, ...). It can use the 2 channels A and B of one Zilog. The current version has been succesfully tested in asynchronous and bisync (16 bits) modes.
For the users, this driver has the same prototypes functions as the original rt_com for UARTs compatible 16550. In general, replacing rt_com per rt_com_zilog in a project consists only at adding "_zilog" to the functions calls.
Marc Le Douarain,
http://www.rtlinux-gpl.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/rtlinux_contrib/drivers/rt_com_zilog/
Evaluation of Real-Time Linux Derivatives for Use in Robotic Control
This paper presents a study and comparsion of three real-time Linux derivatives, RT-Linux, RTAI and KURT. The operating systems are evaluated for their suitability as a robotic control system in an academic environment. The evaluation considers real-time performance (scheduling jitter), ease of installation and use, and the richness of the associated API.
Daniel Aarno,
http://www.e.kth.se/~e98_aar/resources/rtos.pdf
Control of a PUMA 560 Using Linux Real-Time Application Interface (RTAI)
This paper presents an implementation of a control system for a PUMA 560 robotic arm on RTAI, a real-time Linux derivative. The paper also provides an introduction to real-time Linux derivatives for use in robotic control and describes the RTAI. The fundamental issues that arise with real-time operating systems and performance metrics of RTAI are presented. Focus is put on the implementational details of the control system considering both safety and performance.
Daniel Aarno,
http://www.e.kth.se/~e98_aar/resources/rtcontrol.pdf
RTAI-Lab
RTAI-Lab is a stand alone project, RTAI based, that can allows to run mutiple instances of controllers automatically generated by MATLAB/SCILAB in an integrated way in local/distributed mode. It is likely not known too much but is a really powerfull free tool, graphic design interface, click and run in real time. With SCILAb you can have it all really for free, not only as freedom but also as beer.
Paolo Mantegazza,
http://www.aero.polimi.it/~rtai/
Controller-In-A-Box (CIAB)
This real-time Linux, embedded controller development platform gets its strength from the powerful and modular soft- and hardware. It can be used in a wide range of applications, such as servo control, process control, data logging and monitoring systems. The CIAB is an outstanding platform for developing and testing your real-time applications.
CIAB is a tool that makes it possible to develop real-time Linux software without worrying about all the aspects of real-time programming. The underlying real-time operating system gives hard real-time performance. Eventually the results can easily be embedded in various environments.
This project is realized by Abtec.
Bas Kruiderink,
http://www.abtec.nl
Large offshore-class subsea-robot
This project concerns the simulation, design and implementation of an RT-Linux system for the controls of a sub-sea tool (large offshore-class subsea-robot). The embedded, realtime Linux systems have been down to depths of 3000m!
This project is realized by Abtec.
Bas Kruiderink,
http://www.abtec.nl
RTLinux controlled nailing robot for shear panels
RTLinux is employed to control a robot nailing together some engineered structural panels called "shear wall panels". A Personal Computer (PC) platform running a single 1.1 Ghz Athlon was used. Read the detailed story.
ORCCAD -- Open Robot Controller Computer Aided Design
ORCCAD is a software environment dedicated to the design and the implementation of advanced robotics control systems. It also allows the specification and the validation of missions. It is mainly oriented towards critical real-time applications in robotics, where automatic control issues are strongly connected with discrete-event aspects. ORCCAD provides the user with dedicated interfaces to ensure safe programming, and has capabilities of validation, either by formal verification or by extensive simulation, and the run-time code is automatically generated. The software is currently ported on RTAI (while current targets are VxWorks, Solaris and Linux).
Daniel Simon, Soraya Arias,
http://www.inrialpes.fr/iramr/Orccad/
Interfacing Matlab/Simulink with RTAI in the kernel area
The goal of this project is to generate code for Linux RTAI directly from a simulink model using Real-Time Workshop.
Roberto Bucher,
http://b.die.supsi.ch/~bucher/
A code generator for control systems
It boils down to a python script which reads in a directory containing templates for operators e.g. DAC/ADC (comedi templates), Digital transfers function, PID controller, RT-Linux main program template and/or a user space main program template. These templates contain c-code which embedds python code for glue code generation. (similar to perl/python apache-web-server modules). The templates are then used to create operators which override some/all default values. The operators are then connected so that they represent e.g. a closed-loop system. Finally c-code is generated which can be used to simulate the system in user-space or control a real system with rtlinux and comedi.
DSLib -- Dynamic Systems Library
The Dynamic Systems Library (DSLib) is a newly developed interface tool for use between block-diagram modelling and realtime programing. DSLib is a set of C++ classes representing components of block-diagram modelling: blocks (functions, integrators, summing points...), inputs, outputs, schedulers, etc. Such classes can be used in standard C++ code to define simply a dynamic system from a block-diagram approach. Once the system is properly defined, DSlib classes generate the implementation of the dynamic system for a specific realtime operating system (RTAI and RTLinux, at the moment).
From the point of view of the software developer, DSLib can be the kernel of any dynamic system modelling application. For example, a Matlab-like application can be obtained by just adding a user interface.
Ivan Martinez,
http://dslib.sourceforge.net/
EMC -- Enhanced Machine Controller
EMC is software that implements real-time control of equipment such as machine tools, robots, and coordinate measuring machines. It runs in real-time under Linux with the NMT rtlinux patch, with RTAI and in nonrealtime under Solaris, and WindowsNT. Basically, this software was made by NIST who originally developed a Real Time-Control-System rcs that is now the base of the emc system.
http://www.linuxcnc.org/,
http://sourceforge.net/projects/emc/,
http://www.isd.mel.nist.gov/projects/rcslib/index.html.
Open Components for Embedded Real-time Applications
The main objective of the OCERA project is the design and implementation of a library of free software components for the design of embedded real-time systems. These components will be used to create flexible (new scheduling will support a wide variety of applications),configurable(scalable from a small to a fully featured system), robust (fault-tolerant and high performant) and portable (adaptable to several hw/sw configurations).
The project shall transfer to the industrial world an innovative real-time technology which leans on scientific results recognized and validated in a formal way. The components will be designed to cover the widest application range including fully critical systems, and systems with different critically degrees.
Ismael Ripoll,
http://www.ocera.org/
ST-RTL -- Simulink Target for RT-Linux
Simulink Target for RT-Linux (ST-RTL) is the outcome of a PhD research project undertaken at Glasgow Caledonian University, School of Engineering, Design and Science. This project was initiated to provide a cost effective alternative to the expensive real-time applications that require specialised software and hardware and to allow the remote monitoring of real-time control experiments. The laboratory for which this development has been undertaken is equipped with a series of process control experiments and a Local Area Network (LAN) connecting twenty workstations on which the following software packages are installed: Matlab, Simulink and Real Time Workshop (RTW). Matlab/Simulink provides an easy-to-use environment for modelling, simulating and analyzing dynamic systems, where the system to be controlled is represented in the form of a block diagram. RTW translates the block diagram representation into platform-invariant C code files. These software packages have been used as a control algorithm development tool. The main goal of this research project was to extend this set up by a real-time platform on which the students can test their control algorithms. Real-Time Linux has been chosen to run the generated code because it has been proved to be very stable and reliable and can be obtained free of charge. The source files of RTW have been modified and new files have been created to make them suitable for Real-Time Linux. Furthermore, a driver for the CIO-DAS08/JR-AO data acquisition card and two Simulink blocks have been implemented to make the external inputs and outputs of the data acquisition card accessible in a Simulink block diagram. ST-RTL runs the controller in kernel space to guarantee real-time execution. In addition, a second process running in user space allows the remote monitoring and tunning of the process by using TCP/IP and the client/server paradigm. Both processes exchange data using a block of shared memory (mbuff) and two FIFOs. ST-RTL has successfully been used to control laboratory scale experiments such as inverted pendulums, dc motors and coupled tanks.
Raul Murillo,
http://www.sesd.gcal.ac.uk/raulm/St-rtl.htm
ClassicLadder -- RTLinux based SoftPLC
RTLinux is used to have a free ladder language as used in many PLC for programming automation process. ClassicLadder can be compiled with RTLinux support to run in real-time.
Marc Le Douarain,
http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/classicladder
OpenGPSRec -- an open source GPS receiver
OpenGPSRec is an implementation of Cliff Kelley's OpenSourceGPS (http://home.earthlink.net/~cwkelley/) for a PCI bus interface. The OpenGPSRec receiver hardware is based on the CMC Superstar GPS module and the PROTO-3 PCI prototyping board from Kolter Electronics. Some TTL logic interfaces the Superstar module to the PROTO-3 16 bit data bus. The OpenGPSRec receiver software is available for two real time operating systems: RTAI v24.1.9 and DOS.
Georg Beyerle,
http://www.geocities.com/gbeyerle
RTLinux for robot control and high accurate micro positioning
RTLinux is used for controlling mechanical systems, e.g. a robot and a two dimensional positioning unit for high speed and high accurate micro positioning tasks.
For implementing the control algorithm, the Real-Time Workshop from MATLAB/Simulink is employed. The generated code is executed in one RTLinux thread, several other threads are used for comunication and synchroization. Big amount of data is transferred to the user side of linux via a mbuff shared memory area. For the hardware access a PC/104 I/O-card was developed containing a microcontroller to create PWM signals for motors and two incremental encoder ports.
RedHat 6.2, Matlab 5.2, linux-2.2.17, RTlinux 3.0, PC/104 and a M16C based I/O card.
Hermann Brugger
Dept. of Measurement, Control and Microtechnology
University of Ulm
Albert-Einstein-Allee 41
89081 Ulm
Germany.
Telephone station controlling system
A telephone station controlling system (up to 2k users) using RTAI and FLTK as user interface is built (Pictures). Tools used are gcc-2.95.3, RTAI cvs version and Linux 2.4.19.
Rus V. Brushkoff
http://chernomor.odessa.ua/~rus (in russian).
RTLab -- real-time linux based DAQ system
RTLab is the name of our software project. It is a software toolset that is intended to help programmers by providing a sample implementation of some basic data acquisition and control applications. The DAQSystem application that it comes with is a reasonably versatile Data Acquisition application. It also features a plugin architecture allowing one to also write small C++ plugins for control purposes.
In addition, the C++ code that DAQSystem is built upon is intended to be modular enough so that programmers wanting to reuse the code in their own applications should be able to do so.
This software works on both RTAI and RTLinux, provided comedi is installed and configured correctly -- which OS is being used is transparent to the application programmer, however the build system must know so that it can compile the kernel modules correctly.
Calin A. Culianu,
David J. Christini, PhD
Weill Cornell Medical College, Room A-328
520 E 70th Street
New York, NY 10021
http://www.rtlab.org/,
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 2001
A RTAI based walking robot
A walking robot made of aluminum welded using GTAW (TIG) is being built. RTAI is used to communicate with a PIC16F84A through a laptop serial port at 115,200 bps. The PIC sends address and data lines to turn car window DC gear motors and to get input from AXDL202 accelerometer chips. The robot uses two USB cameras, although objects are not recognized yet, nor are depth and size of objects measured. At this time a kernel module sends and gets PIC commands, and a user application program that gets images from the USB port and uses a fifo to send key presses to the kernel module. Eventually it is planned to get the keyboard and USB input in real time. RTAI is chosen because RTlinux (New Mexico) was not built for a kernel that has USB support.
Ted Huntington,
http://tedhuntington.com
CORFU -- Common Object-oriented Real-time Framework for the Unified development of distributed Industrial Process, Measurement and Control Systems applications
The CORFU framework assists process and system engineers in the development and configuration of distributed Industrial Process, Measurement and Control Systems (IPMCS). RTLinux is used as the Operating System of our Interworking units, that is devices that interconnect distant fieldbus segments. As a network middleware we use Network Data Delivery Service (NDDSR) of Real-Time Innovations (RTI). NDDS is a real-time, publish-subscribe network middleware, used for the distribution of our real-time applications.
Prof. Kleanthis Thramboulidis, Christos Tranoris,
http://seg.clab.ee.upatras.gr/corfu/corfu.htm
.
PPC based telecom application
The company called DGT-LAB uses 8xx and 82xx processors with ppcboot loader, bare linux kernel (just from kernel.org), HardHad Linux cross-compiler, some changes specific to own telecomunication boards (with HDLC, ATM and other links).
RTAI based controlled medical actuator systems
A DAQ board (16bit, 8AD+4DA, 1kHz, on EPP-Port) is developed and used in conjunction with RTAI (mainly an interrupt service routine), a QT based graphical user interface and a mySQL database to provide data acquisition and closed loop control.
Seismic measurement network on the Baja California Peninsula (RESNOM)
The system collects data from a dozen of seismological stations distributed along the upper north of the Baja California Peninsula, RESNOM. These signals are sended to a central station by means of radio waves, at a rate of 120 samples per second each. When they arrive at the central computer (carried out through serial ports, by using a Cyclade Cyclom 8Y multiport card), it is necesary to add a timestamp. This timestamp comes from a clock linked to a satellite which has Greenwich meridian time. Once the signal arrived and timestamped, a detection algorithm is applied in order to decide when a seismic event is happening. In the possitive case, recording into the hard disk is triggered, because all the process described before takes place in a segment of shared memory.
Sergio M. Arregui Ojeda,
http://sismologia.cicese.mx/resnom/
.
Real Time Performance Monitoring of Satellite Batteries
Real Time Performance Monitoring of Satellite Batteries. Charging and Discharging with alarm generation etc. RTLinux 3.1 and Red Hat 7.1 are employed.
RTLinux based Driver Development
Real Time Driver for various I/O, Digital and Analog Boards which is mainly used for data acquisition and control system. RTLinux 3.1 and Red Hat 7.1 are employed.
RTAI for Active Magnetic Bearnig control
COMEDI is used in conjunction with RTAI to control an active magnetic bearing. A National Instruments AT-Mio 16e is employed to sample several analogue inputs at 230usecs within one real time task. A synchronized control task used these values to carry out the control algorithm. The so calculated control variables are output to a National Instruments AT-AO 10 output board. Writing both to the parallel port and the video memory is used to debug the real-time modules at 230usecs smapling rate. This is done by generating a pattern indicating correct functioning or malfunctions.
ISaGRAF PRO targets for real-time Linux
ISaGRAF PRO ( www.altersys.com ) targets for two real-time Linux versions have been developped at Nautsilus. The versions are KURT and RTAI. By using RTAI Linux the ISaGRAF Pro user can set the minimum scan-time value 1 ms.
NAUTSILUS SCIENTIFIC CENTRE
Dr. ZolotarevSergei, Technical director
415 VE NIIYAF MGU, Vorobyovy gory, RUSSIA MOSCOW 119899.
Phone: +7 (095) 939-5872, +7 (095) 939-3924 Fax: +7 (095) 939-5002
info@nautsilus.ru,
www.nautsilus.ru,
http://www.nautsilus.ru/engl/ipro-kurt-rtai-e.htm
RTLinux in Laser Imagesetters
RTL is a perfect way to handle a lot of sensors, to control stepper motors and laser modulator. The HW is just a cheap 5x86 based SBC plus two additional boards of own realizing all additional device specific circuits. RTLinux version was 2.2 with 2.2.14 kernel.
Laser Laboratory,
info@itc.hu,
http://www.laser.sztaki.hu/
.
Level C Flight Simulator
This FAA Level C certified flight simulator is running the NMT 1.1 patch on a 2.0.36 kernel with plans to migrate towards NMT 3.0pre10 on a 2.2.18 kernel. The simulator is a Dassault Falcon 10 simulator, and incorporates a 4 window Vital 8+ daylight visual, 6 degree motion, and complete GNS/XLS FMS, TCAS II, implementations. The simulator currently uses 5 different Pentium based machines to facilitate Avionics control chassis, touch screen based Instructor stations, and the simulators main host computer. The host is running RTLinux and has 3 Ethernet cards (1 real-time and 2 user level), 1 GMM intelligent (V40 based) quad serial interface (real-time), and a proprietary simulator I/O interface card (real-time).
Todd Gearheart
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 2001
Parallel port based control system
A control system by using rtlinux and the tb486 board mostly by a parallel port interface. parapin makes it easy to write C code under Linux that controls individual pins on a PC parallel port. This kind of control is very useful for electronics projects that use the PC's parallel port as a generic digital I/O interface. Parapin goes to great lengths to insulate the programmer from the somewhat complex parallel port programming interface provided by the PC hardware, making it easy to use the parallel port for digital I/O. By the same token, this abstraction also makes Parapin less useful in applications that need to actually use the parallel port as a parallel port (e.g., for talking to a printer).
http://www.circlemud.org/~jelson/software/parapin/
MICRA -- a model for mission critical applications
This project aims to investigate, in the first place, the steps needed for the definition of a new model suitable for mission- critical applications. The crucial aspect is timing fault-tolerance in the context of real-time systems. We intend to formalize assumptions about system timeliness, and then develop what we call a Timing Failure Detector, in order to perfectly detect all violations of timeliness. There are several ways to treat the problem afterwards, but we plan to study the use of replication to mask timing faults. Previously known failure detectors were of the crash type only, our detectors are more accurate. Besides, replication has not been used previously in the context of timing faults, and as such, this approach is innovative. Our research will therefore concentrate on the definition of a set of basic services (a Timing Failure Detection Service -TFDS, and a Replica Management Service - RMS) which aim at providing the functionality just described, by means of a suitable programming interface, with provisions for timeliness specifications.
Cascade -- a RTLinux based GPS receiver
Cascade is a Linux based GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver that is incredibly flexible. Core aspects of a GPS receiver, like the RF section that down converts the signals are implemented in hardware, while all slow computations: tracking of satellites, computation of a navigation solution, etc. are preformed in software. Currently, we are using RTLinux to obtain the realtime environment required of a GPS receiver. The system is running RedHat Linux 6.2 on a 400MHz Pentium II. The hardware consists of a GPS chipset by Mitel (formerly by GEC Plessey) on an ISA card (known as the GPS Builder-2). This chipset is the industry and research standard GP2021 correlator and GP2015 RF front end, both of which are manufactored by Mitel.
FlightLinux an Linux based OS for onboard spacecraft use
FlightLinux is a concept that uses a real-time variation of the open source Linux Operating System for onboard spacecraft use. Onboard Operating systems have evolved from custom code to applications of embedded real-time operating systems. The time has come to go to open source.
http://aqua.qssmeds.com/flightlinux/
Machine Vision in agricultural industry
RTLinux in Machine Vision, innovative automation design and manufacturing company to take the agricultural industry by storm.
CIAB -- Controller-In-A-Box
This superior real-time embedded controller development platform gets its strength from the powerful and modular soft- and hardware. It can be used in a wide range of applications, such as servo control, process control, data logging and monitoring systems. The CIAB is an outstanding platform for developing and testing your real-time applications.
RTiC-Lab -- a Hard Real Time Controller Implementation and Simulation Environment for Linux
The Real Time Controls Laboratory, or RTiC-Lab (pronounced Arctic-Lab), is a semi-detached open source software designed to run on Linux and Real Time Linux. It is designed as an easy to use controls prototyping tool. It gives the controls engineer real time access to: plant states, plant I/O, controller states, controller parameters (scalar or matrix), and hard real time environment for plant modeling. Run time data can currently be saved/displayed into: stdout, disk, RTiC-Scope, a standalone Oscilloscope Emulator, any standalone application written by the user. Communication between the user's program and RTiC-Lab is handled by RTiC-Lab's new API. Most importantly, RTiC-Lab is intended to be extensible by creating a simple to use interface in Linux so that users can add their own modules. RTiC-Lab is released under the Free Software Foundation's General Public License (GPL), which means that if you don't like some of the features that are already put into the code, then you may tailor the code to your needs.
Edgar F. Hilton,
http://rtic-lab.sourceforge.net/
,
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 2000
RTLinux based micro torque testing stage
Within the European project HAFAM (Handling and Assembly of Functionally Adapted Microcomponents) a testing stage for characterizing rotating micro-electro-mechanical machines has been developed at the Centre de Transfert des Microtechniques, CTM in Besançon, France. The objective of this micro torque testing stage is to provide a flexible and modular means for assessing the per formance and the quality of both active and passive micro machine components, e.g. micro motors or micro ball bearings. In order to synchronize measurmenent and motor control at interrupt rates up to 100kHz, RTLinux hase benn employed in conjunction with a GTK+ based graphical user interface.
Peter Wurmsdobler,
Roland Duffait
Centre de Transfert des Microtechniques
39, Avenue de l'Observatoire - BP 1445
25007 Besançon cedex 3 - FRANCE
Tel: +33 (0)3 81 47 70 20
FAX: +33 (0)3 81 47 70 21
http://www.ctm-france.com/
,
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 2000
,
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 1999
rt_com -- serial port driver for RTLinux/RTAI
The aim of rt_com is to provide a easy interface to the serial port hardware from real-time contexts. It provides all needed functionality to communicate with electronic equipment along standard serial lines. rt_com is implemented as Linux kernel module for NMT RTLinux v1 and v2 and RTAI.
Jochen Küpper,
rt-com-user@lists.sf.net
http://rt-com.sf.net
,
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 2000
Implementation and Performance of POSIX Sporadic Server Scheduling in RTLinux
Basically, a realtime scheduling algorithm to the RTLinux kernel as an add-on is implemented, and the performance comparing with original scheduling mechanism is analyzed.
MiniRTL -- real-time linux on a FLoppy disk
The miniRTL project is dedicated to developing a minimum sized real-time Linux that is small enough to boot from a single floppy (or small Flash memory device) into a ramdisk, yet will offer the most important features of Linux. miniRTL is intended to be useful as the basis for embedded systems, but also provides a means for real-time "newbies" to learn more about real-time Linux.
Nicholas McGuire
http://www.thinkingnerds.com/projects/minirtl/minirtl.html
,
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 2000
,
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 1999
Open Robot Control Software
Open Robot Control Software (OROCOS) wants to define the robot software of the future, and not just stop at the re-implementation of the functionality and design of existing industrial controllers. The scope of Orocos is indeed much wider than that of industrial robot manufacturers.
Herman Bruyninckx,
mailinglist,
http://www.orocos.org
,
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 2001
MCA -- Modular control architecture
A modular, network transparent and realtime capable C/C++ framework for controlling robots and other kind of hardware. The main plattform is Linux/RTLinux, support for Win32 and Solaris also exists.
http://mca2.sourceforge.net/
Paper for Real-Time Linux Workshop 2001