undefined | Better HN

0 pointscomboy5y ago0 comments

I wonder what's your use case for RTOS? I don't really know any problems that couldn't be solved with micros communicating with linux. Seems like even SpaceX gets away with it.

I mean there seem to be the market so clearly there are some people who need it, I just would like to learn more about where is it really needed.

0 comments

monocasa5y ago

SpaceX uses FreeRTOS and VxWorks for chips that need hard real time guarantees from what I've heard.

HeyLaughingBoy5y ago

It's not that the problems couldn't be solved that way, it's that they don't necessarily get any simpler. Adding an external micro and all the support it needs is added cost, maybe added real estate, power budget and very often, it makes the solution more complex and less reliable.

numpad05y ago

RTOS are mainly for micros communicating with Linux.

Lots of time they are just a giant C library that goes into the same a.out, that for devs look close enough to let himself pretend there will be an OS running his code.

realharo5y ago

Stuff powered from a coin cell battery?

comboyOP5y ago

From coin cell battery you can power a microcontroller that is sleeping most of the time, not a real-time operating system.

dekhn5y ago

You can do exactly this with an ESP32. It's got an RTOS (FreeRTOS) which will spend most of its time sleeping https://learn.circuit.rocks/esp32-deep-sleep

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse