Building an embedded system
I want to build an embedded system with USB and Wi-Fi. I am going to use USB to download configuration and code. Wi-Fi will be used to communicate with other similar systems. I would also like to program at the socket level, which means I want the USB and Wi-Fi drivers already available and the OS. So if someone can point me to some things that I might need to boot such a system, that would be very helpful. Or an existing RTOS system that can be used would be great too.
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eCos is a true RTOS with USB and TCP / IP support.
One problem that can arise with any RTOS is device driver support for any particular WiFi device. It may be easier to use a WiFi module that connects to your embedded system via SPI or UART or similar and has a full stack on board.
Likewise, you can get USB to serial chips that avoid the complexities and cpu overhead of implementing USB in your application processor. Last but not least, it avoids the need for a USB Vendor ID, which will cost you $ 2000.
If you're using standalone WiFi and USB modules, your RTOS choices go a lot wider as you avoid the need for so much middleware and a simple RTOS kernel that can provide streams, timing, and IPC.
Of course, a Linux-based solution may work, but the key issues with this are that Linux is not an RTOS and is memory intensive.
WinCE / Windows Embedded Compact is another option, but it is relatively large and the licensing costs can be prohibitive. It's pretty much real-time capable in the sense that it's deterministic, not particularly fast.
.Net Micro may be an option, but it is not real-time and requires fewer resources than Linux or Windows Embedded Compact, it remains relatively large.
QNX Neutrino is probably one of the solutions with the scalability, real-time capabilities, and middleware and hardware support that you need, but licensing costs can again be prohibitive.
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Another option is OpenEmbedded . it allows you to customize and build your own embedded Linux distribution. And there are distributions already built with OE like Angström Distribution , which I have had with success.
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