ZWOS - A Lightweight Operating System For Lightweight Embedded Wireless Devices

A large number of commercial and public domain real-time operating systems (RTOS) are available to suit real-time embedded applications. On the other hand, there are a vast number of relatively simple devices, many based on 8-bit micro-controllers, which, due to limited resources, or lack of need, have no RTOS. We argue that the appearance of low-cost, lightweight wireless technologies, such as IEEE 802.15.4 (WPAN) and Zigbee, will lead to a demand for a lightweight operating system that is easily portable, has a small footprint and will seamlessly integrate with protocol stacks, development tools and system software already provided by the wireless chip vendors. We propose a generic "zero-weight" psuedo- RTOS, written entirely in 'C' language, which is suitable for this market. We call our system ZWOS - for "zero weight operating system". We demonstrate the ease of integration of ZWOS into a development platform provided one of the major vendors of WPAN and Zigbee chipsets.