Real-time is no longer a small specialized niche

Operating system and real time researchers have historically worked in areas that are considered by each to be specialized and unrelated to the other's domain. However, embedded real time systems are evolving such that they now require increasing amounts of general purpose operating system support. Meanwhile, general purpose computer systems are evolving such that they are requiring increasing amounts of support for reliable real time components. These trends suggest that the real time and mainstream operating system researchers must join forces in order to effectively solve problems that are common to both. The paper provides examples of the shortcomings of current approaches to these problems, and suggests a number of areas in which these two independent research groups might work together more closely in the future.