Newly-Launched "Embedded OS" HeliOS Brings Simple Multitasking to Arduino Microcontrollers
Written in C and compatible with the Arduino library standard, HeliOS is designed as an alternative to real-time operating systems.
Developer Manny Peterson has announced the release of HeliOS, a free multitasking kernel designed with eight-bit microcontrollers like the Arduino Uno in mind.
"HeliOS was written with hobbyists, enthusiasts, and researchers in mind who want more functionality than what existing task schedulers offer yet want to avoid the size and complexity of an RTOS [Real-Time Operating System]," Peterson explains in a write-up. "HeliOS has only 21 function calls and implements a wide variety of functionality including cooperative multitasking, event driven multitasking, task notification/messaging, timers and managed memory."
Pitched as an operating system for lightweight embedded devices, HeliOS is designed to be as Arduino compatible as possible — including being written to comply with the Arduino 1.5 Rev 2.2 Library Specification, meaning it can be installed directly within the Arduino IDE using the Library Manager. HeliOS also supports AVR, SAM, and SAM D-based microcontrollers, with the claim that it is "easily ported" to other microcontrollers.
"There are already so many great and proven RTOS and scheduler options available, then why HeliOS? That is certainly a valid question," Peterson adds. "HeliOS was never intended to replace or compete with the other options already available today (if you have not checked out FreeRTOS - you should, it is nothing short of an amazing RTOS for embedded and is more accessible today than ever before through the Arduino Library Manager). HeliOS, however, due to its size and simplicity, is intended to play in the space between RTOSes and task schedulers. HeliOS is tiny (smaller than FreeRTOS), easy to use and a great place to start for enthusiasts, hobbyists and researchers."
"HeliOS is very small. In fact, it is small enough to run on most eight-bit microcontrollers including the popular AVR based Arduino Uno. Written entirely in C, HeliOS runs on a variety of microcontrollers and integrates easily into any project. HeliOS is also easy to learn with an Application Programming Interface (API) consisting of only 21 function calls."
More information on installing and using HeliOS can be found on on the project's GitHub repository, where the source code is made available under the GNU General Public License 3.0.