LynuxWorks announced that they are going to be in the Super Bowl this year, but with LynxOS and not Linux. Here is an excerpt from the LynuxWorks press release . . .

CF InFlight Chooses LynxOS for Skycam Robotic Camera

Upgrading from Embedded Linux to Real-Time LynxOS Provides Superior Camera Views in Time for Super Bowl XXXVII

CF InFlight has chosen LynxOS as the new operating system for its Emmy award-winning Skycam. The company chose LynxOS over its current embedded Linux operating system to leverage LynxOS' real-time capabilities — achieving smoother camera movement-while allowing the existing Linux application code to run with minimal changes. Skycam, with its LynxOS operated transport system, is scheduled to provide “over the field” camera views at Super Bowl XXXVII on Sunday, January 26, 2003 from the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA.

The Skycam is a broadcast-quality robotic camera suspended from a cable driven computerized transport system, which enables it to fly anywhere in a defined three-dimensional space. Skycam has been used for sporting events such as the Summer Olympic Games, U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, the NCAA's Final Four, ESPN's Sunday Night Football and the Pro Bowl. Because LynxOS has the same programming interfaces (e.g., system calls) as Linux, CF InFlight was able to rapidly port the application to LynxOS and have the Skycam up and running within 5 days.

“Our motion control system is quite complex and requires consistent and deterministic response to achieve stable camera movement at up to 30 miles per hour,” said Roland Thompson, president, CF InFlight. “We used an embedded Linux operating system because we wanted the power and performance of Linux. But, since Linux does not provide real-time determinism, we couldn't achieve the stable camera operations we required. With LynxOS, we have the same benefits of Linux, such as an open programming environment, but also enjoy real-time determinism.”

Asked by LinuxDevices.com whether CF InFlight's development team considered the approach of using a deterministic real-time Linux add-on option — such as RTLinux or RTAI — before making the decision to move from Linux to LynxOS, Thompson said “Quite frankly, we did not consider either of these options. Our window to find a solution to our OS response issue was extremely tight. We chose LynxOS in part because their sales support was so responsive to us as we made inquiries about their product. Not that other vendors would not have been as responsive had they had the chance, but we needed answers, and we needed them fast.”

How difficult was it to convert the application from Linux to LynxOS? “LynuxWorks boasts a binary compatibility layer that would have allowed our application to run unmodified,” said Thompson. “We did not opt to use it. I was very concerned about what I thought were unnecessary additional translations layers in our control environment. The calls we needed to change in LynxOS to talk to their native environment were minimal. We also wanted to take advantage of their development environment. It was not clear to me that we could take full advantage of their development environment and tools without porting to their native LynxOS environment.”

 
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