Recently, SERCOS International, the user organization behind the SERCOS III real-time Ethernet standard, announced the release of an Open Source Linux driver for SERCOS III controllers. Thus, future releases of the mainline Linux kernel may allow a Linux master to establish communication channels to SERCOS III devices without requiring additional software. "Since its founding in 1990, SERCOS International is enabling open, vendor-independent and generally available technology", explains Peter Lutz, managing director of SERCOS International, "SERCOS III is a very powerful and universal real-time Ethernet solution that is used in a broad range of applications and industries. As Linux becomes widely accepted as platform for automation and machine industry, we decided to create a master library for SERCOS III that fully complies with the Open Source software license requirements." It was then only normal that SERCOS International applied for membership in the Open Source Automation Development Lab. OSADL certainly is glad and proud to welcome SERCOS International as a new member and to help providing support for SERCOS III in the world of Open Source software.
In addition to its proprietary microkernel-based virtualization RTOS platform PikeOS, SYSGO offers the embedded Linux distribution ELinOS. It includes support for all CPU architectures on which Linux is available such as ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, SH4, x86 and XScale. Board support packages are available for a wide variety of vendors including OSADL members Eltec, Kontron and Phytec. SYSGO supports the PREEMPT_RT patches to transform mainline Linux into a real-time operating system. These and many other OSADL activities are related directly or indirectly to SYSGO's ELinOS development efforts; as a consequence, SYSGO recently decided to join OSADL. Together we will improve mainline Linux and, thus, ELinOS even more to make them even better suitable for industrial and embedded applications. OSADL is extending a warm welcome to the SYSGO people, and we are looking forward to a successful collaboration.
As you probably know, OSADL is organizing the conference "Open Source meets Industry" at the occasion of the Hannover Fair 2009. The conference is scheduled on Wednesday, April 22, in the Pavilion of the Robotation Academy. The support of the Robotation Academy and the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) is gratefully acknowledged. OSADL's new members - Intel, SERCOS International and SYSGO - will use this opportunity to present their products and to explain why their membership is good for all of us. If you wish to attend the conference and meet representatives of our new members, you are certainly welcome. Please use this Internet registration form. At the end of the conference, at about 5 pm, a press conference will take place where our new members will be glad to answer questions of invited journalists.