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Arduino to RTOS—A Pilgrim’s Progress

TJ VanToll & Zak Fields

Developer Relations

Blues Notecard 30mm x 35mm

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TJ VanToll

Principal Developer Advocate

@tjvantoll

Zak Fields

Staff Experience Engineer

@zfields

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Arduino to RTOS—A Pilgrim’s Progress

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“Each lesson supports 3 device choices - Arduino, or a single-board computer, either a physical device (a Raspberry Pi 4) or a virtual single-board computer running on your PC or Mac.”

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https://github.com/microsoft/IoT-For-Beginners/blob/main/1-getting-started/lessons/1-introduction-to-iot/README.md

- IoT for Beginners by Microsoft

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Myths

  • #1: Platforms like Arduino and Raspberry Pi are only for beginners.
  • #2: RTOS platforms are impossibly complex and only for “real” engineers building “real” projects.

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What you’ll learn

  • Using an RTOS is possible, and the best path forward for many IoT Projects.
  • When an RTOS is a good fit, and when it’s overkill.
  • The pros and cons of Zephyr in action.

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Easy for developers and affordable for all.

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Notecard

  • Low-power system-on-module
  • Global cellular/GPS or Wi-Fi
  • 500MB cell data + 10 years service
  • JSON-based API
  • NB-IoT, LTE-M, LTE Cat-1
  • Python, Go, Arduino, C/C++, Zephyr

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“Device-to-Cloud Data Pump”

🔒

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*Actual wiring may vary

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Myths

  • #1: Platforms like Arduino and Raspberry Pi are only for beginners.
  • #2: RTOS platforms are impossibly complex and only for “real” engineers building “real” projects.

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Zak Fields

Staff Experience Engineer

@zfields

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Arduino:�Quick Recap

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Arduino:�Quick Recap

Fast and Easy

✅

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Arduino:�Quick Recap

Fast and Easy

✅

Powerful

💪

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Arduino:�Quick Recap

Fast and Easy

✅

Powerful

💪

Broad Support

⚙️

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Arduino:�Quick Recap

Fast and Easy

✅

Powerful

💪

Broad Support

⚙️

Community

🧑‍👨‍🔧

👩‍🔬👨🏿‍🚀

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Arduino:�The Dark Side

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Arduino:�The Dark Side

IDE 1.x - no debugging

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IDE 2.x - only supports Arduino boards

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VS Code Extension

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Platform.io

Disjoint Debugging Experience

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Arduino:�The Dark Side

IDE 1.x - no debugging

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IDE 2.x - only supports Arduino boards

​

VS Code Extension

​

Platform.io

Multiple authors with varying level of skill.

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Each library has a unique license.

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No guarantee of portability.

Disjoint Debugging Experience

Library System:

Powerful but Inconsistent

.

.

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Arduino:�The Dark Side

IDE 1.x - no debugging

​

IDE 2.x - only supports Arduino boards

​

VS Code Extension

​

Platform.io

Multiple authors with varying level of skill.

​

Each library has a unique license.

​

No guarantee of portability.

Arduino API is small.

​

Testing is difficult.

​

Each BSP has bespoke implementations of threading, radios, etc.

Disjoint Debugging Experience

Library System:

Powerful but Inconsistent

Complex Code is Not  Portable/Maintainable

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For the win[d]...

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Native Threading/Timer Support��Twister Testing Framework��Support for Debugging��Native Sensor Libraries

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int main (void) {

  // put your setup code here, to run once:

​

  while (1) {

    // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

​

  }

  return 0;�}

void setup (void) {

  // put your setup code here, to run once:

​

}

​

void loop (void) {

  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

​

}

Zephyr: Basic Structure

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static const struct gpio_dt_spec led = GPIO_DT_SPEC_GET(DT_ALIAS(led0),gpios);

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int main (void) {

  gpio_pin_configure_dt(&led,GPIO_OUTPUT_ACTIVE);

​

  while (1) {

    gpio_pin_toggle(&led);

    k_msleep(250);

  }

  return 0;�}

void setup (void) {

  pinMode(LED_BUILTIN,OUTPUT);

}

​

void loop (void) {

  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN,HIGH);

  delay(250);

  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN,LOW);

  delay(250);

}

Zephyr: Blinky 🤔

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Zephyr uses devicetree to describe:

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  • the hardware available on its Supported Boards
  • that hardware’s initial configuration

Zephyr: Devicetree

So, what does that mean for you?

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Zephyr: Getting Started

Easy?�  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Zephyr: Getting Started

+

=

Easy.

   😎

https://blues.dev/zephyr

https://github.com/blues/note-zephyr.git

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VS Code: Revisit Demo

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👈 Emulate the Arduino Runtime

Talk to the BME280

the Zephyr way... 👉

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  • 🧑‍💻 blues.dev for Blues resources

Thanks! (Time for Q&A)