Open Source Summit North America 2023

Looking at system architectures for complex safety-critical systems, similarities can be observed across various industries. Beside a rich OS (such as Linux), typically an RTOS and virtualization or containers are involved. However, when it comes to prototyping such systems, the existing guidelines are limited and reproducing demos is hard and time consuming. Compared to traditional (safety-critical) systems, created by strictly following the v-model, existing open source software can boost the system creation & understanding by fast and iterative prototyping. The ELISA project’s systems working group focuses on creating such an exemplary system architecture using Linux, Xen and Zephyr in a reproducible form. This includes step-by-step documentation for users on different expert levels and various entry points to approach these systems. It also includes picking up new requirements such as a system SBOM and a strong interaction as well as collaboration with other open source projects. Beside the state of the previously mentioned activities, the talk highlights other ELISA working groups focusing on Linux Kernel, processes, tools, and use cases. A basic understanding about challenges and chances of using open-source projects for safety-critical workloads rounds up the talk.