Category
page 1Embedded operating systems
Symbian
Symbian is a discontinued mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for smartphones. It was originally developed as a proprietary software OS for personal digital assistants in 1998 by the Symbian Ltd. consortium. Symbian OS is a descendant of Psion's EPOC, and was mostly used on ARM processors, although an x86 port exists. A modified version of Symbian for x86 was used on the Fujitsu LOOX F-07C where it was dual booted with Windows 7. Symbian was used primarily by Nokia, and in select models of Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson. It was also prevalent in Japan by brands i
FreeDOS
FreeDOS (formerly PD-DOS) is a free software operating system for IBM PC compatible computers. It intends to provide a complete MS-DOS-compatible environment for running legacy software and supporting embedded systems. FreeDOS can be booted from a floppy disk or USB flash drive and is designed to run well under virtualization or x86 emulation.

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HarmonyOS (HMOS) () is a distributed operating system developed by Huawei for smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, smart watches, personal computers and other smart devices. It has a microkernel design with a single framework: the operating system selects suitable kernels from the abstraction layer in the case of devices that use diverse resources. The latest stable version is HarmonyOS 6; it was released on 25 November 2025.
Palm OS
mobile operating system
Fuchsia
capability-based, real-time operating system (RTOS) being developed by Google
Tizen
Tizen () is a Linux-based operating system primarily developed by Samsung Electronics and supported by the Linux Foundation.
BlackBerry OS
operating system
Plan 9
distributed operating system designed by Bell Labs as an UNIX's intended successor
QNX
QNX ( or ) is a commercial Unix-like real-time operating system, aimed primarily at the embedded systems market.
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VxWorks
VxWorks is a real-time operating system (or RTOS) developed as proprietary software by Wind River Systems, a subsidiary of Aptiv. First released in 1987, VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems requiring real-time, deterministic performance and in many cases, safety and security certification for industries such as aerospace, defense, medical devices, industrial equipment, robotics, energy, transportation, network infrastructure, automotive, and consumer electronics.
Inferno
distributed operating system based on ideas and technology from Plan 9
Cisco IOS
Operating system
BlackBerry 10
discontinued proprietary mobile operating system by BlackBerry

DR-DOS
DR-DOS is a disk operating system for IBM PC compatibles, originally developed by Gary A. Kildall's Digital Research, Inc. and derived from Concurrent PC DOS 6.0, which was an advanced successor of CP/M-86. Upon its introduction in 1988, it was the first DOS that attempted to be compatible with IBM PC DOS and MS-DOS.
FreeRTOS
FreeRTOS is a real-time operating system kernel for embedded devices that has been ported to 40 microcontroller platforms. It is distributed under the MIT License.
Windows IoT
embedded operating system by Microsoft

Contiki
Contiki is an operating system for networked, memory-constrained systems with a focus on low-power wireless Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Contiki is used for systems for street lighting, sound monitoring for smart cities, radiation monitoring and alarms. It is open-source software released under the BSD-3-Clause license.
μClinux
thumb|300px|uClibc is a wrapper around the [[system calls of the Linux kernel and/or μClinux.]]
Series 40
operating system

Rockbox
Rockbox is a free and open-source software replacement for the OEM firmware in various forms of digital audio players (DAPs) with an original kernel. It offers an alternative to the player's operating system, in many cases without removing the original firmware, which provides a plug-in architecture for adding various enhancements and functions. Enhancements include personal digital assistant (PDA) functions, applications, utilities, and games. Rockbox can also retrofit video playback functions on players first released in mid-2000. Rockbox includes a voice-driven user-interface suitable for o
LynxOS
The LynxOS RTOS is a Unix-like real-time operating system from Lynx Software Technologies (formerly "LynuxWorks"). Sometimes known as the Lynx Operating System, LynxOS features full POSIX conformance and, more recently, Linux compatibility. LynxOS is mostly used in real-time embedded systems, in applications for avionics, aerospace, the military, industrial process control and telecommunications.
Windows Embedded CE 6.0
embedded operating system by Microsoft released in 2006
battery management system
electronic system that manages a rechargeable battery (cell or battery pack)
Android Things
embedded operating system
Linux on embedded systems
uses in embedded systems
eCos
The Embedded Configurable Operating System (eCos) is a free and open-source real-time operating system intended for embedded systems and applications which need only one process with multiple threads. It is designed to be customizable to precise application requirements of run-time performance and hardware needs. It is implemented in the programming languages C and C++ and has compatibility layers and application programming interfaces for Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) and The Real-time Operating system Nucleus (TRON) variant μITRON. eCos is supported by popular SSL/TLS libraries
BlackBerry Tablet OS
operating system
Home Assistant
home automation software
embedded operating system
operating system
Windows Embedded Industry
industrial embedded operating system by Microsoft
Cosmos
open-source operating system building kit
RTEMS
Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems (RTEMS), formerly Real-Time Executive for Missile Systems, and then Real-Time Executive for Military Systems, is a real-time operating system (RTOS) designed for embedded systems. It is free and open-source software.
JavaOS
JavaOS is a discontinued operating system based on a Java virtual machine. It was originally developed by Sun Microsystems. Unlike Windows, macOS, Unix, or Unix-like systems which are primarily written in the C or C++ programming languages, JavaOS is primarily written in Java. It is now considered a legacy system.

BeIA
BeIA (BeOS for Internet Appliances) is a discontinued operating system for embedded systems, developed by Be Inc. from 2000 to 2001. It was a minimized version of their BeOS operating system and was developed for the x86 and PowerPC architectures.
Junos
real-time operating system (RTOS) software
HarmonyOS NEXT
HarmonyOS core distributed operating system

OS-9
OS-9 is a family of real-time, process-based, multitasking, multi-user operating systems, developed in the 1980s, originally by Microware Systems Corporation for the Motorola 6809 microprocessor. It was purchased by Radisys Corp in 2001, and was purchased again in 2013 by its current owner Microware LP.
timeline of operating systems
timeline
Zephyr
free real-time operating system
RIOT
operating system
Symbian Foundation
nonprofit organization
Nucleus RTOS
Real-time operating system
Xinu
XINU Is Not Unix (XINU, a recursive acronym), is an operating system for embedded systems, originally developed by Douglas Comer for educational use at Purdue University in the 1980s. The name is both recursive, and is Unix spelled backwards. It has been ported to many hardware platforms, including the DEC PDP-11 and VAX systems, Motorola 68k (Sun-2 and Sun-3 workstations, AT&T UNIX PC, MECB), Intel x86, PowerPC G3, MIPS, ARM architecture and AVR (atmega328p/Arduino). Xinu was also used for some models of Lexmark printers.
ChibiOS/RT
ChibiOS/RT is a compact and fast real-time operating system for microcontrollers supporting multiple architectures and released under a mix of the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPL3) and the Apache License 2.0 (depending on module). It is developed by Giovanni Di Sirio.
OSEK
OSEK (Offene Systeme und deren Schnittstellen für die Elektronik in Kraftfahrzeugen; English: "Open Systems and their Interfaces for the Electronics in Motor Vehicles") is a standards body that has produced specifications for an embedded operating system, a communications stack, and a network management protocol for automotive embedded systems. It has produced related specifications, namely AUTOSAR. OSEK was designed to provide a reliable standard software architecture for the various electronic control units (ECUs) throughout a car.
bridgeOS
bridgeOS is an embedded operating system created and developed by Apple for use exclusively with its hardware. bridgeOS runs on the T series Apple silicon processors and operates devices such as the OLED touchscreen strip called the "Touch Bar", Touch ID fingerprint sensor, SSD encryption, and cooling fans.
Series 80
Symbian software platform for mobile devices
Series 30+
mobile operating system for Nokia feature phones
TinyOS
TinyOS is an embedded, component-based operating system and platform for low-power wireless devices, such as those used in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), smartdust, ubiquitous computing, personal area networks, building automation, and smart meters. It is written in the programming language nesC, as a set of cooperating tasks and processes. It began as a collaboration between the University of California, Berkeley, Intel Research, and Crossbow Technology, was released as free and open-source software under a BSD license, and has since grown into an international consortium, the TinyOS Allian
Matchbox
free and open source window manager for the X Window System
OpenHarmony
OpenHarmony (OHOS, OH) is a family of open-source distributed operating systems sharing some principles from Huawei LiteOS lineage. Huawei donated the pure HarmonyOS L0-L2 single framework branch, non-AOSP source code, to the OpenAtom Foundation. Similar to HarmonyOS, the open-source distributed operating system is designed with a layered architecture, consisting of four layers from the bottom to the top: the kernel layer, system service layer, framework layer, and application layer. It is also an extensive collection of free software, which can be used as an operating system or in parts with
FlexOS
FlexOS is a discontinued modular real-time multiuser multitasking operating system (RTOS) designed for computer-integrated manufacturing, laboratory, retail and financial markets. It was developed by Digital Research's Flexible Automation Business Unit in Monterey, California, in 1985.
Integrity
real time operating system
Nokia Asha platform
mobile operating system
leJOS
leJOS is a firmware replacement for Lego Mindstorms programmable bricks. Different variants of the software support the original Robotics Invention System, the NXT, and the EV3. It includes a Java virtual machine, which allows Lego Mindstorms robots to be programmed in the Java programming language. It also includes 'iCommand.jar' which allows you to communicate via bluetooth with the original firmware of the Mindstorm. It is often used for teaching Java to first-year computer science students. The leJOS-based robot Jitter flew around on the International Space Station in December 2001.
NuttX
Apache NuttX is a free and open-source real-time operating system (RTOS) with an emphasis on technical standards compliance and on having a small footprint. It is scalable from 8-bit to 64-bit microcontroller environments. The main governing standards in NuttX are from the Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Further standard application programming interfaces (APIs) from Unix and other common RTOSes (such as VxWorks) are adopted for functions unavailable under these standards, or inappropriate for deeply embedded environments, such
LiteOS
RTX
operating system
Comparison of real-time operating systems
Wikimedia list article
Versatile Real-Time Executive
real-time operating system