Screenshot of the VNC server running on the Atmel AVR port of Contiki. |
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| Company / developer | Adam Dunkels |
|---|---|
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Open source |
| Latest stable release | 2.5 / September 8, 2011 |
| Default user interface | CTK |
| License | BSD License |
| Official website | http://www.sics.se/contiki/ |
Contiki is a small, open source, highly portable multitasking computer operating system developed for use on a number of memory-constrained networked systems ranging from 8-bit computers to embedded systems on microcontrollers, including sensor network motes. The name Contiki comes from Thor Heyerdahl's famous Kon-Tiki raft.
Despite providing multitasking and a built-in TCP/IP stack, Contiki only needs a few kilobytes of code and a few hundred bytes of RAM. A full system, complete with a graphical user interface, needs about 30 kilobytes of RAM.
The basic kernel and most of the core functions were developed by Adam Dunkels at the Networked Embedded Systems group at the Swedish Institute of Computer Science.
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Contiki is designed for embedded systems with small amounts of memory. A typical Contiki configuration consumes 2 kilobytes of RAM and 40 kilobytes of ROM.
Contiki consists of an event-driven kernel on top of which application programs are dynamically loaded and unloaded at runtime. Contiki processes use light-weight protothreads that provide a linear, thread-like programming style on top of the event-driven kernel.
Contiki runs on a variety of platforms ranging from embedded microcontrollers such as the TI MSP430 and the Atmel AVR to old home computers. Code footprint is on the order of kilobytes and memory usage can be configured to be as low as tens of bytes.
Contiki supports per-process optional preemptive multi-threading, inter-process communication using message passing through events, as well as an optional GUI subsystem with either direct graphic support for locally connected terminals or networked virtual display with VNC or over Telnet.
A full installation of Contiki includes the following features:
The Contiki operating system has been or is being ported to the following systems:
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