TinyOS
TinyOS is an open-source operating system designed for wireless embedded sensor networks. It features a component-based architecture which enables rapid innovation and implementation while minimizing code size as required by the severe memory constraints inherent in sensor networks. TinyOS's component library includes network protocols, distributed services, sensor drivers, and data acquisition tools - all of which can be used as-is or be further refined for a custom application. TinyOS's event-driven execution model enables fine-grained power management yet allows the scheduling flexibility made necessary by the unpredictable nature of wireless communication and physical world interfaces.
TinyOS has been ported to over a dozen platforms and numerous sensor boards. A wide community uses it in simulation to develop and test various algorithms and protocols. New releases see over 10,000 downloads. Over 500 research groups and companies are using TinyOS on the Berkeley/Crossbow Motes. Numerous groups are actively contributing code to the sourceforge site and working together to establish standard, interoperable network services built from a base of direct experience and honed through competitive analysis in an open environment.
Contiki
Contiki is an open source, highly portable, multi-tasking operating system for memory-efficient networked embedded systems and wireless sensor networks. Contiki has been used is a variety of projects, such as road tunnel fire monitoring, intrusion detection, water monitoring in the Baltic Sea, and in surveillance networks.
Contiki is designed for microcontrollers with small amounts of memory. A typical Contiki configuration is 2 kilobytes of RAM and 40 kilobytes of ROM.
Contiki provides IP communication, both for IPv4 and IPv6. Contiki and its uIPv6 stack are IPv6 Ready Phase 1 certified and therefor has the right to use the IPv6 Ready silver logo.
Contiki is developed by a group of developers from industry and academia lead by Adam Dunkels from the Swedish Institute of Computer Science. The Contiki team currently consists of sixteen developers from SICS, SAP AG, Cisco, Atmel, NewAE and TU Münich.
