RTAI is an enchancement for Linux kernel that provides realtime processing on various platforms and congiurations. RTAI means Real Time Application Interface. Strictly speaking, it is not a real time operating system, such as VXworks or QNX. It is based on the Linux kernel, providing the ability to make it fully pre-emptable. Linux suffers from a lack of real time support. To obtain a timing correctness behaviour, it is necessary to make some changes in the kernel sources, i.e. in the interrupt handling and scheduling policies. In this way, you can have a real time platform, with low latency and high predicatbility requirements, within full non real time Linux environment (access to TCP/IP, graphical display and windowing systems, file and data base systems, etc.). RTAI offers the same services of the Linux kernel core, adding the features of an industrial real time operating system.
RTAI is a property of RTAI respective authors, vendors and developers. You can download RTAI for your hardware. If you want to use RTAI for other purpose, Please contact the authors, vendors and developers of RTAI.
