Developed Linux OS "Armadillo Base OS" for long-term IoT devices Company release | Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun Electronic version

Release issuing company: Atmark Techno Co., Ltd.

~Easy to update IoT devices by adopting container architecture~ Atmark Techno Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Sapporo, CEO: Tomohiro Jitsuyoshi, hereinafter Atmark Techno) is a long-term IoT device. We have developed the Linux-based "Armadillo Base OS" for It will be installed in the "Armadillo-IoT Gateway G4" that supports edge AI processing and will be released in November 2021. Due to the limited resources (CPU processing power/memory capacity, etc.) of the target device, the OS for IoT devices was mainly developed with the minimum necessary compact implementation and application software in C language. Recently, many IoT devices have sufficient resources, and system development using frameworks made with Python and JavaScript is required. are increasingly adopting alternatives. These general-purpose distributions are built to be easy to use for PC desktop environments and server applications, but they are not intended for use with IoT devices. IoT devices may be operated in places where it is difficult for people to touch or where the power supply environment is unstable, so it is necessary to assume that sudden power outages and update failures will occur. If the storage installed in the IoT device is NAND flash memory such as eMMC, there is a limit to the number of times it can be rewritten and its capacity, so it is necessary to consider the content and timing of writing. In addition, IoT devices may be in operation longer than PCs and servers, and it is necessary to deal with new security threats that are appropriate for that period of time. Atmark Techno developed "Armadillo Base OS" to solve these problems. (1) Compact OS functions Based on Linux 5.10, the container management function, software update function, and network manager have been specialized and made compact. By limiting the functions, security risks can be suppressed, and at the same time, it has become realistic to perform maintenance for more than 10 years. (2) Container-based operation of applications By separating applications from the OS in the form of containers, application developers can freely choose distributions and libraries. Also, when accessing resources managed by the OS from a container, it is necessary to explicitly grant access privileges, so even if there is an abnormality in the container application, it is difficult to affect the OS itself. (3) Standardization of update mechanism A standard mechanism is provided to update the OS part, boot loader part, and container part respectively. Only properly signed software can be updated, preventing unauthorized software from being written. The OS part and the boot loader part are dualized, so even if there is a power failure during the update work, you can return to the previous state. In addition, the container part can be switched to a new one on a container-by-container basis, and there is also a "difference update" function to minimize update traffic. Software updates can be done via network, USB memory, or SD. When via network, simple methods using a web server, advanced updates using the deliverables of the Eclipse hawkBit™ project. A server will also be prepared (*planned). (4) Improved security functions The security level has been improved with the above measures (1) to (3), but in addition to this, the secure environment "OP-TEE" that operates under the Arm(R) TrustZone(R) environment. will be provided in a ready-to-use state, and support for secure elements as standard (mainly used for device certification) and support for secure boot (*planned). The Armadillo Base OS will be installed in the "Armadillo-IoT Gateway G4" to be released in November 2021, and we will continue to work on improving its functions as an OS for IoT devices, and the source code will be released as open source software. Related page Armadillo-IoT Gateway G4 Press Release (Atmark Techno Site) https://www.atmark-techno.com/news/press-release/202109_armadillo-iot-g4Armadillo-IoT Gateway G4 Product Overview (Armadillo Site) https ://armadillo.atmark-techno.com/armadillo-iot-g4 About Atmark Techno and "Armadillo" Detailed information on Atmark Techno Co., Ltd. https://www.atmark-techno.com/ Embedded platform "Armadillo )" series details https://armadillo.atmark-techno.com/ Corporate press release To PRTIMES top