The latest version of Canonical OS for IoT and embedded systems, Ubuntu Core 22, introduces real-time support for applications in robotics and industry.
With a 10y LTS and a special focus on security, Ubuntu Core is a containerized version of Canonical Linux-based OS specifically crafted for IoT devices and embedded systems.
Ubuntu Core leverage containerization to enforce a clean separation the kernel, OS image and applications. Additionally, it supports "on the air updates" to make it easier for customers to update their app in a transactional way and reducing network traffic by only transmitting diffs. Devices running Ubuntu Core can also have their dedicated IoT App Store which allows to control which apps can be installed.
Among Ubuntu Core features, specifically meant to ensure security are full disk encryption, sandboxed apps through Canonical snaps, secure boot using cryptographic validation of all components involved in the boot sequence, vulnerability scanning, and more. Additionally, Ubuntu Core provides a recovery mode that can be activated manually on boot or remotely via an API.
The most noteworthy new feature in Ubuntu Core 22 is support for real-time compute, available in beta. Ubuntu Core 22 includes indeed a fully preemptible kernel, which makes it possible to enforce time-bound responses. Being fully preemptible means the scheduler can preempt threads in the kernel, including in critical sections, interrupt handlers, and interrupt-disable code sequences. Furthermore, Ubuntu Core sports a special kernel version using PREEMPT_RT patches to minimize non-preemptible critical sections in kernel code.
Canonical is also offering its Ubuntu Certified Hardware program to silicon and hardware manufacturers to enable advanced real-time features out of the box. Thanks to real-time support, says Canonical, Ubuntu Core can power ultra-low latency systems and provide the required workload predictability for time-sensitive industrial, telco, automotive, and robotics application.
Ubuntu Core 22 is available for a number of platforms, including Raspberry Pi, snapdragon, Intel NUC, AMD Xilinx, and others. It can be downloaded from Canonical's website.