Zephyr is an open source real-time operating system (RTOS) for embedded systems developed by the Linux Foundation. It is used in various areas, e.g. in industrial control systems, radio and sensor systems. The operating system is modular and flexible, supports various hardware architectures and is particularly suitable for devices with limited resources and time-critical applications 

As an open source project, Zephyr is freely accessible and benefits from a large developer community. This ensures rapid innovation, regular updates and extensive documentation.

Zephyr is intended for professional application scenarios and provides possibilities that go beyond the tools of the maker scene. Thanks to its architecture, Zephyr is also suitable for placing existing microcontroller applications on a new, non-proprietary platform. At the same time, Zephyr is supported (technically and financially) by the major chip manufacturers.

It can be assumed that Zephyr will be the standard development platform for embedded systems in the professional environment in the next 3 to 5 years. The existing involvement of Google, Meta, Cariad (VW Group) and also Zeiss underpins this assumption.

In recent years, Navimatix has built up a team of Zephyr experts and has been offering more meetups, workshops and training courses for getting started with the Zephyr RTOS and for specialisation since 2024. We are supported in this endeavour by our collaboration with inovex GmbH, Zephyr® Project and the Linux Foundation.

By organising a conference on ‘Zephyr in Science and Education’, we want to make the RTOS better known and promote it in (university) education. Over the next few years, students will bring knowledge of the technology to scientific institutions and commercial enterprises, which will hopefully lead to a further spread of its use.

The aims of the planned conference include:

• Increased use of Zephyr in academic education

• Integration of Zephyr in research and science

• Networking of ‘trainers’ to exchange methods and training approaches

• Exchange on teaching content and methodological teaching approaches, particularly in the area of embedded system development