PikeOS is a certifiable real-time operating system and separation-kernel hypervisor for robotics platforms where deterministic control, functional Safety and Cybersecurity must coexist with AI, vision, connectivity and advanced software frameworks.

Its partitioned architecture creates strongly isolated execution environments on a single processor or multi-core SoC. Safety-critical robot functions can therefore run independently from complex or less-trusted applications such as Linux, ROS 2, AI inference, perception, user interfaces or cloud connectivity.

For humanoid robots and cobots operating directly alongside people, this provides a powerful architectural foundation: Innovation can happen in one partition without compromising critical control functions in another.

PikeOS combines the flexibility expected from modern robotics software with technologies proven in some of the world’s most demanding Safety- and Security-critical systems.

Features:

Deterministic Real-Time Control

• Predictable scheduling and hard real-time behavior support time-critical functions including motor control, sensor processing, trajectory execution and actuator coordination.

Safety-Critical Partitioning

• A separation-kernel architecture provides strong spatial and temporal isolation between applications. Faults or excessive resource consumption in AI, Linux or connectivity software cannot interfere with dedicated Safety-critical partitions.

ROS 2 & Linux Integration

• Run ROS 2 and its broader software ecosystem inside an isolated Linux environment while critical real-time control functions execute independently on PikeOS.

Mixed-Criticality Consolidation

• Combine applications with different Safety, Security and real-time requirements on a single computing platform – reducing hardware complexity while maintaining defined separation boundaries.

Safety by Design

• PikeOS has been developed for highly regulated environments and supports certification of critical systems according to demanding functional Safety standards.

Cybersecurity by Design

• The PikeOS Separation Kernel provides a highly assured Security foundation with Common Criteria EAL 5+ certification. Strong isolation helps contain compromised or untrusted applications and protects critical robot functions.

AI without compromising Control

• Separate compute-intensive AI, machine vision and autonomous decision-making workloads from deterministic control tasks, enabling robotics manufacturers to combine innovation with predictable system behavior.

Multi-Core Performance

• Support for SMP and AMP enables modern multi-core processors to be efficiently allocated across control, AI, communication and application workloads.

Hardware Independence

• Broad processor support gives robotics manufacturers flexibility when selecting computing architectures and helps reduce dependency on individual semiconductor platforms.

Long-Term Platform Strategy

• Designed for long-lifecycle embedded systems, PikeOS provides a stable software foundation that can evolve across processor generations and increasingly complex robot architectures.

Specifications: 

Product Type

• Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) and Type 1 Separation-Kernel Hypervisor

Architecture

• Separation kernel with hardware-enforced application partitioning

Real-Time Capability

• Deterministic, pre-emptive real-time scheduling

Mixed-Criticality Support

• Safety-critical, Security-critical and non-critical applications on a shared hardware platform

Guest Environments

• Linux / ELinOS, POSIX, Android, Windows and additional operating environments

Robotics Software

• ROS 2 can be deployed within an isolated Linux partition alongside native real-time PikeOS applications

Processor Architectures

• ARM v7/v8, x86, PowerPC, SPARC/LEON and RISC-V

Multi-Core Support

SMP and AMP multiprocessing

Safety Certifications / Qualification

• DO-178C DAL A
• ECSS Category A
• EN 50716 SIL 4
• ISO 26262 ASIL D
• IEC 61508 SIL 3

Security Certification

• Common Criteria EAL 5+ for the PikeOS Separation Kernel

Development Environment

• SYSGO CODEO integrated development and system configuration environment

Programming Support

• C/C++, Ada and Rust

Typical Robotics Applications

• Humanoid Robots
• Collaborative Robots / Cobots
• Autonomous Mobile Robots
• Industrial Robots
• Service Robots
• Robotic Manipulators
• Autonomous Systems
• Safety-Critical Motion Control
• AI-Enabled Robotic Platforms