Embedded Linux gains on Microsoft, Wind River

Revenues from the open source operating system used in consumer electronics and industrial automation devices is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 22 percent to $118.5 million by 2006 from $65.2 million last year, Venture Development Corp. said in releasing a new report on the embedded industry.

Based on an end-user survey, VDC found that embedded developers using Linux most often said they had used Microsoft's Windows CE/.Net, Wind River's VxWorks or an in-house developed OS in their previous project.

"In the past, consumer electronics and industrial automation devices have been major markets for Windows CE/.NET," VDC analyst Stephen Balacco said in a statement. "However, we now see a trend toward use of embedded Linux in these devices,"

VDC expects displacement of VxWorks to be the result of telecom/data-communication requirements consolidating around carrier-grade Linux. For developers using in-house operating systems, migrating to Linux offers a way of combining their technology with a system that gives them access to source code, full control over development and minimal licensing costs, VDC said.