VIScon Workshop: Hands on Embedded Software Development using Zephyr OS
Event start time 11.10.2025 14:00
Event end time 11.10.2025 16:00
This event is only available for VIScon Symposium or Hackathon participants, as well as Helpers! Please sign up for one of these events first!
Ever wondered how embedded development works beyond the Arduino IDE? Discover how Zephyr OS can simplify your projects by facilitating portability across different hardware platforms. Gain insights into industry-standard practices and scalable system design. With basic C programming knowledge, we will delve into Zephyr’s powerful real-world applications. Please bring your own laptop, running any operating system, as we will provide enough development kits for hands-on exploration. Zephyr is a kernel-based real-time operating system that combines modern development techniques with established practices from the embedded world, providing a powerful environment for building efficient systems. It utilizes a configuration mechanism inspired by device trees, allowing developers to manage hardware setups and system settings with clarity and precision. This approach streamlines the integration of a wide range of hardware platforms while boosting overall reliability and maintainability. With a modular architecture and flexible scheduling policies, Zephyr offers a gentle learning curve while delivering robust performance in real-time, mission-critical applications. Its balanced focus on efficiency, adaptability, and robustness has earned it a strong foothold in industries spanning from resource-constrained IoT devices to complex industrial systems. The workshop begins with a simple application—like an LED blink or "Hello World"—that is built and flashed onto a development kit. This initial exercise illustrates Zephyr OS’s build system, configuration, and seamless hardware integration. The session then moves on to exploring platform portability, including an emulated environment in QEMU, highlighting the system's adaptability. As the workshop progresses, additional features such as connectivity support, an interactive serial shell, and, if time allows, an over-the-air update mechanism are integrated to showcase the broad capabilities available within Zephyr's toolbox. The workshop “Hands on Embedded Software Development using Zephyr OS” would be my favorite proposal, followed by the talk "Zephyr: A modern approach to Real-Time Operating Systems", followed by the talk "Fearless Concurrency in modern Programming Languages"
Additional slots might become available later on. Please use the waiting list!
The VSETH General Privacy Policy applies to this event.
Details and Prerequisites
Workshops may require items VIScon cannot provide (e.g., a Laptop) which you have to bring with you or to set up something (e.g., install software) that would otherwise take up a significant chunk of the workshop. You may also need knowledge in certain fields (e.g., how to program in a specific language). All of this information can be found in the following paragraphs, so you can decide whether you want/can participate in this workshop, or not.
What you have to bring to the workshop:
- a Laptop with:
- Internet connection
- USB Type A connector / adapter
- somewhat up to date OS (Windows and Linux are both fine)
What you have to do before the workshop:
- Optional: Install vscode and the "nRF Connect for VS Code Extension Pack"
Knowledge requirements(/recommendations) for this workshop:
- Basic C/C++ knowlege
FAQ
Why can't I sign up for this workshop?
If you signed up for the main event after the early access deadline (8:00pm, 18th of September), you can sign up from the 21st of September. But don't worry, we will send you a reminder when the sign up opens. Early access is our way to thank early supporters!
The fine print
By participating you agree that pictures and videos can be taken of you that could be used for VIS-Purposes (VISIONEN, Instagram, etc)
By participating, you agree to adhere by the VIS Code of Conduct
Every participant is responsible for their own insurance
All statements are made without guarantee
In general, there are no refunds
Event organisers
Main event organiser Luigi Pizza