VIRTUOSO Nano RTOS
by High-Tech Services Partners

Software Overview

VIRTUOSO Nano is a very small and superfast interruptible multi-tasking kernel that combines the 
speed of Interrupt Services Routines with the flexibility of dynamic tasks. Each nanokernel process 
has its own stack and is round-robin scheduled. The use of a reduced register context and a 
dedicated set of synchronization and communication services result in sub-microsecond context 
switch and service times. The application is controlled from within an interruptible main() 
function in C. Interrupt disabling times are reduced to the sub-microsecond range.
System-wide message passing (synchronous and asynchronous) and a fully distributed semantics are 
included with the VSP implementation. This allows the developer to make abstraction of the 
pecularities of communication and synchronization between the multiple processors and to 
concentrate instead on optimizing his algorithms. This VSP implementation greatly speeds up 
application development.
Services: Process creation and management, process (de-)scheduling, semaphore channels, linked-list 
channels, stack-based channels, FIFO channels, system-wide FIFO ports, timed events, interfaces 
with ISRs. The user can add application-specific services.
Applications: Ultra-fast systems for control, robotics, telecommunications, signal and image 
processing, that are primarily based on asynchronous dataflow.

Features and Benefits

•	Programming in assembler. The main() can be programmed mostly in C. Nanokernel processes are 
programmed in a mixture of assembler and C.
•	Hosts supported include PC, Sun Workstations, VME-native SPARC SBC.

Processor and System Specifications

•	Code size: about 200 instructions in a single-processor implementation on TI TMS320C40. Code and 
stack fit in internal RAM. With multiprocessor support: ±500 instructions. Virtual Single Processor 
implementation: about 1k instructions.

Availability

•	Texas Instruments' TMS320C3x and TMS320C4x.
•	Porting on custom-designed boards at an extra charge.

Company Background and Contact Information

HSP is specialized in supplying integrated high-performance parallel-processing systems. The 
company is among the first to use extensively MIMD multi-processor structures to implement 
real-time and/or number-crunching applications, with an emphasis on a system approach. Where 
needed, special hardwares, basic software, and application software are developed on a specific 
basis.
Contact:	Nguyen Huu Duyet
		HSP
		43, Boulevard Vauban
		78280 Guyancourt - France
		+33 - 1 - 30 57 31 13
		Fax: +33 - 1 - 30 43 51 17