SkiffOS: Minimal Cross-compiled Linux for Embedded Containers

TL;DR

SkiffOS is a minimal, cross-compiled Linux tailored for embedded systems that supports containerization, OTA updates, and flexible hardware configuration, enhancing robustness and reproducibility in IoT and robotics applications.

Contribution

It introduces a configuration layering system for Buildroot that automatically adapts to various platforms, enabling independent upgrades and improved robustness for embedded Linux systems.

Findings

Supports OTA upgrades for host and containers

Automatically re-targets system configurations to different hardware

Separates hardware support from application layer

Abstract

Embedded Linux processors are increasingly used for real-time computing tasks such as robotics and Internet of Things (IoT). These applications require robust and reproducible behavior from the host OS, commonly achieved through immutable firmware stored in read-only memory. SkiffOS addresses these requirements with a minimal cross-compiled GNU/Linux system optimized for hosting containerized distributions and applications, and a configuration layering system for the Buildroot embedded cross-compiler tool which automatically re-targets system configurations to any platform or device. This approach cleanly separates the hardware support from the applications. The host system and containers are independently upgraded and backed-up over-the-air (OTA).