Demonstration of an Embedded Capability-Based Operating System

We propose to demonstrate the capability-based operating system CapROS running a home control application on the ARM embedded processing platform. Capability-based systems have documented advantages in security and reliability, but no commercial system is available for an embedded processor. The demonstration will include software to monitor a variety of sensors and control electrical loads based on the effective cost of power and other resources. This application will demonstrate the system’s performance parameters, its ability to interface to a variety of sensors and actuators, its ability to reliably and securely integrate software from many different sources, and its ability to communicate with a desktop system. The demonstration will include running a program in a confined environment to demonstrate the robustness of the system and its ability to meet flexible security requirements. These characteristics are all of value in military and other commercial applications, and plans are being developed to use the operating system in a home automation product. The project will examine the performance of the system and some design issues surrounding the use of orthogonal persistence, and will provide valuable experience with building applications for a capability-based system.