Custom Linux distributions, board support packages, and RTOS integration for ARM, RISC-V, and x86 platforms. Yocto and Buildroot expertise with production-grade OTA, secure boot, and long-term maintenance.
Every modern embedded product needs a software platform — a custom Linux distribution stripped to essentials, optimized for boot time and resource usage, secured for field deployment, and maintainable for the product's 10-15 year lifecycle. Promwad builds these platforms using Yocto Project and Buildroot, with full BSP development for custom hardware.
Our embedded Linux practice covers the full stack from bootloader (U-Boot, UEFI) through kernel configuration and driver development to userspace application frameworks. We integrate real-time domains (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, QNX) for applications requiring deterministic timing alongside Linux. Every platform includes OTA update capability, secure boot chain, and automated build/test infrastructure.
Built a custom Yocto distribution for an automotive Tier-1's next-generation infotainment system on NXP i.MX 8QuadMax. Integrated AGL (Automotive Grade Linux) application framework, Wayland/Weston compositor with GPU acceleration, and A/B OTA via SWUpdate. Achieved 3.2-second cold boot to first UI frame.
Developed a Buildroot-based Linux platform for an industrial IoT gateway on TI AM6254. Supports IO-Link, Modbus TCP, MQTT, and OPC UA protocols simultaneously. Integrated Docker containerization for customer application deployment. SWUpdate OTA with delta updates to minimize bandwidth over cellular connections.
Performed full Linux bring-up on a custom RISC-V SoC for a European semiconductor startup. Ported U-Boot, mainlined device tree bindings, developed custom peripheral drivers (SPI, I2C, UART, PCIe), and built a Yocto BSP layer for customer distribution. Contributed upstream kernel patches.
Client identities changed. Methodologies and outcomes are real.
Full custom BSP from silicon to application — optimized boot time, minimal footprint, production-grade security with secure boot chain.
Resilient over-the-air update system with A/B partitioning, cryptographic verification, and automatic rollback on failure.
Yocto is the right choice for complex products with long lifecycles, multiple variants, and enterprise-grade requirements (OTA, security, compliance). Buildroot is faster to set up and better suited for simpler, resource-constrained devices where build reproducibility is less critical. For automotive, Yocto with AGL is the industry standard. We help clients choose during the architecture phase.
Yes. We offer maintenance contracts covering kernel LTS updates, CVE patching, Yocto release migrations (every 6 months), and security advisory response. Our longest active maintenance engagement is 10+ years for an industrial platform.
We use asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) where the SoC supports it — for example, Linux on Cortex-A cores and FreeRTOS on Cortex-M or Cortex-R cores (NXP i.MX 8M, TI AM64x). For stricter isolation, we deploy Xen or Jailhouse hypervisors to partition the system into safety-critical RTOS domains and general-purpose Linux domains.
Standard Linux with PREEMPT_RT provides deterministic scheduling down to ~50us worst-case latency, sufficient for most industrial applications. For harder real-time requirements (<10us), we use dedicated RTOS cores via AMP or Xenomai co-kernel. We benchmark latency on target hardware during the evaluation phase.