The Open Source Automation Development Lab eG (OSADL) is a German organization intended to promote and coordinate the development of open source software for the machine, machine tool, and automation industry., it has more than 40 member companies[1] from around the world, including machine manufacturers, manufacturers of automation hardware and software, semiconductor companies, user associations and open source software service providers. Membership fees are used for the most part to fund development of the software.
OSADL was founded on December 8, 2005. It was assigned the cooperative register number 440085 at the Stuttgart, Germany, District Court in August 2006.
OSADL is a member of OPC Foundation[2] which governs the OPC UA industrial automation standard, in which the lab is also involved.
"The automation industry and its suppliers are profiting greatly from Open Source operating systems such as Linux since they guarantee long production cycles, rapid troubleshooting and the independence of individual software manufacturers. However, this branch requires specific expansions of the operating system such as real-time capabilities, the compatibility with these expansions must be certifiable, and standardized software interfaces must be available. The development of these requirements is the goal of the Open Source Automation Development Lab (OSADL)."[3]
Over time a number of working groups has been established and projects participated in, this lists some of the more prominent:[4]
[[PREEMPT_RT]])The relevance of the Linux operating system for embedded systems and OSADL's role to foster its real-time capabilities are recognized.[8]