William Lamie Explained

William Lamie
Birth Date:July 15, 1961
Birth Place:Hawaii, U.S.
Other Names:Bill Lamie
Education:Central Michigan University (CMU)
San Diego State University (SDSU)
Occupation:software engineer, businessman, investor
Years Active:1980s–present
Known For:Creator of real-time operating systems Nucleus, ThreadX, PX5

William (Bill) Lamie (born 15 July 1961) is an American software engineer. He is known as the author of the Nucleus, ThreadX and PX5 real-time operating systems (RTOS).[1] [2] [3]

Early life and education

Lamie was born in Hawaii and grew up in Southern California and then Michigan. Bill started his Computer Science studies at Central Michigan University (CMU). His father Edward Lamie was a Computer Science professor and department head at CMU, where he first realized that Computer Science was his passion. In 1985, he completed his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) degree from San Diego State University (SDSU).

Business career

Lamie's area of expertise within the field of Computer Science lies in real-time operating systems (RTOS). His interest in this field was sparked during his initial employment at Digital Wizards, a San Diego-based company. Digital Wizards provided the US Navy an RTOS called Executive Operating System (EXOS), of which he was a major contributor. After EXOS, he worked for Scientific Atlanta and then started consulting in the real-time, embedded arena.

Accelerated Technology (now part of Siemens)

In the late 1980s Lamie created the Nucleus RTOS and co-founded Accelerated Technology (ATI), which is now part of Siemens Embedded. The Nucleus RTOS comprised two variants, namely Nucleus RTX and Nucleus PLUS. Nucleus PLUS offered dynamic object creation/deletion capabilities and a more extensive range of functionality compared to Nucleus RTX. As of 2023, the Nucleus RTOS has been employed in approximately 3 billion devices.[4] In 1995, he made the decision to depart from Accelerated Technology.

Express Logic (now part of Microsoft)

In 1997, Lamie created a new real-time operating system known as ThreadX and co-founded Express Logic, a software development company. In 2019, Microsoft acquired Express Logic, including the ThreadX technology.[5] [6] ThreadX gained recognition in the embedded industry for its advantages in terms of size, performance, and simplicity when compared to the Nucleus RTOS. According to VDC Research, ThreadX has been deployed in nearly 11 billion instances. Following the acquisition, Microsoft rebranded the technology as Azure RTOS.[7]

PX5

In 2022, Lamie left Microsoft and introduced a new RTOS known as the PX5 RTOS. The PX5 RTOS differentiates itself from ThreadX by leveraging data encapsulation and Pointer/Data Verification (PDV) techniques, resulting in notable benefits in terms of size, speed, and security. Moreover, the PX5 RTOS features a native implementation of the POSIX pthreads API, an IEEE standard, enabling code sharing across embedded Linux platforms and reducing the need for additional engineering training. Subsequently, in January 2023, he established a new company named PX5.[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bill Lamie: Story of a man and his real-time operating systems. 3 September 2010. Embedded.com. Bernard. Cole. Toni. McConnel. 18 September 2023.
  2. Web site: Embedded Executive: Bill Lamie, President and CEO, PX5. 1 February 2023. Embedded Computing Design. Rich. Nass. 18 September 2023.
  3. Web site: Five Minutes With...Bill Lamie, CEO/Co-Founder, Express Logic. Embedded Computing Design. 15 April 2015. Rich. Nass. 18 September 2023.
  4. Web site: Nucleus RTOS hits 30, boosts safety certifications. 26 March 2023. eeNews Europe. Nick. Flaherty. 21 September 2023.
  5. Web site: Microsoft acquires Express Logic for its real-time internet of things operating system. 18 April 2019. VentureBeat. Kyle. Wiggers. 21 September 2023.
  6. Web site: How Does The Express Logic Acquisition Help Microsoft And The IoT Ecosystem. Forbes. 21 April 2019. Janakiram. MSV. 21 September 2023.
  7. Web site: Building IoT solutions with RTOS. 9 June 2021. Microsoft Tech Community. Martin. Tuip. 21 September 2023.
  8. Web site: PX5 RTOS Simplifies Development of 64-bit Hard Real-Time Applications with Support for IAR Embedded Workbench for Arm . . . 12 June 2023 . 22 August 2023.
  9. Web site: PX5: a new RTOS for real-time multithread scheduling in under 1KB . 27 February 2023 . Saumitra . Jagdale . Embedded.com . 29 August 2023.
  10. Web site: New PX5 RTOS Boasts Native Support for POSIX pthreads API . 9 February 2023 . Max . Maxfield . Electronic Engineering Journal . 25 August 2023.
  11. Web site: IAR Systems Fully Supports the Brand-new Industrial-Grade PX5 RTOS . 26 January 2023 . Automation.com . 29 August 2023.
  12. Web site: Reducing safety and security risks for embedded systems . MMG Publishing . 29 August 2023.
  13. Web site: IAR Systems implements PX5 RTOS for its IAR Embedded Workbench . 17 June 2023 . IoT Now . 29 August 2023.
  14. Web site: IAR Systems adds support for PX5 industrial-grade RTOS . . 26 January 2023 . Steve . Bush . 29 August 2023.