A multithreaded Java microcontroller for thread-oriented real-time event-handling

We propose a multithreaded Java microcontroller (called Komodo microcontroller) with a new hardware event handling mechanism that allows handling of simultaneous overlapping events with hard real-time requirements. Real-time Java threads are used as interrupt service threads (ISTs) instead of interrupt service routines (ISRs). Our proposed Komodo microcontroller supports multiple ISTs with zero-cycle context switching overhead. We evaluate the basic architectural attributes using real-time event parameters of an autonomous guided vehicle. When calculating the maximum vehicle speed without violating the real-time constraints, ISTs dominate ISRs by a speed increase of 28%