The gulf between the tools we use to prototype and the tools we use to scale is broad. Or is it? Over the years, the embedded world has developed a narrative that there are two types of engineers: “makers” and “real world engineers.” Makers use Arduino and Raspberry Pi, develop using Arduino Wiring/C or Python. Real world engineers use eval boards from semiconductor companies and are never found without an RTOS. The problem is, this narrative isn’t true. Engineers of all types use Arduino, the Pi, and eval boards, depending on the need. And the choice of language is often more about the problem being solved and the goal of the application being written than an engineer’s experience or skill. And yet, for many of us, the venerable Real Time Operating System (RTOS) is still an area of perceived complexity. Perhaps due to the unwieldy-sounding “Operating System” part of the name, RTOSes are still looked upon as a tool only needed for “real” applications. But they don’t have to be. In this session, TJ VanToll and Zak Fields will share their journey from the Arduino world into ZephyrRTOS while building a case for developers to embrace Zephyr for all types of applications, and to make it a primary tool in their tool belt, available for all kinds of embedded applications.