The first-ever European OpenHarmony Technical Forum wrapped up in Rotterdam on March 30, 2025, bringing together industry leaders, developers, and academics to talk about the future of open source operating systems. The event, themed "OpenHarmony Technology Innovation and Ecosystem Practice," showcased exciting advancements in the field—and Oniro played a key role in the conversation.
Oniro and OpenHarmony: A Game-Changer for Global Smart Devices
Juan Rico, Oniro Project Manager at the Eclipse Foundation, took the stage to discuss how Oniro and OpenHarmony are working together in his talk, "Paving the Way for a Global Open Source Ecosystem of Smart Devices." He highlighted the challenges of global connectivity for smart devices—things like fragmented tech stacks, different regional standards, and ever-changing regulations. While plenty of solutions exist, a truly universal framework hasn’t been established yet.
But that’s where the collaboration between the Eclipse Foundation and Open Atom Open Source Foundation comes in. Oniro, built on OpenHarmony, is gaining traction in Europe as a powerful open source platform that can help connect smart devices seamlessly.
Helping Developers Get Started with Oniro
Jaroslaw Marek, Chairman of the Oniro Steering and Marketing Committee, followed up with a talk titled "Jumpstart Your Eclipse Oniro Journey: A Practical Guide for Developers and Device Makers." He broke down why Oniro is so important—helping to reduce development costs, eliminate technology silos, and improve IoT connectivity.
He also introduced some cool tools available to developers, including:
- Eclipse Theia IDE for efficient workflows
- A GitHub mirror of OpenHarmony’s codebase for easier collaboration
- QEMU virtualization tools for testing
- Servo Web engine and React Native support for cross-platform development
Marek’s talk made it clear: Oniro isn’t just about ideas—it’s providing the tools developers need to build the future.
Big Names in Open Source at the Forum
The event wasn’t just about Oniro—some of the biggest names in open source technology were also there. Prof. Haibo Chen, Chairman of the OpenHarmony Technical Steering Committee (TSC) and an ACM & IEEE Fellow, gave the keynote speech on "OpenHarmony Technology Innovation and Ecosystem Practice." He talked about the crucial role of software in digital transformation and how OpenHarmony is helping drive that forward through collaborations between academia, industry, and research institutions.
Other standout speakers included:
- Prof. Xia Yubin from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, who spoke on securing mobile data using open source trusted execution environments.
- Kevin Boos, Chief Software Architect at Futurewei, who showcased Rust-based app development for OpenHarmony.
- Magnus Morton from Huawei’s Edinburgh Research Institute, who introduced OpenHarmony development using the Cangjie language.
- Hatem ElKharashy from Qt, who demonstrated Qt Quick3D’s graphics rendering capabilities for OpenHarmony.
- Rakhi Sharma from Igalia, who discussed building a web rendering engine in Rust.
- Liu Yang, VP of Runhe Software, who shared insights on building an OpenHarmony-based industrial ecosystem.
The forum wrapped up with a panel discussion featuring experts like Liu Yutao from Huawei Dresden Research Institute, Prof. Haibo Chen, Juan Rico, Jaroslaw Marek, Adrian O'Sullivan and Prof. Xia Yubin. They debated OpenHarmony’s future, its competitive edge, and how to support developer communities in Europe.
What’s Next for Oniro and OpenHarmony?
The takeaway? Oniro and OpenHarmony are set to make waves in the open source world, bringing smart devices closer together through seamless, open source technology. The Eclipse Foundation and Open Atom Open Source Foundation are proving that cross-border collaboration can solve real-world problems.
