OpenHarmony a thriving open-source ecosystem

OpenHarmony, backed by institutions such as Huawei and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, has rapidly grown into one of the world's most active and dynamic open-source communities.

With more than 110 million lines of code and 8,000 contributors, the project has achieved remarkable progress since its inception in 2020, Shanghai Daily learnt over the weekend.

OpenHarmony have been instrumental in the development of HarmonyOS, which powers a growing number of Huawei devices and turns an alternative to Android and iOS. Initially focused on wearables, OpenHarmony now supports a wide range of devices, including smartphones and even vehicles.

It contributes various devices across several industrial sectors, covering finance, energy, education, transportation, medical and aerospace, said Gong Ti, the OpenHarmony working committee chairman, who is also Huawei Terminal Business Group's software division president.

Gong emphasized that OpenHarmony is more than just an alternative operating system to iOS and Android. It is a comprehensive platform designed for all connected devices worldwide.

HarmonyOS, derived from OpenHarmony, is currently powering more than 900 million devices globally. Huawei recently launched the public beta testing of HarmonyOS Next, a new and enhanced version of the operating system. This move is seen as a strategic step for Huawei to reduce its reliance on American technologies and mitigate the impact of related sanctions.

As a key academic contributor of OpenHarmony, Shanghai Jiao Tong University has established a OpenHarmony developer club with more than 60 members, including students and professors who majored in artificial intelligence, electronics and machinery.

At the Shanghai conference, the university club showcased related applications, such as large language model or LLM-powered intelligent control for smartphones, motion capture used in digital factories to avoid unexpected mistakes and computer vision used in autonomous driving.

"We are glad to contribute in the OpenHarmony community, as we are confident of HaromonyOS system and Huawei," said Ge Yiheng, a student of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.