As technologies, needs and markets change, however, so must research communities and symposia. To spearhead and accelerate such changes, RTSS has also been broadening its focus and scope of interest. RTSS 2003 now explores areas of research falling outside the traditional sphere of interest at RTSS. Furthermore, this year's conference has two special tracks: one on hardware-software co-design for embedded real-time systems, and another on the still-emerging area of sensor networks.