Mentor Graphics announced its acquisition of Embedded Alley
Solutions as a key component of its Android and embedded Linux
strategy Wednesday afternoon at the Design Automation Conference.
Mentor also announced the integration of its Nucleus Graphical User
Interface tool with the ARM Mali graphics processing unit; it
announced the availability of a Linux and Nucleus operating-system
combination for the Marvell Sheeva MV78200 dual-core embedded
processor; and it said that it is extending Embedded Alley's
Android mobile-applications platform to support Freescale
Semiconductor's QorIQ and PowerQUICC III processors.
Glenn Perry, general manager of Mentor's embedded-systems division,
said Mentor would combine its Nucleus RTOS (real-time operating
system) and associated tools and services with Embedded Alley's
Android and Linux development systems to offer device manufacturers
a single source for the operating systems they need for embedded
designs. The goal, he said, is to support Mentor's customers in
supplying complete systems—not just silicon—to their own customers.
"Mentor's strategy acknowledges two strong trends we see in
embedded-device development today," Perry said. "One is a huge
demand for Google's Android platform in new, complex devices beyond
mobile phones for which Android was originally developed. The other
is the growing use of multicore processors in multiple operating
systems, usually Linux and an RTOS like Nucleus."
Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, commented
on the applicability of Linux to embedded applications. "Today,
every person in the modern world uses Linux multiple times every
day," he said, adding that firms worldwide are expanding their use
of open-source software because of the global economic downturn,
and he suggested that Linux could help turn your smart phone,
browser, or television into the next desktop computer. He
acknowledged, however, that continued adoption of Linux in the
embedded space will require professional support.
Mentor said that with the Embedded Alley acquisition, it could
provide such support for Linux as well as Android and Nucleus,
offering the products and services including development tools and
runtime components necessary for customers to get into production.
Ian Ferguson, director of enterprise solutions at ARM, and Simon
Milner, a vice president and general manager at Marvell, were on
hand to voice their support for Mentor's multi-operating-system
approach. Also on hand were John Bourgoin, CEO and president of
MIPS, and Mike Wodopian, a vice president and general manager at
RMI, which uses MIPS technology in chips including its Au1250 SOC,
to tout their support for Android in the embedded space beyond
mobile phones.
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