News from last month on Infineon/WIND deal...
Wednesday February 16, 3:04 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Wind River and Infineon Provide Developers with Innovative Hardware/Software Solution for Embedded Systems-on-a-Chip
Tornado Development Environment Now Available for TriCore Unified Processor Architecture from Infineon
NUREMBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2000-- Wind River Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:WIND - news) and Infineon Technologies today announced that Wind River has completed the port of its Tornado(TM) development environment to the TriCore(TM) 32-bit RISC-based unified microprocessor/DSP architecture from Infineon Technologies.
The combination of Wind River's industry-leading embedded software development solution with Infineon Technologies' innovative single instruction set RISC/DSP architecture greatly strengthens the position of the TriCore architecture as a serious alternative for embedded computer peripherals, telecommunications, data communications, consumer electronics and automotive applications.
The 32-bit RISC architecture of TriCore joins Infineon's 8- and 16-bit microprocessor/microcontroller product lines to provide an innovative platform for next-generation embedded systems-on-a-chip designs.
By abolishing the barriers between traditional data processing and digital signal processing, the TriCore architecture simplifies the work and extends the capabilities of engineers who wish to design applications equally adept at processing digital and analog information.
This capability provides a powerful set of system solutions aimed at the design of end products that interpret, process, communicate and add value to analogue sight, sound and tactile inputs and outputs. Target application areas for the TriCore/Tornado solution include automotive powertrain management, networking (data communication, WAN/LAN interfaces), wireless telephone, global positioning system (GPS)-based navigation, and medical imaging.
``The Tornado port marks an important milestone in the evolution of the TriCore architecture from an innovative technology to a complete solution for real-world embedded product development and deployment. Furthermore, by bringing the Tornado environment's VxWorks© real-time operating system into the TriCore picture, developers can build TriCore applications that deliver maximum performance and reliability,' commented Tony Webster, Infineon's senior vice president and general manager, Cores & Modules.
``In today's highly competitive atmosphere, any extra time spent in the development process, including selecting the appropriate hardware/software combination, means a longer time-to-market. Wind River is committed to making this selection process easier by supporting the widest range of processors possible,' added Curt Schacker, vice president of marketing and corporate development for Wind River.
``The TriCore architecture -- by combining microprocessor and DSP functions in a single instruction set -- is one of the most technically interesting processor designs we've worked with. We have ensured that our port is fully optimized to take advantage of these hardware features, opening up many new avenues for our mutual customers to develop next-generation embedded products.'
TriCore Unified Processor Architecture -- Technical Features
The TriCore Unified Processor architecture implements a unified instruction set containing commands for both microcontroller operations and DSP tasks executed by a single processing engine. A hardware-supported task-switching mechanism enables seamless interrupt handling and is critical to enabling TriCore's real-time performance.
This approach eliminates the bottlenecks that are typical in architectures with separate DSP and control logic cores interconnected on a single die. It also eliminates the need for designers to allocate the available processing resources to either DSP or control tasks. This traditional allocation of resources results in a fixed hardware partitioning that may be sub-optimal, often leaving relatively large portions of the processing power idle at any given time.
With TriCore, the computing resources devoted to any single task are variable, providing unprecedented flexibility and software-based functionality. The virtual multitasking capability and superb interrupt response make the architecture an excellent vehicle for deeply embedded applications.
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor solutions for applications in the wireless and wired communications markets, for the automotive and industrial sectors, for security systems and chip cards as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, Calif., and in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore.
In the fiscal year 1999 (ending September), the company achieved sales of US $4.51 billion (EUR 4.24 billion) with 25,800 employees worldwide. Further information at www.infineon.com.
Tornado Development Environment
Available for UNIX, Windows 95, and Windows NT host platforms and more than 20 target processor families, the Tornado development environment is the only complete software cross-development environment for embedded systems.
It is comprised of three highly integrated components: Tornado Tools, the only embedded development tools that include a target hardware simulator for immediate product development; the VxWorks© run-time system, the high-performance, scalable run-time component of the Tornado environment, and a full range of communications options for the target connection to the host.
Completely open and customizable, the Tornado environment also facilitates the use of third-party and customer-developed tools to enhance its capabilities and meet unique customer requirements. The Tornado development environment has more than 500 software and hardware partners and is used by thousands of developers worldwide.
About Wind River
Wind River, windriver.com, is a worldwide leader in embedded software. Wind River provides sofware development tools, real-time operating systems, and advanced connectivity for use in products throughout the Internet, telecommunications and data communications, digital imaging, networking, medical, computer peripherals, automotive, and aerospace/defense markets. Wind River is how smart things think.
Founded in 1983, Wind River is headquartered in Alameda, Calif., with operations in the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Isreal and representation world-wide.
Note to Editors: TriCore is a trademark of Infineon Technologies, Inc. Tornado is a trademark and VxWorks is a registered trademark of Wind River Systems, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.
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