TOKYO, Japan, Mainz, Germany, November 8, 2010 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, and SYSGO, a leading supplier of certifiable operating systems, today announced its collaboration to jointly develop basic software supporting CPU virtualization technology suitable for real-time control applications.
Through the collaboration, Renesas Electronics will develop added functions necessary for the efficient operation of virtualization software enabling high-speed real-time control and improving the usability of the software development environment, incorporating these functions into microcontrollers (MCUs) with V850 CPU core.
SYSGO will port to Renesas Electronics’ V850 core its PikeOS hybrid OS, which enables multiple OSes to run simultaneously on a single CPU, providing virtualization support. SYSGO will assess PikeOS in actual automotive and other applications, and the feedback of their evaluation results will be used to optimize the specifications of PikeOS and Renesas Electronics’ V850 CPU core. In addition to complying with functional safety standards such as DO-178B (Note 1) and EN50128 (Note 2), which PikeOS already supports, the basic software to be developed will include support for the envisioned ISO 26262 functional safety standard and provide security functionality such as support for MILS (Note 3) and EAL (Note 4).
PikeOS is an innovative product, providing an embedded systems platform where multiple virtual machines can run simultaneously in a secure environment. The safe and secure virtualization technology allows multiple operating system APIs to run concurrently on one machine, e.g. an AUTOSAR application together with Linux. The PikeOS microkernel architecture allows it to be used in cost-sensitive, resource-constrained devices as well as large, complex systems. The simplicity and compactness of the PikeOS design results in real-time performance that competes head-to-head with conventional proprietary RTOS solutions. PikeOS is certifiable to safety standards such as DO-178B or IEC 61508, and is also MILS compliant.
“Renesas Electronics is a well-known provider of electronics components with the reputation of being innovative and high quality oriented,” said Jacques Brygier, VP Marketing of SYSGO. “Besides the perfect technical adequacy of the scalable PikeOS with Renesas Electronics’ new V850 platform, the choice of this integration is part of bigger business cooperation with Renesas Electronics that started years ago, including the other SYSGO product, ELinOS.”
“We have been developing a virtualization technology for our V850 architecture to enable control of multiple systems with a single CPU core without mutual interference, allowing high speed and composite control in fields such as industrial machinery and automotive systems, where real-time control is essential,” said Michiya Nakamura, general manager of the 1st MCU Business Division, Renesas Electronics Corporation. “This collaboration with SYSGO enables us to achieve more scalable CPU architecture and to provide virtualization technology that supports our customers in building more flexible development systems.”
(Note 1) DO-178B
A U.S. safety standard for the development of software for airborne systems.
(Note 2) EN50128
A European standard for railway systems (trains). It includes functional safety items. The corresponding international standard is IEC 62279.
(Note 3) MILS (Multiple independent levels of security)
A method of dividing hardware resources into multiple logical components (partitioning) and allocating those components according to predetermined rules.
(Note 4) EAL (Evaluation assurance level)
The levels are defined in ISO/IEC 15408, which sets forth international standards for security quality in information processing technology.
About Renesas Electronics Corporation
Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), the world’s number one supplier of microcontrollers, is a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontrollers, SoC solutions and a broad-range of analog and power devices. Business operations began as Renesas Electronics in April 2010 through the integration of NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723) and Renesas Technology Corp., with operations spanning research, development, design and manufacturing for a wide range of applications. Headquartered in Japan, Renesas Electronics has subsidiaries in 20 countries worldwide. More information can be found at www.renesas.com.
About SYSGO
SYSGO, headquartered in Mainz-Germany, is a leading company that provides embedded software and real-time operating systems worldwide. Since its foundation in 1991, SYSGO has been focused on real-time operating systems for use in embedded devices. The company also developed expertise in embedded Linux that resulted in the introduction in 1999 of the first embedded Linux distribution, called ELinOS. In addition, in 2006 the company released PikeOS, a paravirtualization operating system. Markets include Aerospace & Defense, Automotive. Customers include Airbus, EADS, Thales, Daimler, Raytheon, B. Braun, Rheinmetall, Rockwell-Collins, Nokia Siemens Network, and Rohde & Schwarz. SYSGO has facilities in Germany, France, The Czech Republic and North America, and offers a global distribution and support network, including Europe and the Pacific Rim. More information can be found at www.sysgo.com
