industry news
Subscribe Now

Mercury Releases OpenSAL – Open Source Version of Scientific Algorithm Library

CHELMSFORD, MA. – October 7, 2010 – Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY, www.mc.com), a trusted ISR subsystems provider, announced the availability of OpenSAL, an open source version of its award-winning Scientific Algorithm Library (SAL) for vector math acceleration. SAL is a high-throughput, low-latency signal processing library containing efficient algorithms with the fewest possible instructions and computing resources. OpenSAL provides a robust API, C code reference design and documentation for over 400 SAL math functions. 

“The introduction of OpenSAL is another example of Mercury’s unrelenting focus to bring performance migration to open systems architectures,” stated Dr. Ian Dunn, Chief Technology Officer at Mercury Computer Systems. “We believe that the proliferation of OpenSAL and other open source initiatives such as Open Component Portability Infrastructure (OpenCPI), an open middleware solution that simplifies programming of heterogeneous processing environments such as FPGAs and DSPs, will allow the community to expand its capabilities to benefit the HPEC and academic communities. We envision a large community using OpenSAL and working together to augment it over time,” Dunn added.  

The release of OpenSAL further underscores Mercury’s strategic commitment to industry standards, open architecture, and open systems solutions. An earlier example of this commitment is the OpenVPXspecification effort led by Mercury to enable interoperability for VPX systems, ratified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in June 2010. Like OpenVPX, the introduction of OpenSAL is also a response to customer and Department of Defense (DoD) requirements to migrate towards open architectures and systems for portability, reducing time to theater, lowering cost, while leveraging higher technology readiness levels (TRLs). OpenSAL is an initial step towards enabling the user community to add the values of open architecture to today’s ever expanding compute engines. 

Mercury’s SAL is a de facto industry standard, with thousands of production installations in highly compute intensive, real-time applications such as radar, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence. SAL, MultiCore SAL, VSIPL, and MultiCore VSIPL are components of Mercury’s MultiCore Plus® Software Environment, open, flexible, and optimized libraries for real-time programming. Various accelerated versions of OpenSAL for PowerPC® processors, and Intel processors, as well as GPUs are available from Mercury under commercial license, and also through engagement with Mercury’s Services and Systems Integration team. 

OpenSAL is available for download at www.opensal.net or via http://sourceforge.net/projects/opensal/ . For more information regarding optimization with Mercury’s product line, including SAL and OpenSAL, visit www.mc.com , or contact Mercury at (866) 627-6951 or info@mc.com

Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. – Where Challenges Drive Innovation®

Mercury Computer Systems (www.mc.com, NASDAQ: MRCY) is a best of breed provider of open, application-ready, multi-INT subsystems for the ISR market. With 25+ years’ experience in embedded computing, superior domain expertise in radar, EW, EO/IR, C4I, and sonar applications, and more than 300 successful program deployments including Aegis, Global Hawk, and Predator, Mercury’s Services and Systems Integration team leads the industry in partnering with customers to design and integrate system-level solutions that minimize program risk, maximize application portability, and accelerate customers’ time to market. 

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Dec 8, 2025
If you're yearning for a project that reconnects you with the roots of our digital age, grab a soldering iron and prepare to party like it's 1979!...

featured news

Microchip Unveils First 3 nm PCIe® Gen 6 Switch to Power Modern AI Infrastructure

Sponsored by Microchip

AI systems are starving for bandwidth. Microchip’s 3 nm Switchtec™ Gen 6 PCIe® switches deliver up to 160 lanes, lower power, and CNSA-compliant security—built for the future of AI and cloud infrastructure.

Click here to read more

featured chalk talk

Accelerating the Transition to 48V Power Systems
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Vicor
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Tom Curatolo from Vicor and Amelia Dalton explore the what, where, and how of 48 volt power delivery networks. They also investigate the components of a 48 volt portfolio ecosystem, the advantages of a high-density, modular power design solution and the six things to consider when transitioning to 48 volt power systems. 
Dec 2, 2025
18,954 views