Wind River Reinvents the Real-Time Operating System for the Internet of Things

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

•    Company introduces next-generation VxWorks real-time operating system platform.
•    RTOS re-architected into a modular and scalable platform for wide range of connected devices, from consumer wearables to large networking equipment.
•    Wind River demonstrates commitment to helping companies capitalize on emerging Internet of Things opportunities.

EMBEDDED WORLD, NUREMBERG, Germany — February 26, 2014

Wind River®, a world leader in delivering software for intelligent connected systems, announced that it has reinvented the real-time operating system (RTOS) to address the new market opportunities created by the Internet of Things (IoT). The latest release of VxWorks® will further reinforce the company’s leadership in its traditional markets such as aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial, and also enable the company to extend its reach into emerging applications enabled by IoT.
“The IoT has significantly changed the embedded landscape,” said Dinyar Dastoor, vice president of product management at Wind River. “An RTOS must deliver not only the expected core real-time, deterministic performance and reliability, but an entirely new level of value that is demanded by the highly connected, security conscious, remotely-managed IoT world. Our game-changing release of VxWorks 7 and the reinvention of the basic RTOS is a demonstration of our commitment to help companies address the new challenges and opportunities in IoT.”
Recognized as the industry-leading RTOS, VxWorks has been re-architected with a highly modular approach leading to the separation of the VxWorks core operating system from packages such as the file system or networking stack. As a result, individual applications can now be updated at any time without requiring a rework or retest of the entire system, increasing scalability and the ability to quickly adjust to market changes.
The latest release of VxWorks includes the following new features and enhancements:
•    Modularity: New modular approach allows customers to apply targeted, efficient upgrades to packages and protocols without changing the system core which minimizes testing and recertification efforts and allows customers to sustain their systems on the cutting edge of technology.
•    Security: Comprehensive set of built-in security features includes secure data storage, tamper proof design, secure upgrade, root of trust, and user and policy management.
•    Safety: Enhanced functionality to address the increasing need for safety applications in medical, industrial, transportation, aerospace and defense.
•    Scalability: A combination of the microkernel and the standard kernel, built on the same VxWorks platform, allows customers to reduce development and maintenance costs by leveraging one RTOS foundation across different classes of connected devices, from small-footprint consumer wearables to large networking equipment and everything in between.
•    Connectivity and Graphics: Support for a broad range of industry-leading standards and protocols such as USB, CAN, Bluetooth, FireWire, and Continua, as well as out-of-the-box, high-performance networking capabilities. The graphics ready platform includes a new highly efficient stack based on the published OpenVG™* API, hardware-assisted graphics drivers and the Tilcon graphics designer tool.

The company has also enhanced its Wind River Workbench suite of developer tools for VxWorks. The suite now includes a new state-of-the-art System Analysis package that provides instant detailed access to code and system behavior, allowing developers to simultaneously optimize their code and detect bugs, memory leaks, and interlocks.
“OEMs are already responding to the business opportunities and technical requirements driven by the emergence of the Internet of Things,” said Chris Rommel, executive vice president of M2M and embedded technology at VDC Research. “Many of these connected systems require operating systems that offer more flexibility and scalability — while maintaining the determinism needed for mission-critical applications. The new capabilities found within VxWorks 7 address this evolving industry need and should help Wind River maintain its position of leadership within the RTOS market.”
More information about VxWorks 7 is available at www.windriver.com/vxworks/reinvented. And to learn more about how Wind River is addressing the opportunities and challenges created by the Internet of Things, visit www.windriver.com/iot/ .

About Wind River

Wind River, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel® Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), is a world leader in delivering software for intelligent connected systems. The company has been pioneering computing inside embedded devices since 1981, and its technology is found in more than 1 billion products. Wind River offers the industry’s most comprehensive embedded software portfolio supported by world-class global professional services and support, and a broad partner ecosystem. Wind River delivers the technology and expertise that enables the innovation and deployment of safe, secure, and reliable intelligent systems. To learn more, visit Wind River at www.windriver.com.