Tensilica Offers Automatically Configured RTOS and Development System Support for Xtensa LX Configurable Processor

Update: Cadence Completes Acquisition of Tensilica (Apr 24, 2013)

Tensilica Provides the Only Configurable Processors with Automated Changes to Software

Santa Clara, Calif. – March 1, 2005 – Tensilica, Inc., the only company to automate the design of optimized application-specific configurable processors, today announced that it has teamed up with leading real-time operating system (RTOS) and integrated development environment (IDE) vendors to provide automated customization that match any and all changes designers might make to Tensilica’s new XtensaÒ LX configurable processor. Automated support is now available for Wind River Systems (NASDAQ: WIND) Platforms, specifically VxWorks and TORNADO II for VxWorks , and the Nucleus RTOS from Accelerated Technology®, a Mentor Graphics division.

“Since 2000, Tensilica has been the only configurable processor company that automatically creates the software tool set with extensions that match all configuration changes and extensions to the Xtensa processors,” stated Steve Roddy, vice president of marketing, Tensilica. “With Xtensa LX, we’ve added some extraordinary capabilities for customization, and all of these capabilities are now automatically comprehended by these popular operating systems and development environments. Using our patented automation capabilities, the design team gets the customized processor as well as matching customizations to all tools, operating systems and development environments in approximately one hour.”

Other configurable processor companies require that design teams manually port operating systems to their architectures, increasing development time, cost and risk.

Accelerated Technology’s Nucleus RTOS
The Nucleus RTOS provides a scalable and robust platform that meets the high processing needs of all types of today’s embedded systems, and has been widely used in mobile applications. Tensilica offers full support of the Nucleus embedded software product line, including major products such as the Nucleus NET embedded TCP/IP stack and the Nucleus GRAFIX portable graphical user interface. In addition, a board support package (BSP) for use with Tensilica’s XT-2000 emulation board can be automatically generated.

“As devices get smaller and smaller, the number of complex features increases,” said Robert Day, director of marketing, Embedded Systems Division, Mentor Graphics. The royalty-free Nucleus RTOS meets the needs of consumer electronics developers building these compact, feature-rich applications by providing an RTOS that is scalable and robust, but with a small memory footprint. This allows developers using Tensilica’s Xtensa LX processors to choose which capabilities they want for their application.

Wind River’s VxWorks and TORNADO Development Environment

Wind River’s popular VxWorks RTOS provides an extremely reliable runtime platform for embedded application development, with over 1800 powerful application program interfaces (APIs). VxWorks comprises the core capabilities of the wind® microkernel along with advanced networking support, powerful file system and I/O management, and C++ and other standard run-time support. Tensilica offers full support of VxWorks so it can be scaled to work with the simplest to very complex product designs. Tensilica’s customers can take advantage of the proven and familiar TORNADO development platform for new product development.

“The scalable VxWorks is the industry leading device software operating system deployed in over 30 million devices. With a focus on performance, scalability, and footprint, VxWorks enables developers to run device software faster, better, and more reliably,” said Warren Kurisu, director of platforms product management, Wind River. “By supporting the advanced features of the new Xtensa LX processor, we’re providing designers with a very powerful development and run-time environment for applications ranging from mobile phones to industrial control.”

About Tensilica

Tensilica was founded in July 1997 to address the growing need for optimized, application-specific microprocessor solutions in high-volume embedded applications. With a configurable and extensible microprocessor core called Xtensa, Tensilica is the only company that has automated and patented the time-consuming process of generating a customized microprocessor core along with a complete software development tool environment, producing new configurations in a matter of hours. For more information, visit www.tensilica.com.