Mentor Graphics Collaboration with National Instruments Speeds Time to Market with Faster Test Bench Development

WILSONVILLE, Ore., July 26, 2010-Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) today announced that collaborative efforts with National Instruments have resulted in a solution that provides test-oriented feedback to design teams at every step of the design process. The new SystemVisionT SVX Client environment for the NI LabVIEW software allows designers to develop their test bench against a virtual prototype based upon their specification, and then use the exact same test bench in the NI LabVIEW software on physical prototypes. This process allows test bench development to be done in parallel with system development and prototyping, speeding time to market and time to certification.

The combined power of the SystemVision SVX multi-discipline collaboration environment with the NI LabVIEW software, the industry's leading graphical system design software, allows test program development to proceed without waiting for physical prototypes. With this solution, test program developers can not only deliver ready-to-go product tests, they can also provide test-oriented feedback to the design teams. The SystemVision SVX environment provides a virtual prototyping of the entire system, while the LabVIEW software implements test program development and execution.

"Unlike the traditional design, simulation, and test sequential process, the combination of SystemVision SVX with LabVIEW provides for continuous product test program development much earlier in the development cycle, which provides a traceability that is particularly appealing in businesses with high levels of required certification," said John Pasquarette, vice president of Software Product Marketing at National Instruments.  "We are pleased that a case study of this approach will be presented by a major implantable medical electronics company at the upcoming NIWeek 2010 graphical system design conference."

The SystemVision SVX environment is a virtual execution environment that connects otherwise isolated, domain-specific modeling and software tools dynamically-at any phase of the design process-over a secure, managed signal channel. Its client-server architecture provides for precise, distributed, time-synchronized interfaces between signal generators and consumers, which are easily placed, as symbols, in graphical tools. In addition, a C/C++ Application Programming Interface (API) makes it easy for application embedded software to interact with models of control systems, multi-physics subsystems, sensors and actuators, and analog and digital electronics.

"The SystemVision SVX environment allows designers to create a precise virtual prototype based upon the product's specifications," said Serge Leef, vice president, System-Level Engineering Division, Mentor Graphics. "This allows the test bench to be developed simultaneously with product development, providing earlier test feedback into the design process, and greatly shortening design cycles by making development and test parallel rather than serial. The result is significantly faster time to market and time to certification."

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $800 million. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/.

About National Instruments

National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. NI empowers customers with off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 30,000 different companies worldwide, with no one customer representing more than 3 percent of revenue and no one industry representing more than 15 percent of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 5,000 employees and direct operations in more than 40 countries. For the past 11 years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.

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