Systems Conference Celebrates All Things Embedded

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April 23, 2003 (12:34 PM EDT)

Systems Conference Celebrates All Things Embedded

The embedded systems market, where operating systems and processors are tucked into non-computer devices that range from robots and car navigational systems to smart phones and game consoles, tooted its horn in San Francisco at the Embedded Systems Conference 2003, which opened Tuesday and runs through Saturday.

Scores of companies are using the conference as the platform to roll out new products, from chipsets to development tools and futuristic hovering cameras to interactive exercise bicycles.

Lantronix, for instance, took advantage of the conference's opening day to debut its thumb-sized Xport network server, designed for OEMs that want to quickly add embedded networking capability to their products. The Xport, which is little larger than the RF-45 plug that slips into its 10/100 Ethernet port, includes an operating system, embedded Web server, a full TCP/IP stack, and optional encryption.

"Adding device connectivity is becoming a market necessity among manufacturers," said Glen Allmendinger, president of Harbor Research, a strategic consulting and research firm. The list price for the Xport is $49, and discounts are available in lots of 10,000.

Wind River, one of the leading providers of embedded operating systems, introduced a platform targeting auto information and entertainment systems. The Wind River Platform for Car Infotainment (Platform CI) provides auto makers and car add-on manufacturers an embedded operating system (Wind River's own VxWorks), drivers to connect multiple in-car devices, and support for graphical interfaces and multimedia displays.

Processor maker MIPS Technologies, which specializes in RISC-based microprocessors, touted the several companies that were using the conference to roll out new MIPS-based products. Toshiba, for example, introduced a high-definition digital multimedia decoder based on a MIPS' 64-bit 200-MHz processor.

MontaVista, a key player in the embedded Linux market, announced that its embedded version of the open-source OS had been tweaked to work with Tensilica's Xtensa processors. The pairing of MontaVista Linux Professional Edition 3.0 and Xtensa's OSKit automatically generates updates to the embedded Linux as designers modify the base Xtensa architecture to create their own custom SoC (systems on a chip). The result, according to MontaVista, is faster design and development of Linux-running SoCs.

Wasabi Systems, meanwhile, unveiled the newest version of its development environment for creating embedded devices based on its NetBSD embedded operating system. The environment, which works on systems running Windows, Solaris, and Linux, includes C/C++ development tools, a debugger, and Java editor, and will be attractive to embedded device designers spooked by Linux's requirement to release all changes in open-source OS to the public. Though an open-source operating system, NetBSD has no such licensing requirement.

Among the sexiest products showing at Embedded Systems Conference, however, are the 14 finalists for the Best of Show award.

While many of the 14 are strictly consumer-style offerings -- including an advanced exercise bike with an embedded edition of Windows XP to power the motivational games that encourage users to pedal faster -- some target business.

The Vocera Communications System, which uses Elmic Systems' embedded network protocols, is a small, clip-on device that puts workers in instant voice contact using the wireless 802.11b frequencies. Aimed at employees working within a building or wireless-connected campus who need to stay in frequent contact with others, the gizmo features call blocking, recognizes spoken names (there's no cell phone-style pad for dialing), and handles multi-party, conference calling-like conversations.

Freedom Scientific's PAC Mate, which is powered by Applied Data Systems' Bitsy, a single-board computer that runs Microsoft CE, is a full-featured handheld designed for use by blind workers. The PAC Mate converts objects and text into speech; users operate it from a Braille game console-style controller.