ARM Cortex-M3 reference platform running Micrium μC/OS II released on OVP

THAME, ENGLAND: Imperas earlier this month released a reference virtual platform based on the ARM Cortex-M3 processor, using the Micrium μC/OS II RTOS.

This reference platform will benefit embedded system designers by providing open source models of the virtual platform, enabling a quicker start to software development and testing with the virtual platform. In addition, Imperas now has expanded its Multiprocessor/Multicore Software Development Kit (M*SDK) to include CPU-aware support for the Cortex-M3 processor model, and OS-aware support for the μC/OS II RTOS.

The reference virtual platform models, including the processor model for the Cortex-M3 processor, are now available from Open Virtual Platforms (OVP). The μC/OS II RTOS is available from the Micrium website. M*SDK is available from Imperas.

“ARM regards virtual platforms as a key component of any embedded software development methodology,” said Ian Johnson, Third Party Relations Manager, ARM. “Imperas’ support of this type of methodology with both their OVP and M*SDK tools and their work with Micrium to provide a more complete solution is a good example of the high level of support the industry expects from ARM Connected Community members.”

The reference virtual platform, including processor model and peripheral models, as well as models of other ARM processors and other example platforms, are available at www.OVPworld.org/ARM. The models of the ARM Cortex processors, as well as models of the other ARM processors, including the ARM7, ARM9, ARM10 and ARM11 processor families, work with the Imperas and OVP simulators, and have shown exceptionally fast performance of hundreds of millions of instructions per second.

“Application software and the use of a real-time operating system (RTOS) are key to the success of many embedded systems,” said Jean Labrosse, president of Micrium. “Virtual platforms are gaining ground by allowing developers to code and test a fair portion of their systems prior to running on actual hardware. Our μC/OS family of products, when combined with solutions from Imperas, can significantly help developers reduce time to market.”

All OVP models are instruction accurate, and very fast, enabling embedded software developers, especially those building hardware-dependent software such as firmware and bare metal applications, to have a development environment available early to accelerate the software development cycle.

Virtual platforms utilizing these OVP processor models can be created with the OVP peripheral and platform models, or the processor models can be integrated into SystemC/TLM-2.0 based virtual platforms using the native TLM-2.0 interface available with all OVP models. The OVP simulator also has integration into the Eclipse IDE, enabling easy use for software developers.

In addition to working with the OVP simulator, these models work with the Imperas advanced tools for multicore software verification, analysis and debug, M*SDK, which includes tools for software development on virtual platforms such as OS and CPU-aware tracing, profiling and code coverage analysis.

“Whether systems are based on high-end microcontrollers like the ARM Cortex-M3 processor, or more complex multicore processors, embedded software today requires state of the art software development tools,” said Simon Davidmann, president and CEO, Imperas and founding director of the OVP initiative. “OVP, with ultrafast simulation, accelerates the development cycle and makes debug and test easier for software engineers. And M*SDK provides a more sophisticated set of tools addressing bleeding edge embedded software development issues.”