TI intros OpenLink, open source wireless connectivity solutions for low power apps

DALLAS, USA: Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) announced delivery of a mobile-grade, battery-optimized Wi-Fi solution to the open source Linux community as part of the OpenLink project, focused on providing a wide range of wireless connectivity solutions for native Linux.

Customers and developers targeting battery-powered Wi-Fi products can now use TI’s OpenLink drivers, gaining native kernel benefits such as tested technologies, faster time-to-market, and simplified re-integration when upgrading from one kernel version to the next.

In addition to Wi-Fi, the OpenLink project includes native Linux solutions for Bluetooth and FM technologies, and will expand to support other technologies such as ANT, Bluetooth Low Energy and ZigBee. TI will also introduce additional low-power features to the kernel when possible.

TI stands as a leader in the mobile Wi-Fi market while also offering the industry’s broadest wireless connectivity portfolio. As a result, the company is uniquely positioned to bring to the Linux kernel a number of low power software features and enhancements that were previously available only in proprietary solutions. These features include support for driver suspend/resume, runtime power management and wake-on-wireless, among others.

“OpenLink marks TI’s commitment to deliver cutting-edge wireless capabilities into the hands of Linux developers,” said Oz Krakowski, open source community manager, wireless connectivity solutions, TI. “We’re enabling built-in kernel access to TI’s latest WiLink™ combo solutions, bringing low power wireless communication to battery-operated mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, eBooks and industrial PDAs. We intend to continue sharing our expertise with regular OpenLink submissions to the Linux kernel—where TI can work collaboratively to strengthen these solutions.”

OpenLink wireless connectivity drivers attach to open source development platforms such as BeagleBoard, PandaBoard and other boards. Whether working with Android, MeeGo or other Linux-based distributions, developers can now access code natively as part of their kernel builds to introduce the latest low-power wireless connectivity solution into their products.