Wind River delivers software foundation for next generation of in-vehicle infotainment devices

BANGALORE, INDIA: Wind River, a world leader in embedded and mobile software, has introduced the latest version of Wind River Platform for Infotainment, a software platform on which automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 suppliers can develop sophisticated in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) devices.

Coupled with Wind River’s rapidly growing ecosystem of independent software vendors (ISVs), Wind River Platform for Infotainment helps automotive OEMs and their suppliers develop feature-rich applications that address increasingly technology-savvy consumer expectations. Wind River’s infotainment platform supports multiple hardware architectures including leading ARM and the Intel Atom processor-based platforms accompanied by a variety of software development and test tools.

Beyond traditional navigation and telematics capabilities, Wind River Platform for Infotainment also enables OEMs and their suppliers to deliver top-of-the-line features such as high-end multimedia, Internet access while maintaining strong security standards, and wired or wireless connectivity options that are in line with the growing consumer electronics demands of device convergence and ubiquitous connectivity.

By providing a commercial software product compliant with the GENIVI open source platform, Wind River Platform for Infotainment delivers the benefits of open source innovation with a proven commercial Linux offering. In addition to an integrated, tested and validated IVI software platform, Wind River offers world-class customization and consulting services and global support, which help in the management of highly detailed requirements and complex project planning.

“Wind River Platform for Infotainment provides automotive equipment manufacturers with a solid technology foundation to build the next generation of IVI devices and allows them to focus efforts on further innovating their products and distinguishing themselves from the competition,” said Michael Krutz, VP of worldwide solutions and services at Wind River.

“By using open source software based on the GENIVI standard and working with a rich ecosystem of automotive software partners, Wind River is helping accelerate innovation within the industry while also giving customers the critical jump-start in development to enable them to significantly reduce their time-to-market and lower costs.”

New features for Wind River Platform for Infotainment include the following:
* Support available for multiple hardware architectures, including ARM and Intel Atom–based architectures.

* Ready-to-go iPhone and iPod support that allows suppliers to easily integrate related solutions and reduce bill of material costs, and simulation of the iPod interface on the IVI head unit, or “iPod Out” feature.

* An application framework that is specially designed for easy development of applications and graphical user interface creation.

* Wind River Hypervisor support that enables embedded virtualization for multi-OS capabilities within the control module or head unit of the IVI device.

Wind River Platform for Infotainment is among the first GENIVI-compliant automotive solutions. The GENIVI Alliance is a non-profit organization committed to driving the broad adoption of an in-vehicle infotainment reference platform.

A founding member of the GENIVI Alliance, Wind River plays a key role in this consortium by developing, integrating, testing and contributing key automotive middleware and hardware integration components.

Wind River has a strong history of automotive expertise and innovation, and currently more than two-thirds of the GENIVI Alliance’s OEM and Tier 1 members are customers of Wind River’s leading-edge and proven technologies and services.