Mentor Blogs

Here at Mentor Graphics we are always pleased to get customer feedback on the use of our technology for embedded software development. One such customer is Imagination Technologies whose “Pure” product division has used our embedded user interface (UI) technology and services to create and power the UI in their outstanding “Pure Avalon 300R Connect Freeview+ HD Digital TV Recorder”. … Read More

HMI, Inflexion, RTOS, UI, Nucleus, Nucleus ReadyStart

Ever since the launch of the iPhone there has been a focus on user interfaces (UI) in embedded devices. This initial UI focus was on consumer devices – initially other smartphones, but it then moved to other consumer products like TV and set-top-box. It is fair to say that Mentor has helped a significant number of the developers of these products create some pretty stunning UIs using Mentor’s own UI … Read More

HMI, Inflexion, UI, Medical, ReadyStart

I was involved in a discussion about driver workload management the other week. It is a fascinating topic and I can see it becoming a much more important feature of in-vehicle HMIs in the coming years.  The basic concept is pretty straightforward – when a driver is in a high workload situation (e.g. driving at 70mph on a crowded freeway), the HMI adapts so that the functionality available to the driver … Read More

Driver Distraction, Automotive, Infotainment, IVI, HMI, Inflexion

I attended an excellent automotive HMI conference in Europe last week, with attendees from many of the top OEMs and tier-1 suppliers.  As we all know, automotive HMI is a complicated subject, and hence topics ranged from driver distraction,  workload management,  usability studies, the desire of drivers to access their favourite internet applications in the car and the recently published NHTSA driver … Read More

HMI, Automotive, IVI, UI, Inflexion, Infotainment

Mentor made significant announcements during a well-attended IESF in suburban Detroit.  Its Capital® tool suite has been accredited to IBM’s “Ready for IBM Rational” program, which validates integrations between IBM’s Rational Software Delivery Platform and adjacent applications, promising seamless interoperability. (In his IESF presentation, Paul Hansen, editor and publisher of the Hansen Report … Read More

Inflexion, in-vehicle infotainment, Rational Team Concert, Capital Harness, Capital tool suite, ADIT, IBM, Ready for Rational, Robert Bosch Car Multimedia GmbH, IESF, DENSO Corporation, Simco Ltd., GENIVI 2.0, The Hansen Report on Automotive Eelctronics

I have always thought that the user interface [UI] is the most interesting part of any software, as I have written before. I think this is true for desktop programs, hand-held device apps and embedded systems. It is, of course, the last of these which are of interest here. It is easy to think of UIs as being flashy touch sensitive displays, like you can build with the Mentor Graphics Inflexion UI product, … Read More

Inflexion, UI, User Interface

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to take a few snaps of my friends’ son, Archie. He was about 3 years old at the time. Archie is a child of the 21st Century and, as such, he knows a lot about embedded systems. He might not admit to this knowledge, but he has been surrounded by embedded systems from the day he was born. This experience has informed his expectations about the world in significant … Read More

Inflexion, User Interface

The Apple iVolution has been going strong since the initial release of the iPod on October 23, 2001. Apple has significantly impacted cultures around the world; you can’t go around a corner these days without seeing the tell-tale white ear buds hanging from someone’s ears. iPods were so successful that they were followed up with a touchscreen variant, the iPod Touch, which was followed by the hugely … Read More

Mentor.com, Mentor Graphics, soldier, soldiers, Android OS, Inflexion, tablets, App Store, iPad, Warfighters, iPhone, Android, Mentor, COTS, Embedded Systems, Geek, battlefield, Google, Computer, Hardware, DoD, Design Automation, Electronic, Software, Mil-Aero, Operating System, RTOS, Nucleus, Open Handset Alliance, Military, network-centric, mil-std, Milaero

Crystal ball gazing is a hazardous activity. However, this week I am going to take the risk. I have the honor of having been invited to present a keynote speech at a technical conference in Grenoble, France. Although I speak at conferences frequently, I normally have some constraints with the topic - normally I am presenting a paper, an abstract for which was submitted and accepted months before. On … Read More

Multicore, User Interface, Low Power, Android, Inflexion

Last week, I attended the Embedded Conference Scandinavia in Stockholm. This event has been running for a few years now and I have been to it before. It seems to be gaining momentum. The show floor was well filled and there seemed to be a good flow of visitors. My colleagues, who were manning the booth, commented that they had had some good leads. But I think that it is the technical conference sessions … Read More

Inflexion, MCAPI, User Interface