Mentor Blogs

Free Nucleus RTOS source code? Just a few years ago if you would have told me that Mentor Graphics would be offering free-source-code for one of the most successful, popular and distributed RTOS’s in the world, I would not have believed it. Yet, for the last few quarters, Mentor is doing just that! The Nucleus Innovate Program was announced November 2012 and adoption is picking up quickly! To date, … Read More

RTOS, Medical, ARM, STMicro, Nucleus ROTS, NXP, TI, Mentor Embedded, Nucleus

In the high-tech market, the IoT is driving connectivity requirements in devices across many segments. Considering the number of embedded medical devices hospital, you can quickly imagine areas where Wi-Fi connectivity can be used to connect devices, patients, administrators and doctors. For example, Wi-Fi can be applicable in the doctor’s office, in the operating room, at the nurse’s station, in the … Read More

Freescale, Medical, Wi-Fi, Nucleus, RTOS

RTOS’s have been around for a long time in the embedded industry.   And with the introduction of the TI RTOS, Freescale’s MQX, FreeRTOS and several others, I hear all the time that “RTOS’s have become a commodity.”  And to some extent, I agree.   While every RTOS has its pros and cons with various features and benefits, selecting the right one for “your” application requirements can be a little tricky.  … Read More

OSS, RTOS, Freescale, Android, Mentor Embedded, Nucleus, Linux, Medical

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

CAN/LIN, Medical, Energy, Freescale, Ethernet, Infotainment, MOST, Automotive, IVI, SoC, flexray

Today, more ‘things’ are connected to the Internet than there are people on the planet. Connectivity was a major theme at last week’s Freescale FTF event in San Antonio, Texas. There were over 1300 attendees, and around 200 technical sessions over the course of 4 days. An impressive range of SoC solutions aimed at connectivity covered such diverse applications, from Medical, Energy Management, Safety … Read More

IVI, Infotainment, Medical, CAN/LIN, Automotive, MOST, flexray, Freescale, SoC, Energy, Ethernet

I am very interested in medical electronics, as I have written about here previously. In particular, I am always keen to learn more about the role of software in facilitating the functionality of devices. I recently encountered a particularly interesting example of the impact that the software can have. Just before Christmas, I went to a session to donate blood - specifically I donate platelets, which … Read More

Medical

I have always for medical electronics interesting and I have blogged about it from time to time [here and here, for example]. Part of the reason for my interest stems from an occasional feeling that so much of the electronics around me is ultimately pointless. Many Mentor Embedded customers are making consumer devices, cell phones and other gadgets. Do we really need all of these? Aren’t they really … Read More

Android, User Interface, Linux, Networking, Inflexion UI, Low Power, Nucleus, Multicore, Medical, RTOS

I love gadgets but I hate cables – they make things so untidy. As a result, anything that can go wireless in our house has – even our light switches are on remote control. I used to think this was just plain silly when we were going through the retrofit until I realized I could turn off the kitchen lights from the comfort of our sofa. I’ve only used this “power” once but I tell you knowing that I can … Read More

Physical Prototype, CFD, Consumer Electronics, Automotive, Quality, EMI shielding, Medical, Design Engineer, Thermal, Electromagnetic Interference

I am very sceptical when I hear the term “graphical interface”. All too often I have been frustrated and irritated by a webpage with flashing, animated GIFs or by a “user friendly” interface on a device that takes for ever performing somersaults and cartwheels instead of letting me get on with the task in hand. Of course, these are examples of badly designed graphical interfaces. I would like to talk … Read More

User Interface, GUI, Inflexion UI, Medical

There is a lot of buzz about Android at the moment. Indeed, I have written about it here, as has my colleague Scott. A lot of the discussion is around the topic of the new Android-powered smart phones that seem to appear on a daily basis. Just about every handset manufacturer seems to have jumped on the bandwagon. I have no problem with this. Far from it. I really like my Android phone and would encourage … Read More

Android, Medical, E-Books, Home Entertainment

For some years, there has been discussion about how embedded devices are increasingly becoming connected. WiFi enabled home appliances are one possibility. Everyone has heard about fridges that order the groceries. I love the concept of the Internet enabled toaster, which checks the weather forecast and burns a symbol onto your morning toast to tell you what to expect. All of this is great, exciting … Read More

Android, Medical, Wireless, Wi-Fi

I have just been taking a short vacation and, while we were away, we met up with some friends. Their son was very excited to be the owner of the very latest model of iPhone. He was very keen to show us all the cool features and how slick it was to operate. I liked his enthusiasm and I was impressed by the device. But somehow I had two simultaneous trains of thought. First, I concluded that the iPhone … Read More

Medical, GUI, Inflexion UI, User Interface

It is an interesting question: when do you need the source code in order to reuse some software and when would binary [i.e. a black box] be quite satisfactory? With an embedded operating system the answer is far from obvious. There is even a question as to what source code really is. If you ask an engineer whether he would like to have the source code for an OS or any other reusable software, the … Read More

DO-178B, Nucleus, Medical, Avionics, Certification, Source Code, Nucleus Kernel, RTOS

We have a great many customers who are in the business of making medical equipment and instrumentation. Given the enormous increase in the use of electronics in hospitals and medical facilities, this is not too surprising. Our success in this area has come about naturally - the products just fit the needs of these developers. We have not really promoted ourselves in this space or adapted anything to … Read More

Nucleus Kernel, Medical, Wi-Fi, Wireless