NXP is enhancing software design flexibility at the IoT edge by incorporating software containers with standard APIs. This advancement, developed in collaboration with French software firm MicroEJ, aims to significantly cut customer development costs and hasten market entry.
The NXP platform accelerator merges MicroEJ’s Vee software containers with standard APIs, offering software portability across NXP’s array of RTOS-based MCUs and Linux-based applications processors. This integration allows manufacturers to expedite product development while reducing expenses. Additionally, the accelerator furnishes dedicated APIs for easy access to functionalities in NXP’s processors, such as power management and advanced graphics capabilities.
Developing and deploying smart devices in industrial and IoT markets presents challenges. Traditionally, many devices are purpose-built with fixed functionality and limited computing power, not always able to adapt to the dynamic needs of an automated environment. Scaling up product capabilities often entails redeveloping foundational software, which can significantly delay product development.
The NXP platform accelerator addresses this issue through software containerisation, enabling binary software portability across a range of NXP’s processors. This reusability allows for rapid prototyping and the development of sophisticated smart devices that evolve with market demands. The accelerator also introduces sandboxed application deployment at the edge, bringing smartphone-like features such as partial or complete over-the-air updates, downloadable apps, and microservices.
Charles Dachs, Senior Vice President at NXP, stated: “Containerisation, akin to its role in the smartphone industry, can be a powerful catalyst for the rapid development of new smart device platforms. Integrating MicroEJ’s software container with NXP’s diverse edge processing portfolio empowers engineers to quickly market more products at reduced costs, while supporting the ongoing evolution of their smart devices in industrial and IoT markets.”
Fred Rivard, CEO of MicroEJ, commented: “Software portability and Bill of Materials (BoM) optimisation often stand in opposition. The NXP platform accelerator harmonises these goals through compact software containers. This innovation allows developers to enjoy both an optimised BoM and a modern software design process, enabling them to quickly develop new products and platforms that are power-efficient and cost-effective, whilst allowing for rich feature differentiation and innovation by manufacturers.”
The accelerator integrates various development tools, including simulation, virtual device management, and a multi-language framework supporting C, Java, and JavaScript, along with agile collaboration processes. It is compatible with Android Studio, IntelliJ, and Eclipse IDEs. Moreover, the accelerator includes dedicated APIs for power management and graphic functions, simplifying the use of NXP’s complex hardware IP. For example, a single call to a ‘low power profile’ can trigger performance optimisation for a specific power profile. NXP-tailored containers offer broad scalability and incorporate NXP-specific optimisations and libraries to leverage processor hardware.
The accelerator is available for NXP’s processors, including the i.MX RT595 and the high-performance multi-core i.MX RT1170 crossover MCUs.
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