RTOS and tools make the most of TriCore processor

The OSE Epsilon real-time operating system and development tools are available now for Infineon's TriCore processor.

The OSE Epsilon real-time operating system and development tools are available now for Infineon's TriCore processor.

The compact OSE Epsilon kernel, together with the hybrid 16/32bit Infineon processor, provide an ideal platform for running automotive and telematics applications that require small code sise and fast real-time response.

OSE Epsilon is high-performance real-time kernel optimised for resource-constrained applications.

Occupying as little as 4Kbyte of memory, Epsilon features integrated error handling, a context switching speed of 300ns, fully pre-emptive, and a worst-case interrupt latency of 1us.

OSE Epsilon features a complete networking solution networking support, including TCP/IP, a web server, an embedded file system, and Internet utilities.

OSE Epsilon also supports dynamic download, which enhances flexibility by enabling new applications to be downloaded to systems as they operate in the field.

The TriCore Unified processor is a high-performance, 32bit, superscalar RISC architecture CPU that combines the capability of a 32bit microcontroller (MCU) and a 16bit digital signal processor (DSP) on a single core.

Featuring a peak performance of 130MIPS at 100MHs and four-cycle context switching, TriCore maximises data throughput by employing a Harvard architecture with three external 32bit buses, one each for instruction, data, and peripheral access.

To maximise code density, TriCore also employs a combination of 16 and 32bit instructions that enables it to achieve a 30% reduction in code sise over CPUs that use only 32bit instructions.

Development support for OSE Epsilon includes Tasking's TriCore software development environment and Lauterbach's Trace32 debugger.

Enea also offers a soft kernel simulator that lets designers develop and test their code on a PC without the need for the target hardware.

To further streamline application development, Enea offers an RTOS-aware system-level analysis and profiling tool known as OSE Illuminator, which enables programmers to monitor, control and collect data for applications viewed as a sequence of events (such as context switches and message passing between processes).

OSE Illuminator lets designers debug multiple TriCore nodes simultaneously, graphically view all processes and process information running on each node, set breakpoints on events, profile CPU performance, and monitor/fine tune memory usage.

"TriCore's hybrid 16/32bit architecture is ideal for tackling compute-intensive applications that have tight memory constraints", said Nicklas Gustafson, Product Marketing Manager of Enea Embedded Technology.

"OSE Epsilon's compact sise and fast, predictable real-time response make it a perfect fit for TriCore, and an excellent platform for hosting sophisticated automotive and telematics applications".

OSE Epsilon is available immediately for TriCore processors.

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