Printer Friendly Version

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. and STUTTGART, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 2000--ARM (LSE:ARM) (Nasdaq:ARMHY), the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions, and Vector Informatik today announced that Vector has ported osCAN, its real-time operating system (RTOS) to the ARM7TDMI® core.

osCAN is an OSEK/VDX 2.1 compliant real-time multitasking operating system specifically developed for the automotive industry. Support for the ARM7TDMI core is the first stage in Vector's plans to support the whole of the ARM® product range.

``Support for osCAN further strengthens ARM's position in the rapidly expanding automotive electronics market,'' said Wolfgang Katterman, Automotive business development manager, ARM. ``As the complexity of automotive electronics increases, many customers need the processing power of 32-bit RISC at 16-bit costs, as well as an assured upgrade path to even higher performance.''

``ARM is firmly establishing itself in the automotive industry. We feel that the combination of the ARM7TDMI core and osCAN provides an unbeatable choice for automotive engineers in areas as diverse as fuel injection, ignition, transmission, power-assisted steering, anti-lock brakes, and safety and driver information systems,'' said Helmut Brock, product marketing manager, OSEK, Vector Informatik GmbH.

Highly scalable and efficient, osCAN offers a set of networking and communication modules for almost every Controller Area Network (CAN) application. Particular features of the OS include an easy-to-use configuration tool, powerful task management functions and hook routines. A major feature of osCAN is the availability of CAN-driver, network management and transport protocols for the automotive industry as well as automation protocols like CANopen or DeviceNet.

While major parts of osCAN are written in ANSI-C to ensure implementation on a wide variety of platforms, crucial algorithms are implemented in assembler to benefit directly from the architectural features of each CPU. osCAN is available for ARM7TDMI core-based microprocessors from Atmel, Micronas and OKI.

About Vector Informatik

Vector Informatik GmbH, based in Stuttgart, Germany is a worldwide leader in Controller Area Network (CAN) technology. With over 100 staff, the company provides tools for design and development of industrial and automotive networks, real-time operating systems, hardware for CAN-based bus-systems, standardised and embedded software components for CAN-connected Electronic Control Units (ECU). Vector offers worldwide consulting and support services through their subsidiaries in the USA and Japan as well as a worldwide network of distributors. For more information visit http://www.vector-informatik.de.

About ARM

ARM is the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions. The company licenses its high-performance, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals, and system-chip designs to leading international electronics companies. ARM also provides comprehensive support required in developing a complete system. ARM's microprocessor cores are rapidly becoming the volume RISC standard in such markets as portable communications, handheld computing, multimedia and embedded solutions. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.

Editor's Note:

OSEK/VDX is an operating system standard defined by a joint venture of European car manufacturers. The standard is designed for embedded controllers with a minimum of memory and CPU time. Further information can be found at http://www.osek-vdx.org.

ARM and ARM7TDMI is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. ``ARM'' is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE:ARM) (Nasdaq:ARMHY); its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd; ARM Taiwan.

     ARM
     Michelle Spencer, 44 1628 427780
     michelle.spencer@arm.com
            or
     The Townsend Agency
     Jenny Markway, 858/457-4888 ext. 106
     jmarkway@townsendagency.com