Green Hills Software Introduces Support for Fujitsu Emerald and Jade Automotive Graphics Processors

Green Hills Software, the largest independent vendor of embedded software solutions, has announced a full-featured support package for Fujitsu Semiconductor’s Emerald and Jade graphics processors, which are targeted primarily at driver assistance and automotive infotainment applications. The Green Hills offering includes the high reliability INTEGRITY(R) real-time operating system (RTOS) and board support packages (BSPs) that enable developers to reduce product time-to-market.

Fujitsu’s Emerald processor delivers a novel 360-degree wraparound view in automotive applications and is particularly well suited for virtual instrument clusters. Using Fujitsu’s system, the driver sees images from four cameras that are combined to appear as if taken from a bird’s-eye view. These video images are projected onto a virtual 3D-curved surface and are displayed with much less distortion than in conventional systems. This makes it easier for drivers to recognize obstacles around their vehicles.

The Emerald chip utilizes an ARM(R) Cortex(TM)-A9 processor core, which has an integrated ARM-Neon-SIMD engine, and features four video input ports that enable simultaneous processing of different high resolution video images. Fujitsu’s Jade chip incorporates an ARM926EJ-S CPU core, together with an enhanced version of the Coral PA graphic processor and a number of external interfaces. It is optimized for applications such as on-board and mobile navigation systems, graphical dashboard systems, HUD (head-up display) units and rear-seat entertainment systems.

Initial market feedback for the Green Hills board support package has been extremely positive.

Markus Mierse, GCC director at Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe comments, “Modern semiconductor devices are extremely complex forcing vendors to add more and more value to their products that enables the design-in and development of competitive customer products. A strong partnership between hardware and software vendors is essential to be successful.”

He continues, “Green Hills Software and Fujitsu, both market leaders across various embedded and automotive applications, have developed a consistent partnership over many years. The latest products of this cooperation are the Green Hills INTEGRITY board support packages that were created to support Fujitsu’s new graphic SoCs from the ‘Jade’ and ‘Emerald’ product families. This now allows customers to build their products based on a system solution, which is an important advantage for automotive applications. We are very confident that both companies will benefit from this cooperation with a strengthened position in the market.”

Christopher Smith, vice president marketing, Green Hills Software, commented, “Driver assistance and information systems constitute the most visible area of advance for consumers. Fujitsu has created a family of devices that push the bar higher and, together with Green Hills Software’s INTEGRITY RTOS and BSPs, will enhance the driving experience further.”

The Green Hills Software board support packages for Fujitsu Semiconductor’s Emerald and Jade graphics processors were developed at Green Hills Software’s European Technical Center in the Netherlands. They are available now.

About Green Hills Software
Founded in 1982, Green Hills Software is the largest independent vendor of embedded development solutions. In 2008, the Green Hills INTEGRITY-178B RTOS was the first and only operating system to be certified by NIAP (National Information Assurance Partnership comprised of NSA & NIST) to EAL6+, High Robustness, the highest level of security ever achieved for any software product. Our open architecture integrated development solutions address deeply embedded, absolute security and high reliability applications for the military/avionics, medical, industrial, automotive, networking, consumer and other markets that demand industry-certified solutions. Green Hills Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, with European headquarters in the United Kingdom. Visit Green Hills Software at www.ghs.com.

About Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe (FSEU)
Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe is a major supplier of ‘right-sized’ advanced semiconductor solutions, serving the automotive, digital entertainment, networking and industrial markets. Engineers from Fujitsu’s European-based design centres and research and development facilities, dedicated to analogue and mixed-signal technology, advanced packaging, microcontrollers, graphics controllers, multimedia ICs, ASICs and embedded software, work closely with marketing and sales teams throughout the EMEA region to satisfy customers’ systems development requirements. This solutions-based approach is supported by a broad range of advanced semiconductor devices, IP building blocks and embedded software.