ALAMEDA, Calif. — (February 20, 2007) — Wind River Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:WIND), the global leader in Device Software Optimization (DSO), today announced that it has acquired the intellectual property including patents, copyrights, trademarks and associated product rights for RTLinux, the software industry’s only commercially-available, patented, hard real-time Linux technology developed by Finite State Machine Labs, Inc. (FSMLabs). Pursuant to the purchase agreement, Wind River also acquired rights to future runtime revenue streams for RTLinux customers in the embedded applications field. As a result of this purchase agreement, Wind River will offer Linux customers hard real-time functionality tightly integrated with its market-leading, Linux-based device software platforms.
This investment expands Wind River’s real-time technology expertise and broadens the company’s market opportunity. Wind River uniquely provides a robust portfolio of real-time capabilities that meet the specific needs of device manufacturers across a variety of vertical market segments. Wind River now offers three real-time solutions for its device customers: VxWorks, a fully deterministic real-time operating system (RTOS) that can run multiple real-time tasks within a real-time operating system; RTLinux technology, which enables a hard real-time application while running standard Linux as a separate process; and a soft real-time solution based on open source patches to the standard Linux operating system.
“For many of our Linux customers, hard real-time functionality would extend the viability of Linux to a broader set of their device development projects that requires mission-critical performance,” said Vincent Rerolle, vice president of corporate development and strategy. “Based on Wind River’s hard real-time expertise, RTLinux was a natural fit to complement our device software platform portfolio and extend the value of Wind River Linux. This acquisition underscores Wind River’s DSO strategy for offering device manufacturers choice and flexibility with innovative products and technology available in both Linux and VxWorks platforms.”
RTLinux technology enables hard real-time response times for applications ranging from single-core feature phones, high bandwidth IP communications, robotics and industrial control. FSMLabs’ RTLinux distribution has been regarded in the software industry as one of the best and most mature, hard real-time Linux solutions available today. RTLinux technology includes a hard real-time executive that coexists with the standard Linux kernel. Together, they combine the hard real-time capabilities necessary for high-performance responsiveness with the general-purpose capabilities of the Linux operating system for file system management, networking and other operating system functions. FSMLabs will continue to commercialize RTLinux software in the enterprise applications field under a grant of rights from Wind River.
Once available, the combination of RTLinux technology and Wind River’s market-leading Linux device software platforms will provide device manufacturers with mature, proven technology for developing complex, next-generation Linux-based applications that require hard real-time functionality. By offering RTLinux technology integrated with Wind River® Platform for Consumer Devices, Linux Edition, Wind River will deliver high-performance, hard real-time solutions such as feature phone or digital imaging applications with high volume streaming media requirements as well as automotive applications such as vehicle crash avoidance. RTLinux integrated with Wind River® Platform for Network Equipment, Linux Edition will enable a new level of high performance for Linux-based device applications with ultra-high packet traffic such as routing that require hard real-time and route thousand of IP packets.
About Wind River
Wind River is the global leader in Device Software Optimization (DSO). Wind River enables companies to develop, run and manage device software faster, better, at lower cost and more reliably. Wind River platforms are pre-integrated, fully standardized enterprise-wide development solutions. They reduce effort, cost and risk and optimize quality and reliability at all phases of the device software development process from concept to deployed product.
Founded in 1981, Wind River is headquartered in Alameda, California, with operations worldwide. To learn more, visit Wind River at www.windriver.com or call 1-800-872-4977.
