Introduction to the ITRON Project

ITRON Internatinal Meeting '99

Introduction to the ITRON Project
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I TR O N Pro je c t Ho m e Pa ge
http://www.itron.gr.jp/
ITRON Committee

Introduction to the ITRON Project

ITRON Projecta project to standardize RTOS and related
specifications for embedded systems(esp. small-scale embedded systems)

one of the subprojects of the TRON Projecta joint project of industry and academia(not a government project)core members:
Fujitsu, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric,NEC, Toshiba, Oki Electric Industry
US companies (or its subsidiaries):
Cygnus Solutions, Hewlett-Packard,Metrowerks, Mentor Graphics
acadmia:
Univ. of Tokyo, Toyohashi Univ. of Technology

open standard policy
ITRON Committee

Introduction to the ITRON Project

ITRON Real-Time Kernel Spec. – History
The 1st phase of the project focused onreal-time kernel specifications.
four generations of the ITRON kernel specificationsfor 32-bit MPUs
first ITRON
kernel spec.

ITRON219841987

ITRON CommitteeµITRON4.0µITRON
3.0

ITRON1for 8-bit and16-bit MCUs

improved
portabilitylabilityacsdecnenhaµITRON(ver. 2)
1st phase
1989

1993

2nd phase
1996

1999

Introduction to the ITRON Project

R equirem ents on S tandard R T O S S pecification
deriving maximum performance from hardware
reducing the cost of final products
improving software productivity
easy training of software engineers
facilitating the reuse of software components
applicable to various scales and types of processors
scalability – 8-bit to 64-bit MCUs/MPUs
truly open standard
The ITRON specifications have been designed to meetthese requirements.
ITRON Committee

Introduction to the ITRON Project

D esign P rinciples of the ITR O N S pecifications
design concept: loose standardization
maximum performance cannot be obtained withstrict standardization
design principles
allow for adaptation to hardware, avoiding
excessive hardware virtualization
allow for adaptation to the applicationemphasize software engineer training easeorganize specification series and divide into levels
provide a wealth of functions

ITRON Committee

Introduction to the ITRON Project

Typical ITR O N -specification K ernel A pplications
Audio/Visual Equipment, Home ApplianceTVs, VCRs, digital cameras, settop box, audio components,
microwave ovens, rice cookers, air-conditioners, washing machines, ...

Personal Information Appliance, Entertainment/Education
PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), car navigation systems,
personal organizers, game gear, electronic musical instruments, ...

PC Peripheral, Office Equipment
printers, scanners, disk drives, CD-ROM drives, copiers, FAX, wordprocessors, ...

Communication Equipment
answer phones, ISDN telephones, cellular phones, PCS terminals, ATMswitches, broadcasting equipment, wireless systems, satellites, ...

Transportation, Industrial Control, and Others
automobiles, plant control, industrial robots, elevators, vending
machines, medical equipment, ...
ITRON Committee

Introduction to the ITRON Project

Implementation Status! We do not know how many kernels are
implemented based on the ITRON specifications.
about 50 registered implementations for about 40processors
several non-registered commercial implementations
ITRON-spec. kernels have been implemented foralmost all major processors for embedded systems.
8-bit to 64-bit MCUs/MPUs
Some of them are developped by U.S. companies.
U S Software, Cygnus Solutions, and ...
uncountable in-house implementations
some freely distributed implementations
ITRON Committee‘99 Questionnaire Results

OS Embedded of Recently
Developed Embedded Systems
Valid answers: 945
18.8% Commercial ITRON specified OS

24.3%
OS not usedbecause it is not necessary

In-house ITRON specification OS,
BTRON specification OS
12.0%

OS not used 3.5%
because of a problem

4.3% Windows 3.1/95/98/NT
4.2% Wind River System OS
3.6% MS-DOS or DOS compatible OS

In-house original OS 17.4%
Other commercial OS 3.2%
OSEK/VDX specification OS 0.3%
Microtec/Mentor OS 0.6%

ITRON Technical Committee

1.0%UNIX OS

2.0% Integrated Systems のOS
1.6% Microware Systems OS
1.2% Accelated Technology OS
1.1% Windows CE
1.0% CTRON specification OS‘99 Questionnaire Results

OS Use and Application Field
Valid answers : 9450%
Personal information appliance
Communication equipment(terminal)
Communication equipment(network equipment)

Home applianceEntertainment, education
Audio/visual equipment
Electric equipment
Transportation-related
Industrial control, factory automation

Personal computer peripheral,
office equipment
Medical equipment
Misc. commercial systems
Misc. instruments
ITRON
Other commercial
In-house OriginalNot used

ITRON Technical Committee

Other

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

22.9% 8.6%8.6% 35
60.0%
22.5%
16.9% 15.7%
44.9%
89
8.8%7.5% 80
40.0%
43.8%
23.3%
10.0% 26.7%
40.0%
30
30.0%
20.0% 13.3%
36.7%
30
33.3%
14.3% 16.7%
35.7%
848.8% 23.5%
41.2%
26.5%
34
43.2%
13.7% 17.9%
25.3%
95
22.4%
17.5%
36.6%
23.5%
183
30.2%
25.4%
22.2%
22.2%
63
40.0%
22.0%
16.0%
22.0%
50
40.6%
24.6%
20.3% 14.5%
69
32.8%
18.8%
29.7%
18.8%
6430.8%
15.4% 15.4%
38.5%
39

Introduction to the ITRON Project

ITRON Project – 2nd Phase
broaden the scope of the standardization torelated aspects listed below
software components (software IP, middleware)satisfying the preconditions for promoting the development and circulation of software components
standard API for software components
development environmentsinterface between real-time kernel and development
environmentseg) language binding, debugging support
application-specific standards
satisfying application-specific requirements
ITRON Committee

Introduction to the ITRON Project

2nd Phase ActivitiesPreconditions for software componentsµITRON4.0 Specification released in June. 1999
Conformance Testing Method near future
Application Design Guidelines
Standard API for software components
ITRON TCP/IP API Specification released in May 1998
JTRON2.0 Specification released in Oct. 1998
Device Driver Design Guidelines current
Development environmentsµITRON4.0 Debugging Interface Specification current
C++/EC++ Language Binding near future
Application-specific standards
reflected to µITRON4.0
RTOS for Automotive Control Application
ITRON Committee

Introduction to the ITRON Project

JCG ProjectThree software components for µITRONspecification kernels are being developped
reference implementation of JTRON2.0 specification
CORBA module for small-scale embedded systems
GUI module for small-scale embedded systems
Developped software will be opened when completed(around April 2000).

! JCG Project is funded by the Japanese government
through IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency)

ITRON Committee

Introduction to the ITRON ProjectOrganization
TRON Association
ITRON Committee
Planning/Publicity Working GroupJCG Project Committee
U.S. Chapter (under planning)µITRON4.0 Specification Study Group open!
kernel specificaion WG
debugging interface specification WG
device driver design guideline WG
application design guideline WG

Java Technology on ITRON-spec. OS WG
Embedded TCP/IP Technical Committee
ITRON Committee

Introduction to the ITRON Project

SummaryµITRON real-time kernel is a de-facto industry
standard in Japan.
major results of 2nd phase activitiesµITRON4.0 Real-Time Kernel
SpecificationITRON TCP/IP API Specification
JTRON2.0 Specification
continue the effort to meet industry's needs
ITRON Project is an open activity and is waiting
for your contributions.
I TR O N Pro je c t Ho m e Pa ge
http://www.itron.gr.jp/ITRON Committee