Mentor, a Siemens business, today announced the availability of Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) for the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+™ MPSoC. By combining the features of the Mentor Embedded software solutions and the Xilinx heterogeneous multiprocessor system-on-a-chip (SoC), developers can safely introduce Android into advanced applications targeting the industrial, medical, automotive, and aerospace and defense markets.
This Android implementation includes the Mentor Android 6.0 board support package (BSP) built on the Android Open Source Project, as well as source code and pre-compiled binaries for the Xilinx ZCU102 development platform. Graphics output can be routed to the built-in Display Port, or to an Ozzy display and I/O module offered by iVeia. The Android software is available for immediate, no-charge download directly from the Mentor Embedded Systems Division. Users can leverage the Android support community, or they can engage directly with Mentor for support, customization, or extension for new versions of the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC family of devices. Embedded developers can mitigate risk, realize time and cost savings, and create graphics using this solution.
“Since the introduction of the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC, Xilinx has seen a lot of customer interest in Android for their advanced designs. Now, with Mentor Graphics embedded solutions, our customers can extend the benefits of the Android ecosystem to their critical designs,” stated Simon George, director, product Marketing – Embedded Software at Xilinx. “We’re already beginning to see how the Mentor Embedded solutions reduce our customer’s program risk, particularly for safety-critical applications development.”
Advanced designs running both the Android and Mentor Nucleus real-time operating systems (RTOS) are made possible by unique Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC features. These features include a dual- or quad-core ARM® Cortex®-A53 application processor for operating systems such as Android, a dual-core ARM Cortex-R5 real-time processor, FPGA logic, and Xilinx IP, which allow specific peripherals and memory regions to be uniquely assigned to each processor type.
By enabling Android side-by-side with the Nucleus RTOS, the Mentor Embedded Hypervisor, the Mentor Embedded Linux platform, and the Mentor Embedded Multicore Framework, engineers can meet fundamental software requirements for advanced heterogeneous safety-critical designs. Mentor Graphics lowers project risk by providing the software, tools, support, and professional services necessary to help engineers develop, debug, and optimize advanced designs for Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC devices.
“By providing Xilinx customers with an embedded ecosystem that includes technologies and services for Linux and Android-based devices, we are enabling our customers to create innovative products. The combination of low power consumption, high performance integrated programmable logic, isolation between general-purpose and real-time subsystems, and safety certification provides many opportunities for the deployment of Android into non-traditional markets,” said Warren Kurisu, director of product management, Runtime Solutions, Mentor Embedded Systems Division. “We look forward to supporting Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC customers on Android as well as a range of other software and tools available within the Mentor Embedded product line.”
The Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) is publicly available today at no cost from Mentor Graphics Embedded Systems Division for the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC. Mentor Graphics commercial support, customization services, platform porting, and feature enhancements to Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoCs will also be available to customers, as part of a larger full software solution package for Xilinx products.
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