Not long ago, an in-dash CD changer was considered advanced for in-car entertainment. Now automotive infotainment systems integrate an extensive array of features such as DVD video, GPS navigation, voice recognition and synthesis, Internet browsing, OnStar and similar telematics services, and cellular phones.

Besides complexity, Internet connectivity implies a security and safety concern. A virus from the web could take down the entire infotainment system. As automakers take advantage of faster microprocessors, heterogenous electronic functions will be combined in the same system. It’s not far fetched to consider a single embedded system that controls the entertainment, digital access (e.g. fingerprint recognition), and even futuristic drive-by-wire systems.

To meet these demands, the underlying operating system must provide maximum security, reliability, and real-time performance as well as a comprehensive ecosystem of networking stacks, protocols, and drivers to speed time to market.

INTEGRITY’s memory protection, microkernel architecture, and virtual device driver paradigm ensure that the core kernel is impervious to the bugs that are inevitable in the increasingly complex software of an infotainment system.

Beyond simple memory protection, INTEGRITY guarantees the available resources (memory and CPU execution time) each application needs to operate. A problem in a lower criticality subsystem can not possibly affect the operation of the higher criticality subsystem.

The same partitioning capability protects the infotainment applications from Internet-borne worms or viruses. Even if a virus manages to get into the system, existing applications can not be starved of memory or CPU time. Similarly, a bug or design flaw in a less critical component can not possibly affect another independent component.

Unlike other operating systems, INTEGRITY never disables interrupts in kernel service calls. The INTEGRITY interrupt handling architecture ensures that the highest priority interrupts are handled with absolute minimum latency. And while other operating system vendors publish “worst case” interrupt latency numbers that are nothing more than hopeful empirical results, INTEGRITY’s worst case interrupt latency is statically proven. This means that real-time audio and video can be guaranteed, maximizing the passenger infotainment experience. Why settle for “it usually works”?

	INTEGRITY is integrated with a variety of software servers, protocols, stacks, and drivers to create a comprehensive infotainment ecosystem.

• MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport)—MOST was created to support low cost, low power, flexible, reliable, and high speed multimedia peer to peer networking. MOST supports optical communication and plug and play functionality. MOST replaces the bulky and expensive wiring harnesses used in legacy multimedia automotive systems.
  
  The Basic Layer of the MOST NetServices runs on top of an INTEGRITY device driver that provides access to the MOST Low Level System Services.
  
  
• CAN (Controller Area Network)—CAN drivers are integrated into the INTEGRITY device driver model and support proprietary higher level CAN-based protocols as well as standardized protocols such as DeviceNet and CANOpen.
  
  
• Audio—The INTEGRITY Sound Architecture supports audio codecs used in infotainment systems, including PCM, control, and mixing devices. INTEGRITY’s fast execution and guaranteed minimum realtime response ensure uninterrupted delivery quality.
  
  
• Graphics and Video—INTEGRITY offers extensive support for embedded graphics development spanning the deeply embeddable to advanced OpenGL compatible 3D graphics environments. The Portable Embedded GUI (PEG) is integrated with INTEGRITY and provides a comprehensive yet minimized footprint library for creating graphical user interfaces, such as would be found on touch screens and LCD displays. Three dimensional graphics support includes OpenGL and highly tuned graphics accelerator drivers for next generation displays.
  
  In support of rapid development of in-vehicle graphical human interfaces, INTEGRITY is integrated with a comprehensive suite of Human Machine Interface (HMI) development tools. These tools are tightly integrated with INTEGRITY to enable the design of consumer-friendly HMIs with which the driver interacts to access the embedded systems. Custom HMIs can be prototyped and built easily and quickly through the use of these prototyping and design tools. Use of these products enable users to develop and deliver their own custom HMIs quickly and cost-effectively for their own unique final products.
  
  
• Java—Java Virtual Machines run securely in their own virtual address spaces on top of INTEGRITY. Java can be used as an alternative graphical user interface for infotainment displays. In addition, Real-Time Java brings to designers the possibility of using the Java language for other parts of the car, even the real-time portions.
  
  
• Networking—Green Hills provides a comprehensive suite of networking and secure communication protocols including IPv4/IPv6, Embedded Web Server, IPSec, Bluetooth, USB and SSH/SSL.
  
  
• File systems—INTEGRITY’s file system framework model, commonly referred to as a virtual file system (VFS) framework, is provided to make it easy to add and remove support for various file systems. The VFS server provides file system support for UNIX-like file systems, DOS/FAT 12/16/32, ISO 9660, Wear Leveling Flash File Systems, Partitioning Journaling File Systems, and others.
  
  
• Speech Recognition—INTEGRITY’s integrated support with industry leading providers for rapid programming and scalable deployment solution for speech recognition delivers a new level of speaker-independent and continuous speech capabilities within an architecture that can scale to meet specific grammar and deployment platform requirements, helping developers create highly accurate and effective speech recognition applications.
  
  In addition, its noise management and acoustical capabilities allow you to deliver speech recognition where and when you need it like voice destination entry for navigation or voice activated dialing.
  
  
• Echo & Noise Suppression—Every day background noise represents the real-world challenge for voicebased communications applications. INTEGRITY is integrated with industry leading providers that have developed a toolbox of proprietary software products that creates solutions for voice based products which dramatically improve the quality, performance and accuracy of the voice signal, speech recognition rates and bandwidth efficiency in speech based application today.
  
  
• In-Car Navigation—In-Car navigation systems are becoming commonplace in today’s automobiles and are being extended to support innovative, safety related driver assistance information in addition to providing navigation-only support. In the near future, navigation systems in addition to driver assistance systems will access digital road maps in the vehicle. INTEGRITY is working with the industries leading providers of Mobility solution for the automobile that offer software modules for driver assistance systems, Onboard-Navigation and Offboard-Navigation today.
  
  
• Industry Standards—Managing the varying system requirements from project to project and customer to customer can be a daunting task. To put the impact of these ever changing requirements in check, your embedded software solution needs to have support for today’s industry standard programming interfaces.