Wind River announced support for new Intel Xeon D processors. Part of a multiyear effort to optimise Wind River Studio for Intel IoT system-on-chip (SoC) offerings, the combined technologies address the challenges of enabling greater compute in the space- and power-constrained rugged environments of verticals such as aerospace and defense, in order to meet the demands of edge applications.

"In a more automated intelligent systems world, IoT systems at the edge — particularly those for aerospace and defense — are faced with demanding real-time and compute-heavy challenges," said Avijit Sinha, chief product officer, Wind River. "Wind River possesses more than three decades of experience in building safe, secure, and reliable computing systems for commercial aircraft, space exploration, and military operations. Building on our long-standing support for Intel and its advanced virtualisation technologies, we can help mission-critical industries meet evolving operational needs and forge a path toward a more intelligent systems reality, where multiple operating environments can coexist on a single SoC."

The industry-leading VxWorks® real-time operating system (RTOS), a part of Wind River Studio, is the most widely deployed commercial RTOS to support the IoT-optimised Intel processors, which demand greater AI and real-time computing for mission-critical applications such as functional safety and related continuous certification needs for the aerospace and defense industries. VxWorks makes the most of the edge IP capabilities embedded in the Intel IoT SoCs. These capabilities include Intel Time Coordinated Computing (Intel TCC), Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), and deep learning to deploy accelerated AI at the edge. When combining VxWorks with Wind River Linux in a safety-certified virtualised environment, teams can incorporate hard real time and the latest in AI/ML technology in a single SoC.

Wind River Simics®, a part of Wind River Studio, is a full-system simulator used by software developers to simulate the hardware of complex electronic systems. Offering a virtual alternative to physical hardware, it allows on-demand and easy access to any target system, more efficient collaboration between developers, and more efficient and stable automation. A Simics model for the Intel Xeon D processor is available now.

The Intel Xeon D processor is a SoC built for the edge, featuring built-in AI, security, advanced I/O, Ethernet, and dense compute. It features high-density BGA packaging for soldered-down embedded and rugged applications with extended operating temperature ranges. The processor features multiple hardware-based security measures to better protect data collected from the edge. Intel Deep Learning Boost (VNNI) and Intel AVX-512 instruction sets accelerate deep learning inference processing. Intel TCC improves performance for latency-sensitive applications so they can run hard real-time workloads faster and more predictably. Developers can use Intel® TCC Tools to tune the system and enable precise time task management for systems running real-time hypervisors. A separate, discrete time-sensitive networking (TSN) solution provides synchronisation and precise timelines across networked devices.

The aerospace and defense markets are encountering high urgency to build increasingly intelligent systems. True compute on the far edge and the ability to emulate and simulate in real time are among the two most important characteristics for intelligent systems success, and the ability to make accurate quick decisions in high-risk scenarios is critical. Eighty-six percent of A&D executives believe more than 50% of their embedded products and solutions will be designed for use on the far edge.1

1 Forbes/Wind River, "Characteristics of Intelligent Systems," 2021