SAN JOSE, Calif., 5 Jan. 2009. Kontron in San Diego and LynuxWorks released an Intel-based COTS platform for safety-critical, deterministic real-time embedded applications, using the Kontron PENTXM2 single-board computer running the LynxOS-178 RTOS.

"By porting the world's only RTOS certified as a Reusable Software Component (RSC) by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) onto a server-class single-board computer, LynuxWorks and Kontron have created the perfect solution for the new wave of dedicated safety-critical applications built in the Intel environment," says Richard Pugnier, marketing communications director at Kontron. "A growing number of such systems are seeking to exploit the immense base of development expertise and code available in the x86 domain. This solution allows avionics, vehicle electronics and other safety-critical applications to adopt this path whilst reducing development time, cost and risk."

"Leveraging the development effort targeting a large European global positioning system program, our LynxOS-178 is now ready for deployments in harsh environmental conditions on the Kontron PENTXM2 rugged conduction-cooled SBC. With that, our customers benefit from an instant boost in their schedule and not only can go to market aggressively with an outstanding head start, but can also create a complete range of new opportunities," says Joe Wlad, director of certification, marketing and services at LynuxWorks.

The Kontron PENTXM2 uses the 1.67 GHz dual-core Xeon, Intel's advanced low-power x86 technology, combined with the Intel E7520 server-class memory controller hub (MCH). The PENTXM2 is available with up to 4GB of DDR2-400 SDRAM. When paired with the support of VITA 31.1 backplane networking, the PENTXM2's VITA 38 intelligent platform management interface (IPMI) feature provides for easy scaling into a multiprocessing system. The PENTXM2 provides a dual SATA-150, a triple USB 2.0 port, and an EIDE interface for an onboard disk or compact-flash support.

LynuxWorks LynxOS-178 RTOS offers the interoperability benefits of POSIX with support for the ARINC 653 APplication EXecutive (APEX) on a x86 platform. It has LynxOS, a mature UNIX-style operating system that was designed from the ground up for hard real-time determinism at its core, LynuxWorks officials say.