OSADL (Open Source Automation Development Lab) announced four new members, including new “silver” member AMD. OSADL, which has begun testing real-time Linux on AMD's G-Series processors, also announced “bronze” memberships for Spanish software engineering firm DSM4, German automotive technology manufacturer Eberspacher, and Austrian industrial research firm OpenTech EDV.

The four new memberships continue OSADL's recent expansion. Last month, the euro-focused open source organization announced two new academic members in Switzerland's iNES and Italy's RETIS. OSADL coordinates the development of open source projects in the areas of embedded and industrial design, including projects focused on real-time and safety-critical Linux, real-time Ethernet, and special automation-related drivers.

This month's announcement is headlined by semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which joins rival Intel Corp. as a silver member, along with Heidelberger Druckmaschinen and Roche Diagnostics. OSADL's two gold members are HOMAG and TRUMPH.

There are also several dozen bronze members including embedded Linux players like Kontron, Linutronix, Phytec, and Texas Intruments Deutschland, as well as more diversified European industrial giants like ABB. 

According to OSADL, an engineering sample of the AMD G-Series T56N processor has been running real-time Linux test software for several weeks in OSADL's real-time quality assurance farm (pictured at right) "in a very stable and reliable way." Information on the tests performed at the QA farm, which also tests Intel, Via, Freescale, Marvell and Texas Instruments processors, is said to be publicly available.

In November, in anticipation of the release of AMD's early January announcement of its mobile-ready Fusion processors and subsequent embedded variants, AMD joined the Linux Foundation's MeeGo project, which has so far been dominated by Intel's Atom processor. Like Intel, the chipmaker is increasingly interested in embedded markets such as tablets, as well as the full panoply of embedded industrial devices. That, of course, requires a closer involvement with the Linux and open source communities.

The other new OSADL members, all in the bronze category, are said to include:

• Desarrollo Software Miramon 4 S.L. (DSM4) — OSADL's first Spanish member is a software engineering company specializing in complex automation and control requirements. DSM4 joined due to increasing customer requests for Linux and open source technology, says OSADL.
• Eberspacher Electronics GmbH & Co. KG — In Europe, this German company is known primarily for its vehicle heaters, but its interest in OSADL is said to be focused on its FlexRay vehicle networking technology. Eberspacher is releasing a Linux driver for one of its FlexRay-based FlexCard interface cards, says OSADL.
• OpenTech EDV Research GmbH — Austria's OpenTech is strongly associated with the Distributed Embedded Systems Lab of Lanzhou University, and performs industrial research of distributed embedded realtime operating systems in a safety critical environment.

Further information

More information on OSADL may be found at the OSADL website.

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