EnSilica and Express Logic Bring ThreadX RTOS to eSi-RISC Processor Cores

The combination of eSi-RISC and ThreadX is ideally suited to IoT applications

threadxWokingham (UK) & SAN DIEGO — 2nd December 2015.  EnSilica, a leading independent provider of semiconductor IP and IC design services, and Express Logic, the worldwide leader in royalty-free real-time operating systems (RTOSes), have collaborated to port Express Logic’s popular ThreadX® real-time operating system (RTOS) to EnSilica’s eSi-RISC family of silicon-proven, highly configurable embedded processor cores.

ThreadX ease-of-use is facilitated by its intuitive, highly functional API and advanced, instant-on RTOS features. ThreadX features efficient real-time responsiveness and code compactness that appeal to developers of the most demanding, deeply embedded consumer and industrial electronics. Together eSi-RISC and ThreadX share small footprint, high-performance, and low-power characteristics that, when combined with ThreadX’s pre-certification for many safety standards, ideally suit them to IoT and industrial applications. With billions of units already deployed, ThreadX delivers rock-solid reliability coupled with exceptional quality. Express Logic’s companion X-Ware software features ThreadX fully integrated with Express Logic’s FileX high-performance MS-DOS compatible file system, NetX high-performance implementation of TCP/IP protocol standards, and USBX high-performance USB host, device, and On-The-Go (OTG) embedded stack.

EnSilica’s eSi-RISC is a family of highly configurable and low-power soft processor cores for embedded systems that scale across a wide range of applications and uniquely support both 16-bit and 32-bit configurations. The cores have been extensively silicon proven in a variety of ASIC technologies down to 28nm. The eSi-RISC family includes the eSi-1600 16-bit processor, eSi-3200 32-bit processor, eSI-3250 32-bit processor, eSi-3250sfp incorporating a single precision floating point processor, eSi-3260 32 bit processor with SIMD DSP extensions and eSI-32X0MP 32-bit scalable, asymmetric multicore processor. The processor cores also benefit from a configurable memory architecture and configurable cache options.

“Today’s embedded developers are challenged to provide solutions that process high volumes of complex data using minimal processor cycles and memory,” said William Lamie, President of Express Logic. “We believe EnSilica’s flexible eSi-RISC processor cores and our highly efficient ThreadX RTOS creates a commercial-grade solution capable of addressing the most demanding projects now and into the future.”

“While some eSi-RISC customers often choose an open-source RTOS to realise up-front budget savings, others believe that a commercially supported RTOS is more preferable for successful embedded product development and fast time-to-market delivery,” said Ian Lankshear, CEO of EnSilica. “Our collaboration with Express Logic in developing the ThreadX port provides our customers with access to one to one of the most successful and popular commercial RTOSes on the market. The combination of ThreadX and eSi-RISC delivers unrivalled compactness, high performance and low-power for all manner of embedded applications.”

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About EnSilica

EnSilica was founded in 2001 and has a strong track record of success in delivering semiconductor IP and providing ASIC/FPGA design services to semiconductor companies and OEMs worldwide. The company is headquartered in the UK and has offices in India and the USA. The company is a specialist in low-power ASIC design and complex FPGA-based embedded systems including hardware and embedded software development. In addition to providing IP and turnkey ASIC/FPGA development, EnSilica also provides point services to companies with in-house ASIC design teams. These services include system engineering, analog and mixed signal design, and advanced verification using UVM, DFT and physical implementation. For further information about EnSilica, visit https://ensilica.com.

About Express Logic

Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Express Logic offers the most advanced run-time solution for deeply embedded applications, including the popular ThreadX® RTOS, the high-performance NetX™ TCP/IP stack, the FileX® embedded FAT-compatible file system, the USBX™ Host/Device USB protocol stack, and the GUIX™ graphical user interface development toolkit. Most products from Express Logic include full source code and all have no run-time royalties. For more information about Express Logic solutions, please visit the Web site at www.expresslogic.com, call 1-858-613-6640, or e-mail inquiries to info@expresslogic.com.

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Media contacts:

  • Dr. David Wheeler, Technical Director for EnSilica
    Tel: +44 (0)1183 217 332. Email: david.wheeler@ensilica.com
  • Keith Mason, Humbug PR
    Tel: +44 (0)1305 849403. Email: keith.mason@humbugpr.com