Accelerated Technology Provides micro-ITRON Support for Analog Devices' Blackfin DSP.

Business Editors, Technology Writers

Embedded Systems Expo & Conference Tokyo 2002

Nucleus uiPLUS allows developers to build a variety of embedded

applications according to micro-ITRON specifications

With more than 50 percent of embedded developers in Japan using the micro-ITRON specification, Accelerated Technology(R), the Embedded Systems Division of Mentor Graphics (Nasdaq:MENT), today announced their micro-ITRON interface solution, Nucleus(R) uiPLUS, in a version for Analog Devices' Blackfin(TM) DSP.

Nucleus uiPLUS will allow developers building telecommunications/Internet appliances and consumer applications to take advantage of the industry's fastest 16-bit fixed point Dual MAC DSP solution from Analog Devices, Inc. while maintaining the specifications of the micro-ITRON standard.

To address the micro-ITRON market, Accelerated Technology ported their Nucleus PLUS kernel to the micro-ITRON interface standard, resulting in Nucleus uiPLUS. Developers using Nucleus uiPLUS will also have access to the complete native Nucleus PLUS interface. This means that all of Accelerated Technology's add-on products such as networking, graphics, file system and web products are available immediately to the user.

With an existing customer base in the U.S. and Europe, Nucleus uiPLUS is set to spread the adoption of the micro-ITRON standard throughout the world. Together with Analog Devices, Accelerated Technology will stay at the forefront of emerging technologies and promote the acceptance of embedded standards to developers worldwide.

"As the DSP community emerges as a high impact player in the embedded space, we are prepared to take advantage of the next generation of embedded DSPs with embedded software and tools. We are one of the first to port our Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) to the Blackfin and in doing so, we have provided a reasonably priced, global solution for this DSP. Analog Devices has been a significant partner in getting this port to market so quickly and it has been a pleasure working with them," said Neil Henderson, general manager of Accelerated Technology, the Embedded Systems Division of Mentor Graphics.

"Nucleus PLUS on ADI's Blackfin DSP architecture allows consumer electronics customers to quickly migrate their legacy micro-ITRON applications while gaining the performance and system advantages of the Blackfin DSP architecture and the Nucleus source code," said Robert DeRobertis, product line director, digital appliance products, Analog Devices, Inc.

The ITRON specification is becoming an important standard for real time operating systems worldwide. Accelerated Technology is focusing their efforts on advancing the ITRON standard by becoming actively involved with the ITRON committee to promote the ITRON standard in North America. Accelerated Technology's goal is to bring the success of ITRON to all North American companies.

Pricing and Availability

Nucleus embedded software is sold with source code and without royalty fees. Available now, licenses for Nucleus uiPLUS start at $2,995 and licenses for Nucleus PLUS start at $12,495.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $600 million and approximately 3,500 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.

Accelerated Technology, the Embedded Systems Division of Mentor Graphics, is located in Mobile, Ala. with sales offices and distributors worldwide. By providing embedded systems developers with a focus on service, well-documented source code and industry leading non-royalty based Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) software, AT's RTOS software shortens time-to-market and provides a complete solution for engineers. For more information, please visit www.acceleratedtechnology.com or email us at [e-mail].

Mentor Graphics, Accelerated Technology and Nucleus are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.