KARLSRUHE, Germany and SAN FRANCISCO, February 5 /PRNewswire/ --

- The Open Group Spearheads Initiative with Leading European Real-time 
Technology Developers, Manufacturers, Research Institutes

The Open Group (http://www.opengroup.org) today announced that it has
partnered with a consortium of leading European real-time technology
developers, industrial manufacturers and research organizations to develop a
new framework for Java-based real-time applications on modern parallel
processor systems. Supported by the European Commission, the Java Environment
for Parallel Real-time Development (JEOPARD) project is investing over euro 
3.3 million (US$4.9 million) in an advanced framework for real-time Java 
running on multicore and parallel systems. This platform-independent 
framework will maintain the robust reliability essential for safety and 
mission critical applications, while using the additional processing power 
available from the latest parallel platforms.

Led by The Open Group, the JEOPARD consortium includes four universities
and research institutes: University of York (http://www.york.ac.uk), Vienna
University of Technology (http://www.tuwien.ac.at), FZI (http://www.fzi.de)
and the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (http://www.utcluj.ro); three
industrial manufacturers: EADS (http://www.eads.com), RadioLabs
(http://www.radiolabs.it) and SkySoft (http://www.skysoft.pt); and two
embedded systems technology suppliers: aicas (http://www.aicas.com) and Sysgo
(http://www.sysgo.com). The technology research is being directed by aicas to
ensure project results meet the highest industry level standards for
reliability and real-time performance.

The strategic objective of the JEOPARD project is to provide the tools
for platform-independent development of predictable systems that make use of
SMP multicore platforms and field programmable gate array (FPGA) components. 
These tools will enhance software productivity and reusability by extending 
processor technology already established on desktop systems for the specific 
needs of multicore embedded systems. The project will actively contribute to 
standards required for the development of portable software in this domain, 
such as the Real-Time Specification for Java (RTSJ).

In addition, the JEOPARD project will develop a platform-independent
software development interface for real-time multicore systems. The interface
will be based on existing technologies, including the Real-Time Specification
for Java (JSR 1 and JSR 282) and Safety-Critical Java (JSR 302). These
technologies currently provide a strong foundation for the development of
complex and highly reliable real-time systems, but they do not yet provide
support for multicore systems. Even more challenging, some of the
technologies can not address more than one processor at a time, making it
impossible to develop applications that scale with the number of processors
available on current and future multicore systems.

"The JEOPARD consortium partners are experts in all layers of a multicore
embedded system, from the processor architecture to the Java virtual machine
and the C and Java API layers," said Scott Hansen, director of European
Projects at The Open Group. "We're confident the project will solve the
critical issues in each of these layers, thereby providing a powerful
interface for the applications developer at the highest level."

"Embedded systems developers require a stable platform based on
recognized standards if they are to invest in new applications that fully
exploit multicore systems," said Fridtjof Siebert, CTO of aicas and technical
director for the consortium. "The JEOPARD project will provide an
evolutionary path that maintains the advantages of Java such as portability,
interoperability, object orientated design, while enabling real-time systems
developers to achieve higher performance levels and scalability with
increasingly sophisticated multicore platforms."

The JEOPARD project is financed in part by the 7th Framework Programme,
an initiative of the European Community created to foster European research
and development of new technologies, applications and industries. The project
will run through 2010 and is expected to contribute to ongoing standards
development activities related to real-time Java and multicore systems.

About aicas

aicas is the premier vendor of hard realtime Java Virtual Machines for
embedded applications. In addition, the company provides analysis and
optimization tools to help developers to improve application quality. aicas
provides customization services for JamaicaVM in order to meet the needs of
its customers, especially in connection with various target environments.
JamaicaVM is unique in its market segment: it is the only Java implementation
with a hard realtime Garbage Collector. aicas serves the aerospace,
industrial control, instrumentation, and automotive markets, among others.
Its customer list includes Boeing, EADS Astrium, EADS Military Air Systems,
Honeywell, and Siemens. The company's headquarters are in Karlsruhe, Germany,
with subsidiary offices in the USA and Japan. In addition, aicas has reseller
relationships with a group of highly qualified companies in Europe, America
and Asia. Further information on aicas can be found at http://www.aicas.com.

About The Open Group

The Open Group is a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium,
which drives the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow(TM) that will
enable access to integrated information within and between enterprises based
on open standards and global interoperability. The Open Group works with
customers, suppliers, consortia and other standard bodies. Its role is to
capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish
policies and share best practices; to facilitate interoperability, develop
consensus, and evolve and integrate specifications and open source
technologies; to offer a comprehensive set of services to enhance the
operational efficiency of consortia; and to operate the industry's premier
certification service. Further information on The Open Group can be found at
http://www.opengroup.org.

Web sites: http://www.opengroup.org
               http://www.aicas.com