The standard reference platform for automotion-grade Linux is the Renesas Electronics R-Car Starter Kit

     Renesas Electronics, a leading global provider of semiconductor solutions, has announced that Automotion-grade Linux(AGL) has adopted the R-Car Starter Suite as one of its standard reference software platforms for software development. AGL is a collaborative open source project that brings together automakers, suppliers, and technology companies to build a Linux-based open software platform for automotive applications that can serve as an industry standard for real-world applications. The adoption of the Renesas R-Car Starter Kit gives software developers easy access to the software and hardware environments that run on this project to quickly and easily develop in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) applications for the next generation of connected cars.

     The R-Car Starter Kit supports Unified Code Base(UCB)3.0, released by the AGL project in January 2017. The R-Car Starter Kit also supports the latest 64-bit software development environment, which, unlike the previous 32-bit environment, allows the latest IT solutions, including container technology (Note 1), to be seamlessly applied to automotive applications.

     In addition, two IVI development expansion boards that can be used with the R-Car Starter Kit and developed by Renesas Electronics partners (note 2) will be available in July 2017. While the standard expansion board includes multiple displays and different types of network interfaces, the advanced kit provides interfaces that can be expanded to up to eight channels for camera input and high-speed/mass storage.

     Software developers can easily develop IVI software with the latest software development environment platform that will be the industry standard and optimized for IVI development. The platform, supported by a free software library built by Renesas Electronics and an R-Car ecosystem of more than 190 companies, enables software developers to quickly develop IVI application software and reduce costs.

     Renesas Electronics will participate as a gold sponsor at the Automotive Linux Summit (ALS) at the Tokyo Convention Center on May 31, 2017. In addition to showcasing the latest AGL development environment, Renesas Electronics will also showcase its state-of-the-art connected car cockpit connected to cloud-based IT services.

     Dan Cauchy, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation, said: "Renesas is an active supporter of open source development and fully anticipates the rapid innovative impact that automotive Linux will have on the development of the entire industry. By adopting the Renesas R-Car Starter Kit, one of our standard reference platforms, developers will be able to develop applications quickly and easily using AGL Unified Code Base."

     Masahiro Suzuki, Vice President, Business Leader, Automotive Information Solutions, Renesas Electronics, said: "We are pleased that our R-Car Starter Kit is being used as one of the standard reference platforms by the AGL project, which is dedicated to creating industry-standard advanced open source software. Software developers now have access to R-Car Starter Kit hardware and AGL Unified Code Base, allowing them to focus on developing higher-level professional software. Renesas Electronics wants to contribute to accelerating innovation in IVI development across the industry."