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QNX Secures Major Design Win in Software Defined Radio

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  • QNX Neutrino RTOS provides software foundation for Harris Falcon III tactical radios
  • Falcon III family includes the first NSA- and SCA-certified software defined radio (SDR).
  • Harris chose QNX Neutrino for its reliability, realtime performance, and mature support for POSIX standards.
  • OTTAWA, November 17, 2008 — — QNX Software Systems today announced that Harris Corporation, the leading supplier of software-defined radios (SDRs) to the U.S. military, is deploying the QNX® Neutrino® RTOS in the Harris Falcon® III line of tactical radios.

    The Harris Falcon III radios include multiband, multimission radios in vehicular, handheld, and “manpack” configurations. The Falcon III AN/PRC-152(C) handheld radio recently became the first and only radio to be certified as fully compliant with version 2.2 of the Software Communications Architecture of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS SCA). The Software Communications Architecture (SCA) provides the overall blueprint for building JTRS software defined radio systems. JTRS is a program of the U.S. Department of Defense.

    SDR is revolutionizing both military and commercial communications. It replaces conventional, fixed-function radios with reconfigurable devices that can “learn” new capabilities, modulation schemes, and wireless protocols. The wireless landscape is constantly evolving, but with SDR, radio systems can adapt to new transmission standards simply by running new software.

    When evaluating the QNX Neutrino RTOS for the Falcon III family, Harris looked at several criteria, including reliability, realtime performance, and support for the industry-standard POSIX application programming interface (API). POSIX serves as a cornerstone of the Software Communications Architecture (SCA), which is the JTRS program’s interoperability standard.

    “POSIX support is a central element for SCA certification, so QNX’s long-standing commitment to POSIX weighed heavily in our decision,” said Thomas Kenney, Vice President of Product Line Management, Harris RF Communications. “QNX’s technology was important to the recent certification of the operating environment of our AN-PRC-152(C) as fully compliant with Version 2.2 of the Software Communications Architecture.”

    “Other RTOS vendors may claim support for the SDR market, but as this announcement demonstrates, QNX leads the pack in successful, field-deployed, and certified SDR products,” said Dan Dodge, CEO, QNX Software Systems. “In fact, the modularity and dynamically upgradeable architecture of the QNX Neutrino RTOS makes it the perfect platform for SDR, providing the flexibility, scalability, and adaptability essential to any successful SDR implementation.”

    About QNX Software Systems
    QNX Software Systems, a Harman International company (NYSE: HAR), is the industry leader in realtime, embedded OS technology. The component-based architectures of the QNX® Neutrino® RTOS, QNX Momentics® development suite, and QNX Aviage® middleware together provide the industry’s most reliable and scalable framework for building innovative, high-performance embedded systems. Global leaders such as Cisco, Daimler, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, and Siemens depend on QNX technology for network routers, medical instruments, vehicle telematics units, security and defense systems, industrial robotics, and other mission- or life-critical applications. Founded in 1980, QNX Software Systems is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and distributes products in over 100 countries worldwide.

    Editorial Contacts

    Paul Leroux
    QNX Software Systems
    +1 613 591-0931
    paull@qnx.com

    QNX, Aviage, Momentics, and Neutrino are trademarks of QNX Software Systems GmbH & Co. KG, registered in certain jurisdictions, and are used under license. All other trademarks and trade names belong to their respective owners.