It seems that two unrelated product introductions should make the life of developers of In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) systems easier. If one uses an Intel Atom processor and the Linux operating system as a base, then it looks like a few tailored components will complete the system provided by these two vendors. One hopes that since both are GENIVI compliant they will work together in a seamless manner. If not, it is back to work for the developers of the GENIVI standard.

Mentor Graphics Corporation announced that its Mentor® Embedded In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) Base Platform now meets the compliance requirements of the GENIVI Alliance, an automotive and consumer electronics industry association driving the collaborative development of open source IVI systems.

The Mentor Embedded IVI Base Platform integrates graphics, communication and multimedia middleware with libraries, system infrastructure, and management components on top of Linux® and relevant drivers. The Platform is available for both the Intel® Atom™ processor and ARM architectures.

At the same time Wind River, a unit of Intel's terrestrial empire, introduced the latest version of Wind River Platform for Infotainment, a software platform on which automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 suppliers can develop sophisticated in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) devices.

Beyond traditional navigation and telematics capabilities, Wind River Platform for Infotainment also enables OEMs and their suppliers to deliver features such as high-end multimedia, Internet access while maintaining strong security standards, and wired or wireless connectivity options that are in line with the growing consumer electronics demands of device convergence and ubiquitous connectivity. By providing a commercial software product compliant with the GENIVI open source platform, Wind River Platform for Infotainment delivers the benefits of open source innovation with a proven commercial Linux offering.