Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501) today announced a realtime OS conforming to the European 
automotive industry standard OSEK/VDX specification for the SH7055F SuperH(TM)*1 RISC 
microcomputer.  The new OS will go on sale in November 1999 in Japan.  Use of this OS will 
simplify the development and maintenance of application software related automotive control, 
including engine fuel injection and suspension control systems.

Semiconductor manufacturers and third-party vendors currently offer realtime OSs for various 
kinds of embedded microcomputers, and Hitachi also provide a realtime OS conforming to the 
uITRON*2 specification.

With the automotive industry's demanding performance requirements and program size 
limitations for program to control engine, suspension, etc it has been usual to write individual 
programs for each applications rather than using a realtime OS.  However, with the recent 
increase in program size associated with the diversification and high level function of control 
systems, and also in consideration of the difficulty of reusing existing software, individual 
programs are no longer a viable solution.  At the same time there are demands for higher 
functionality and performance for control programs, as well as provision for specialization in 
product development, there is an urgent need for a realtime OS specialized toward the specific 
requirements of the automotive industry in order to simplify the connection of ECUs*3 offered 
by various manufacturers and enable application software to be reused in component form.

To meet this need, OSEK/VDX (referred to as OSEK below) was proposed in Europe in 1997 
as a standard OS specification by a group mainly comprising major automotive manufacturers.

This new product is a realtime OS that runs on the SH7055F-a microcomputer with large-
capacity on-chip flash memory, ideal for applications such as engine control-and simplifies the 
development and maintenance of application software for automotive control systems.  As well 
as a communication program conforming to the OSEK communication specification, on-chip 
HCAN*4 driver for the SH7055F is also provided, enabling easy communication between 
ECUs.

The user can select those functions required for system development from among the 
interrupts, alarms, and similar functions provided, allowing the OS to be optimized for 
individual platforms.  As a development environment, Hitachi offers an easy-to-operate 
configurator incorporating a graphical user interface, based on the OIL*5 programming 
language for OSEK.  This simplifies the configuration of a realtime OS tailored to the user's 
system.

Also available is a debugger that runs on the HDI (Hitachi Debugging Interface), the user 
interface for Hitachi's E8000 in-circuit emulator, with capabilities including the monitoring of 
task states, simplifying the debugging multitask programs.

Use of this realtime OS, together with an integrated development environment that includes the 
systematic use of these related tools, will enable the efficiency of application program 
development and maintenance work to be doubled or trebled

Future plans include the extension of this OS to cover other SuperH(TM) RISC engine family 
models and H8S Series models such as the H8S/2623 Series of microcomputers with an on-
chip HCAN.


Notes:	1. SuperH(TM) is a trademark of Hitachi, Ltd..
	2. uITRON: Micro Industrial TRON.  The uITRON specification is a realtime OS 
            specification formulated and released by the TRON Association.
	3. ECU: Electric Control Unit.  Performs electronic control of engine, suspension, 
            airbag, power steering, ABS, and similar systems.
	4. HCAN: Hitachi Controller Area Network. CAN (controller area network) 
            specification with user-friendly features added by Hitachi.
	5. OIL: OSEK Implementation Language.  An OSEK programming language 
            specification stipulated by OSEK.

< Typical Applications >
Automotive: Engine control, AT control, suspension control
Industrial: FA control equipment, NC equipment, sequencers


< Prices in Japan > (For Reference Only)

			Contract 
Contract Type		Provisions		Product Code		Price (Yen)        
C4 (object contract)	For evaluation		HS0700V0IN1SRB		500,000            
C1 (object contract)	For Commercial		HS0700V0IN1SRB		4,500,000          
B1 (source contract)	For Commercial		HS0700V0IN1SRS		6,500,000