QNX Secures Major Design Win in Software Defined Radio

The Harris Falcon III ANPRC 152 (C), citing a total of 50,000, the most widely deployed JTRS certified handheld radio

(BUSINESS WIRE) Hannover, 04.12.2008 - How QNX Software Systems today announced that Harris Corporation will continue the QNX Neutrino RTOS in its tactical radios used Harris Falcon III product line.

Harris is the leading supplier of software defined radios (SDR) of the U.S. military. The Harris Falcon III radios provide multi-band, multi-mission radios in various configurations for use in vehicles, as a so-called handheld or manpack. The Falcon III AN/PRC-152 (C) handheld radio was recently certified as the first and only radio that version 2.2 to complete the Software Communications Architecture Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS SCA) compliant. The Software Communications Architecture (SCA) is the basis for the development of JTRS software-defined radio system. JTRS is a program of the U.S. Department of Defense.

SDR is revolutionizing both the military and commercial communications. It replaces conventional wireless devices with fixed functions through a reconfigurable device, the new capabilities, modulation schemes and wireless protocols can learn. The wireless landscape is evolving continuously, but with SDR radio systems can easily adapt to new transmission standards by simply running with a newer software.

Evaluated as the QNX Neutrino RTOS for Harris Falcon III family, the company looked to various criteria, including reliability, real-time performance and support for the POSIX application programming interface (API). POSIX is one of the cornerstones of the Software Communications Architecture (SCA), the compatibility standards of the JTRS program.

"The support of POSIX is a central element for SCA certification. The long-standing commitment to POSIX QNX has significantly influenced our decision," said Thomas Kenney, Vice President of Product Line Management at Harris RF Communications. "The QNX technology was critical to the recent certification of the operating environment of our AN-PRC-152 (C) as fully compliant with version 2.2 to the Software Communications Architecture."

"Other RTOS vendors may well support the claim of the SDR market, but as this publication shows, QNX successful, battle-tested and certified SDR-leading products," said Dan Dodge, CEO of QNX Software Systems. "Thanks to its modularity and dynamically upgradeable architecture of the QNX Neutrino RTOS is a perfect platform for SDR, as it provides the flexibility, scalability and adaptability, which is crucial for any successful SDR implementation."