Oracle Looks To Internet of Things With Java ME Embedded

“Time-to-market and cost pressures are already forcing ODMs and OEMs to re-evaluate their solution stack and identify new opportunities for engineering synergies,” said Chris Rommel, vice president of M2M & Embedded Technology at VDC Research, in a statement. “However, the edge devices under development today must also be designed to become tomorrow’s channels for post-deployment software and service delivery. More than ever, engineering organisations should consider new, integrated development solutions that can both offer an opportunity to focus internal resource investments on application-level differentiation, as well as establish a platform for net new revenue generation.”

Embedded Devices

Oracle Java ME Embedded 3.3 is designed and optimised to meet the unique requirements of small, embedded, low-power devices such as micro-controllers and other resource-constrained hardware without screens or user interfaces.

The release features support for embedded chip architecture from ARMv5 through ARMv7. In addition, Gemalto’s Cinterion M2M Modules feature Oracle Java ME Embedded, providing their customers with a cost-effective, flexible platform to help bring advanced and connected M2M technologies to market faster.

“It is essential for us to provide our customers with the technology to open up new business opportunities by creating value and enabling new services quickly and cost effectively,” said Axel Hansmann, vice president of strategy and marketing at Gemalto M2M, in a statement. “Oracle Java ME Embedded on Gemalto’s Cinterion Java Modules provides what the market is asking for – wireless connectivity and greater intelligence in miniaturised, scalable M2M technology.”

Oracle Java ME Embedded binaries and tooling are freely available, for internal development and testing purposes, on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) for ARM architecture-based developer boards. These include the low-cost and popular Raspberry Pi and the Keil STM32 F200 Evaluation Board for ARM Cortex-M processor-based devices. Support for additional off-the-shelf binaries is planned for future update releases, Utzschneider said.

Moreover, addressing the need for strong communications support in the Internet of Things, Oracle Java ME Embedded 3.3 provides greater connectivity between edge devices and a wide array of network peripherals and systems, along with increased I/O and network monitoring capabilities.

Also, significant improvements for device APIs increase the range and number of external peripherals that can be integrated and addressed by applications built on Oracle Java ME Embedded 3.3. In addition, this release provides runtime monitoring and logging enhancements.

Oracle Java ME SDK 3.3 provides a complete development environment for Oracle Java ME Embedded 3.3. Freely available for download from OTN, the latest version includes new support for Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit, in addition to Microsoft Windows XP 32-bit.

The new release also features Java ME SDK plug-ins for the NetBeans Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and Eclipse, enabling more application development environments for Java ME developers.

ARM Collaboration

In recent related news, Oracle and ARM announced a collaboration to optimise Java for 64-bit ARM-based servers.

ARM, which has worked with Oracle in the past to bring Java and its system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture closer together, announced 22 July that Oracle will further optimize Java Platform Standard Edition (Java SE) for ARM’s current 32-bit designs and add Java SE support to 64-bit ARMv8 platforms.

The agreement is not only aimed at such data centre systems as servers and networking systems, but also at M2M environments, including industrial control, factory automation and single-board computers, according to ARM and Oracle officials.

Expanding Oracle’s support for ARM’s technology will increase the software ecosystem that will be key as ARM looks to bring its low-power system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture, which now is found in most smartphones and tablets, into the data centre, according to Ian Drew, chief marketing officer and executive vice president for business development at ARM.

“The industry has reached a significant inflection point as enterprise infrastructure, including servers and network routers, is now able to leverage high-performance, energy-efficient ARM technology,” Drew said in a statement. “This extended relationship with Oracle to enhance Java SE is an important step in growing the ARM ecosystem, which is enabling businesses and consumers worldwide to discover new levels of energy efficiency and advanced performance.”

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Originally published on eWeek.