Secure HyperCell

Open Kernel Labs Introduces OK:Android

June 7, 2009 by Robin Wauters Leave a Comment

Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs), provider of virtualization software for mobile phones and broadband internet devices, today introduced OK:Android, an off-the-shelf paravirtualized version of the Android smartphone platform.

Using Secure HyperCell Technology, OK:Android enables Android to be used as a guest operating system running in a secure hypercell on top of the OKL4 microvisor, the OK Labs mobile phone virtualization platform. OK:Android gives handset manufacturers (OEMs) a short path to developing and delivering new designs with Android. The combination of OK:Android and OKL4 also extends new levels of security and robustness to the increasingly popular smartphone OS from Google and the Open Handset Alliance (OHA).

To date, Android-based handsets have been delivered by Taiwan-based HTC, with additional designs announced by Motorola, Samsung and other handset OEMs. Although Google and the OHA have been successful in engaging device suppliers and building a developer community, semiconductor suppliers, mobile OEMs and mobile network operators (MNOs) still face the significant challenges involved in porting and hosting Android on current chipsets and on new mobile hardware. By providing a flexible framework for Android integration with specific handset hardware and a straightforward way to reuse legacy software in new Android devices, OK:Android helps reduce time to market for a new wave of Android devices.

Since its introduction in 2008, Android has enjoyed a rapidly-growing market presence and bullish prospects for new deployments. One million Android-based handsets have shipped in 2008 as indicated by HTC; and research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics projects nine times that number in 2009. “Virtualization technology is being evaluated by many handset OEMs today, primarily for its significant time-to-market benefits for new phone designs,” noted Andreas Constantinou, lead analyst at VisionMobile. OK Labs virtualization technology already ships in over 300 million mobile handsets, including Android-based devices where OKL4 runs on the baseband processor. With OK:Android and the OKL4 microvisor, OK Labs can further accelerate Android adoption for new designs.

The impact of OK:Android starts by helping OEMs bring designs to market faster, and further extends its impact by incorporating a range of benefits across the emerging Android ecosystem. In particular, OK:Android enables OEMs, MNOs and ISVs to:

Offer new options for creating and prototyping Android-based devices and applications with embedded virtualization.
Create more secure and robust mobile devices, applications and services with Android and OKL4.
Run Android together with other mobile OSes and/or deploy multiple instances of Android on a single device.
Consolidate hardware (e.g., base band and application CPU cores) for more aggressive price-points for Android-based handsets.
Create new Android-based devices enabled for mobile-to-enterprise virtualization (M2E). M2E is a set of joint solutions developed by Citrix Systems, Inc. and OK Labs for delivering enterprise applications to mobile devices.

OK:Android and OKL4 are available immediately from OK Labs and its global channel partners.

Open Kernel Labs Hypervisor Embbeded In First Android Phone

October 3, 2008 by Robin Wauters Leave a Comment

Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs), a provider of systems software and virtualization technology for mobile devices and other embedded systems, announced today that the company’s OKL4 embedded hypervisor is employed on the Qualcomm chipset inside the market’s first-ever commercial Android-powered handset.

Manufactured by HTC, the G1 introduced by T-Mobile in September 2008 is the first handset powered by the Android software platform developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. At the heart of the G1 is the Qualcomm MSM7201A, a dual-core ARM family device with hardware-accelerated multimedia, 3D graphics and integrated multi-mode 3G baseband processing.

Android is likely to attract significant attention from third-party developers as a competing platform for reaching a large number of mobile phone users. The combination of open source software, third-party applications, and internet connectivity represented by Android is indicative of next-generation mobile phone deployment environments in which the reliability and security benefits provided by microkernel-based OKL4 are essential.

OK Labs’ OKL4 open source embedded hypervisor helps developers deliver increasingly complex software for mobile devices—in less time and with less effort—without compromising the reliability and security of those devices. Focusing on the specific requirements of mobile phones, using proven high-performance microkernel technology, and building on an open source code base uniquely position OKL4 as the optimal software architecture for next generation mobile devices.

OKL4 is available from OK Labs under open source and commercial licenses.

Open Kernel Labs Receives $2.5M Research Grant, Aims To Embed OS And Virtualization In Mobile Devices

June 12, 2008 by Robin Wauters Leave a Comment

Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs), a provider of embedded systems software and virtualization technology, announced today that it has won a $2.5M research grant under AusIndustry’s “Commercial Ready” program, which awards funds to enterprises that demonstrate the highest potential for innovation and its commercialization. The funds will be used to initiate a research, development and commercialization project centered on a technology transfer agreement with Australian research lab NICTA.

This investment will support research, prototyping and early stage commercialization, which will add unprecedented capabilities to OK Labs’ Secure HyperCell technology. Work under the grant will include the complete formal verification of the OKL4 microkernel and support enhancements to OKL4 that enable “better-designed and more secure software for mobile devices and consumer electronics”. The outcome aims to be a platform uniquely able to support resource-constrained, security- and safety-critical embedded devices.

Secure HyperCell technology provides a secure environment for operating systems, applications and drivers on mobile devices. More details regarding the development and commercialization from the project and its integration with OKL4 are expected to be announced at a later date. We’ll keep you updated!

[Source: VMBlog]