Oracle has shown signs of trying to make its Java platform into a unifying layer for the internet of things ‘ a role it almost, but not quite, achieved in handsets, before its functionality was overtaken by full OSs like Android.
Controlling a layer to bring together many diverse elements of the IoT would give Oracle a new power base and an important entry point to this ecosystem ‘ which in turn could be valuable for its core business in creating big data platforms, to handle the vast stores of information emanating from all those ‘things’.
The database company has announced its global IoT Developer Challenge, for Java developers who create outstanding applications using Java Embedded technologies for devices, boards and other IoT technologies
It is also turning to some unexpected allies to build its Embedded Java platform, notably MIPS. As Oracle may be able to steal a march on Android in IoT as it was unable to do in smartphones, so MIPS hopes to create a presence in this nascent market as it failed to do in handsets.
MIPS’ owner Imagination Technologies (see Wireless Watch May 22 2014) recently announced a joint venture with Oracle, porting the Java Development Kit and Java SE Embedded to the MIPS architectures. Imagination claims its chips are particularly well suited to low power IoT applications as they have a limited instruction set and so are often used with embedded OSs ‘ like those found in the MIPS stronghold, home routers.
The two companies are also working on increased compatibility between Java and Imagination’s PowerVR graphics processor units (GPUs).
Nandini Ramani, VP of Oracle’s Java and IoT division, said: “The MIPS architecture is widely used in networking, embedded and other key markets. We are excited to see the differentiated feature set that Imagination has laid out in its roadmap for MIPS, and we are seeing increasing demand for optimized Java support for MIPS.”
When Oracle rolled out the latest release of Java Micro Edition Embedded, it positioned it clearly as a platform to unify diverse real time OSs and protocols, but there will be plenty of other contenders for that role. Some are coming from standards bodies, like 6LoWPAN; some from government initiatives, like the US’s Industrial Internet group, led by GE; Qualcomm’s AllJoyn may well evolve into such a candidate via its industry alliance, AllSeen.
To stand a chance against these other umbrella platforms, Oracle is putting more effort into embedded Java than it has at any time since the Sun acquisition. It has promised a Java-based service delivery platform, initially supporting a new family of gateways from Freescale, and will also run Java on microcontrollers from Freescale, Qualcomm, STMicro and others, as well as MIPS.
Oracle is also adding to functionality, migrating some features planned for Java Standard Edition 8 into microcontroller-based Java ME Embedded. The alignment between the high end and embedded flavors “will help create a more unified Java Embedded developer platform and ecosystem to better address the complexity of the internet of things,” said Ramani.