Software

There are many reference platforms available, like phyCORE‑i.MX 93 SOM for you to base your next design on. These reference designs only get you so far. At some point in your hardware design, you will want to be creative and not be concerned with deviating from the reference. PHYTEC’s hardware design collaboration is key to successful deviations, which could include changing processor variants, components, adding high-speed peripheral buses, reducing board size, reducing power, etc. All of these hardware changes means that you must also change the reference software that was supplied. This is where PHYTEC can help. At PHYTEC we have 25 years of working with creative hardware designs and custom software.

Mainline Contributions – Upstream first!

Our software team prioritizes upstreaming all interfaces to the mainline Linux Kernel and U-Boot as quickly as possible.

• Ensures long-term maintainability and security.
• Provides customers with access to the latest kernel features.
• Extends product usability even after the original silicon vendor sunsets support.

BSP Updates

We provide updated pre-built BSPs (Board Support Packages) as a reliable starting point for customer projects.

• Yocto meta-layers allow complete customization for project-specific needs.
• An SDK is included to enable customers to build applications without needing to modify kernel, bootloader, or core BSP components.
• This saves significant time and cost compared to a ground-up bringup effort.

Release Frequency

• Vendor-based products: Two releases per year, providing timely access to new features, improvements, and bug fixes.
• After mainlining: One release per year, focused on aligning with the latest mainline kernel to maintain security and compatibility.

Feature Enablement

We strive to support all vendor-provided and kernel-available features at the time of release, giving customers a broad foundation to build on. Examples include:

• RAUC for secure and reliable software updates.
• Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) for real-time communication needs.
• Full access to all boot interfaces (including vendor-specific and unique boot methods).
• Cutting-edge features as they emerge from kernel development.

Customer Benefits

• Faster time-to-market: Pre-built BSPs and SDKs reduce initial bring-up effort.
• Lower engineering costs: Maintenance and mainlining handled by PHYTEC’s team, not the customer’s.
• Long product lifecycles: Mainline strategy ensures software support outlives silicon vendor timelines.
• Flexibility & customization: Yocto meta-layers give customers the freedom to tailor solutions to their needs.
• Security & stability: Regular updates keep products patched, reliable, and aligned with industry standards.

Integrating PHYTEC SOMs as the core component of your next hardware platform design is how customers get to market faster with the customizations their devices require. Deviations including processor variants, memory components, support of interfaces on our reference platform and supply chain continuity are all handled by PHYTEC allowing you to focus on your core competencies and integration of your application.