Oracle plunges into IoT with Java ME updates

Oracle is driving Java deeper into the Internet of Things with updates to its Java Micro Edition Embedded software targeted at devices that are using ARM cores and less 1Mb of system memory.

At Java One in Shanghai, Oracle unveiled version 3.3 of Java ME Embedded, which now includes ports to Raspberry Pi and the Keil boards. A software developer's kit includes a runtime environment, and an expanded partner program helps third parties create their own Java ME Embedded ports.

ME 3.3 will support a range of ARM-based SoCs in addition to the Broadcom 2835 on Raspberry Pi and the STM32 F207IG on the Keil board. These include ARM-based chips from Freescale and Snapdragon parts from Qualcomm. Target systems span the gamut from building and home automaton controllers to telehealth devices and vending machines.

Sun Microsystems once focused Java primarily on feature phones, Blu-Ray players, and servers. Under Oracle, the focus on servers remains, but the embedded target has been expanded to the broad array of MCU-based devices under the Internet of Things.

"Android has definitely taken a lot of developer attention, but we are witnessing a lot of Android fatigue," Peter Utzschneider, vice president of Java product management at Oracle, told EE Times. "We want to make Java the No. 1 embedded platform out there, but we recognise it's a very fragmented sector."

Android challenges Java Standard Edition but can't fit into the kinds of devices Java ME targets, some of which have even less than 500Kb of RAM, he said.

In tandem with the version 3.3 release, Oracle expanded its Java integrator program to open the door to ports of SoCs for any embedded system class. Chip vendors get source code and documentation to develop the ports and permission to distribute binaries to OEMs.

Oracle said the Java ecosystem includes 9 million developers and more than 3 billion devices running the software.

- Rick Merritt
??EE Times