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Stella E MCUs power software-defined EVs

Thu, Feb 24, 2022

Automotive microcontrollers (MCUs) optimised for electric vehicles (EVs) and centralised (domain and zonal) electronic architectures have been released by STMicroelectronics. According to ST, they enable EVs to become more affordable, drive further and charge faster.

In current EVs, high-efficiency silicon carbide (SiC) -based power modules enable the greatest driving range and faster charging. Until now, they have required dedicated high-speed signal processors to control the advanced SiC power semiconductors. The Stellar E MCUs launched by ST are designed for the next generation of software-defined EVs, integrate high-speed control-loop processing on-chip. A single MCU can control the entire module, says ST, simplifying module design, saving costs and easing compliance with automotive safety and security standards.

The MCUs extend ST’s Arm-based Stellar family. They are a centralised domain and zone controller which simplify automotive electrical architectures for increased power, flexibility and safety, explained ST.

The MCU family includes the Stellar P series for integration and vehicle control and the Stellar G series for body applications. The Stellar family architecture integrates multiple Arm Cortex cores that deliver high performance with the opportunity for lock-step redundancy and support real-time hardware virtualisation. All Stellar devices are designed for software upgradeability through secure over-the-air (OTA) updates.

The first product in the Stellar E series, the Stellar SR5E1 is optimised for EV on-board chargers (OBC) and general DC/DC converters, is now sampling to lead customers. Full production will begin in 2023.

The Stellar E (Stellar Electrification MCUs) series are automotive-qualified MCUs that perform the high speed, control loop processing alongside general control in the same chip.

The MCUs can control multiple power converters, leveraging features including a high speed ADC, a pulse-width modulation (PWM) controller and fast-acting protection circuitry.

The Stellar E series supports the leading automotive standards for functional safety (ISO 26262 ASIL-D), security (HSM -), and industry standard software interoperability (via Autosar 4.3.x), as well as secure OTA update. The Stellar family is supported with an extensive software-development toolchain with a common ecosystem for control and actuation.

http://www.st.com

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Gen 4 PCIe switches for automotives are first in market, says Microchip

Tue, Feb 22, 2022

Able to deliver low latency and low power for autonomous driving ecosystems, the Switchtec PFX, PSX and PAX Gen 4 PCIe switches are the first in the market, says Microchip. High speed, low latency connectivity for distributed, heterogenous compute systems are a fundamental element in next-generation autonomous driving applications, said the company.

The Switchtec PFX, PSX, and PAX switches provide compute interconnect capabilities for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

“Our automotive-qualified portfolio of Switchtec Gen 4 switches provides the lowest latency and high bandwidth required to link the CPU and accelerator building blocks used in ADAS applications,” said Krishna Mallampati, associate director of marketing and applications for Microchip’s data centre business unit.

Switchtec Gen 4 PCIe switches provide the high speed interconnect that supports distributed, real time, safety critical data processing in ADAS architectures. As is the case for PCIe’s adoption in the data centre market, it is emerging as the preferred compute interconnect for the automotive industry where it provides low latency and low power bandwidth scalability to CPUs and specialised accelerator devices.

The GPU and computing giant, Nvidia is using the switches in its Drive platform. “The qualification of Microchip’s solutions to meet the stringent needs of the automotive market is a significant milestone, and one Nvidia closely collaborated on,” said Michael Truog, senior director of Automotive Platform Architecture at Nvidia. “Microchip’s automotive PCIe switches deliver flexibility and advanced programmability, enabling high speed SoC and GPU connectivity within our Nvidia Drive platform,” he added.

The Switchtec automotive-qualified Gen 4 PCIe switches are available in production. Microchip’s ChipLink diagnostic graphical user interface (GUI) provides debug, diagnostics, configuration and forensics tools for rapid deployment.

Microchip Technology provides smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions. development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable customers to create optimal designs which reduce risk while lowering total system cost and time to market. The company’s products serve customers across the industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defence, communications and computing markets.

http://www.microchip.com

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Aurelion validates autonomous vehicle sensors in virtual test drives

Thu, Feb 17, 2022

High resolution visualisation in the Aurelion sensor simulation suite allows functions for autonomous driving to be tested and validated. Developed by dSpace, it can be operated either in the cloud or locally. It generates photo-realistic images in real time for camera simulation. It uses ray tracing to create an exact environment for radar and lidar simulation. Developers can use Aurelion to validate algorithms for autonomous driving by means of simulation during virtual test drives, long before a prototype hits the road, advised dSpace.

The simulation can be used throughout all phases of the development process, for example, software-in-the-loop (SIL) testing, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, or simultaneous validation in the cloud. Aurelion supports the development of functionalities and training data based on AI, including neural network training and testing.

A powerful 3-D rendering engine, high-precision dSpace simulation models and realistic 3-D assets, such as pedestrians or vehicles, enable accurate simulation of sensors, environments, weather conditions, light conditions (day, night), and materials, said dSpace. Developers can simulate a wide range of scenarios and test corner cases that very rarely occur in real test drives.

Aurelion draws on an extensive library of sensor models that is always updated, said the company, allowing new sensors to be replicated in simulation solutions long before they are launched on the market. dSpace has entered into co-operation agreements with leading sensor manufacturers and is continuously expanding its collaboration with developers of camera, lidar, and radar technologies. There is also the option of integrating third-party sensor models.

Aurelion bundles functionalities from dSpace MotionDesk and SensorSim into one single product, and also provides extended functionalities and more precision in the field of sensor simulation. In combination with other dSpace tools, such as the ASM simulation models, the VEOS simulation platform, and ModelDesk for parameterisation, dSpace said it provides an end-to-end solution for testing and validating the autonomous vehicle stack.

dSpace provides simulation and validation solutions worldwide for developing connected, autonomous, and electrically powered vehicles. The company’s range is used by automotive manufacturers and their suppliers to test the software and hardware components in new vehicles before a new model is allowed on the road. As well as vehicle development, the company works with engineers in aerospace and industrial automation.

The company is headquartered in Paderborn, Germany and serves customers through regional dSpace companies in the USA, the UK, France, Japan, China, Croatia, and South Korea.

http://www.dspace.de

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Tasking SmartCode environment supports Aurix microcontrollers

Tue, Jan 25, 2022

Developers focusing on the Aurix TC4x microcontroller family by Infineon can use Tasking’s SmartCode software development environment.

The microcontroller family provides an upward migration path for the Aurix TC3x family. It features the next-generation TriCore 1.8 and scalable accelerators, including the parallel processing unit (PPU) as well as a single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) digital signal processor (DSP) to meet the requirements of various AI topologies, says Infineon.

The Aurix TC4x family supports developers in a range of automotive applications, including the future functional integration of domain- and zone-based E/E architectures. The microcontroller family can be used in electromobility and automated driving.

The Tasking SmartCode supports both the next-generation Aurix TriCore v1.8 instruction set and the PPU AI accelerator. According to Tasking, SmartCode is the only productive development environment with compiler that supports all architectures in the Aurix TC4x (TriCore compiler, SCR compiler, GTM compiler and PPU compiler).

Tasking SmartCode is also suitable for the development of software in safety-critical applications in accordance with ISO26262 up to ASIL D. It also meets the cybersecurity requirements of the new ISO/SAE 21434:2021 standard. Tasking offers users the associated safety/security manual so that no additional costs are incurred for tool qualification.

According to Infineon’s senior vice president, Automotive Microcontroller, Thomas Böhm: “With Tasking’s comprehensive software development tools, our customers can optimise system performance and qualify their systems quickly and cost-effectively for an ASIL-D safety concept”.

Tasking Germany provides embedded software development tools. It is headquartered in Munich, Germany.

Its development tools are used by automotive manufacturers and the world’s largest Tier 1 supplier to realise high-performance applications in safety-critical areas.

Volume production of the Aurix TC4x series is planned for the end of 2024. Samples of the TC49x were received by lead customers in 2022. The first productive version of Tasking SmartCode is available now.

http://www.tasking.com

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Stella E MCUs power software-defined EVs

Gen 4 PCIe switches for automotives are first in market, says Microchip

Aurelion validates autonomous vehicle sensors in virtual test drives

Tasking SmartCode environment supports Aurix microcontrollers

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