Automotive

Microcontroller has virtualisation assist for self-drive vehicles

Wed, Feb 20, 2019

For next-generation automotive architectures, Renesas Electronics has introduced a 28nm microcontroller with virtualisation-assisted functions. The 600MHz flash microcontroller combines enhanced built-in self-test (BIST) and a Gbit Ethernet (GbE) interface.

The company described the verification of the automotive test chip as a technological stepping stone toward the realisation of next-generation automotive-control flash microcontrollers employing a 28nm low power process.

The microcontroller has four 600MHz CPUs with a lock-step mechanism and a large flash memory capacity of 16Mbyte as well as virtualisation-assisted functions. This technology allows multiple software components to run on a single microcontroller without interfering with each other to satisfy the requirements of the highest automotive safety integrity level specified under the ISO 26262 functional safety standard for road vehicles, ASIL D.

The enhanced BIST functionality allows for microcontroller self-diagnostic fault-detection, which is necessary to implement ASIL D. The newly developed standby-resume BIST (SR-BIST) function is executed during the standby-resume period.

There is also enhanced networking functionality, including a GbE interface for high-speed transfer of sensor information.

Automotive microcontrollers need to meet the requirements of running software components with varying safety integrity levels simultaneously and without interference. Automotive control requires software independence as well as real time responsiveness. To meet these next-generation requirements, Renesas has developed new technologies led by virtualization-assisted functions for automotive-control MCUs, as demonstrated in the new test chip.

Typically, software-based (hypervisor) virtualisation requires greater processing time as it has to emulate hardware virtually. The increased processing time is problematic for automotive-control microcontrollers that must maintain real time responsiveness. The hardware-based virtualisation-assisted functions were developed to reduce the virtualisation overhead and boost responsiveness. Allowing software components to operate independently makes it possible for the microcontroller to deliver both virtualisation and real-time performance as required by ASIL D.

One way to avoid disturbing a CPU processing period is to to perform self-diagnostics in the period between when the microcontroller enters the standby state and when resume occurs. There is, however, limitation regarding current fluctuations, meaning that the increase in the current fluctuation rate caused by resume due to self-diagnostics is a concern. Renesas has developed SR-BIST to minimise the current fluctuation rate. SR-BIST runs before the CPU begins operating each time there is a transition from standby to resume. To ensure rapid start up, the on-chip oscillator supplies a clock for the fault diagnostics. An N/M divider is used to gradually increase the frequency of the clock, reducing the current fluctuation rate when SR-BIST is executing. As a result, it allows functional safety that meets the requirements of ASIL D, confirms Renesas.

Ethernet will be the high-speed communication interface to handle the volume of data generated by connected vehicles. Renesas has developed a GbE interface using 5V transistors that supports the Serial Gigabit Media Independent Interface (SGMII) standard and provides electrical noise tolerance. To deal with deterioration of the signal bandwidth due to the use of 5V transistors, dedicated circuits were added for receiver and driver. This results in signal quality that complies with the SGMII standard, says Renesas.

Renesas presented the test results at this week’s International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 2019, in San Francisco, USA.

http://renesas.com

> Read More

Safety laser clears a safe path

Thu, Feb 14, 2019

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) can be operated safely using the RSL 400 safety laser scanner, using protective and warning fields. It also simultaneously captures the measurement values for the navigation software.

When the triangulation principle is used for navigation, AGVs are typically equipped with two different sensors, one for safety and one for navigation. The RSL 400 safety laser scanner from Leuze Electronic, however, not only handles the safety aspects, but also provides all measurement values for the AGV’s navigation based on the natural navigation principle. In addition, the measurement values have an extremely high angular resolution and accuracy, reports Leuze. This is important to precisely determine the position of the AGV. Consequently, only one scanner is needed for safety and navigation functions.

Measurement value output of the RSL 400 is optimised for navigation software that functions according to the principle of natural navigation with simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM). With each revolution of its deflection unit, which last 40 milliseconds each, the safety laser scanner emits 2,700 light pulses which are scattered in all directions on obstacles. Parts of the scattered light are transmitted back to the scanner and used to calculate the distance to the obstacle. Similar to a map, the navigation software contains an image of the respective room, including all fixed boundaries. The current position of the AGV is then calculated by comparing the measurement values to the map. This concept is referred to as natural navigation.

The more detailed and exact the measurement values of a scanner are, the more precisely the AGV can navigate. With an angular resolution of 0.1 degrees, the RSL 400 can capture the environment in high detail over the entire measurement range up to 50m. This is achieved through a narrow laser spot that maintains its perpendicular shape over the entire scanning angle. It also reduces incorrect measurements, which can occur on edges.

In addition to the angular resolution, distance values are also important. Typical error accuracy is less than 30mm. The values are not affected by the reflectance of the object, whether it is a reflector or a black wall. The additional output of the received signal strength value for each beam allows autonomous detection of reflectors by the navigation software. When beams strike a reflector, the values differ greatly from any other environment. This makes simple and reliable detection possible.

Safety features include the ability to offer up to 100 switchable protective and warning field pairs. This high number means that the protective fields can be adapted to the respective movement and load conditions as well as the speed of the vehicles. In four-field mode with 50 switchable field sets, the device can monitor up to four protective fields simultaneously. This enables safe and reliable reduction of the speed of AGVs. With a scanning angle of 270 degrees, the RSL 400 can also cover the front and side areas of AGVs at the same time, for example, around corners.

Maximum operating range is 8.25m, meaning that even large AGVs can be safeguarded with only two RSL 400.

The product range includes nine variants, three of which with data output for AGV navigation. All models are available for the four operating ranges of 3.0, 4.5, 6.25, and 8.25m. Models with PROFIsafe/ProfiNet interfaces are also available. These interfaces make it easier to integrate the devices, particularly when many different protective field configurations are used.

 http://www.leuze.com

> Read More

Time aware shaper protocols shape in-vehicle networks

Tue, Feb 12, 2019

Excelfore adds time aware shaper (TAS) protocols for time sensitive networking (TSN) for automotive use.

To meet automotive requirements for deterministic network behaviour, new protocols must be added to Ethernet stacks to provide audio/video bridging (AVB) and TSN to enable Ethernet to meet the demands of in-vehicle infotainment, control and safety systems.

The Excelfore TAS protocols reside in network talkers and bridges with support for TSN enhancements including IEEE 802.1Qbv and 802.1Qci, explains Excelforce. The TAS provides a circuit-switched/ time-division-multiplexed (TDM) channel into the packet-based Ethernet network. This enables a specific time window to be guaranteed for the delivery of high priority traffic, for example for automotive control systems.

The Excelfore TAS has demonstrated the ability to reduce the variance in measured propagation delays by more than 65 per cent,% compared to Ethernet traffic without the TAS, reports Excelforce. This ensures deterministic sub-100 microsecond accuracy for time-sensitive traffic.

The Excelfore eAVB/TSN protocol stack, including the TAS protocol, is available for Linux, QNX, Integrity and Android operating systems, as well as a variety of smaller real time operating systems (RTOS). It is for use in cameras, video displays, head units, ECUs, and network gateways that bridge to CAN, LIN, and other popular automotive buses.

The TAS protocol will be demonstrated at this week’s Automotive Ethernet Congress (13 to 14 February) in Munich, Germany.

Excelfore provides cloud platform and connectivity applications for intelligent transportation. It provides middleware solutions for smart mobility networks that enable OEMs and suppliers to build the next generation of smart, autonomous and learning vehicles, fleets and associated infrastructure. In addition to the eAVB/TSN protocol stack, it provides the cloud-to-vehicle eSync system for over the air updates, diagnostics and telematics.

This news story is brought to you by softei.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news.

To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep informed of the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here:  softei.com

http://www.excelfore.com

> Read More

Qualcomm and Green Hills Software Team Up to Deliver Advanced Platforms for Next-Generation Automotive Cockpits

Thu, Jan 10, 2019

Companies Offer High Performance Solutions to Support Safe and Secure Consolidation of Android and Linux-based Infotainment with Safety-Critical Applications

Green Hills Software, the worldwide leader in embedded safety and security, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), announced today their efforts to support global automakers and Tier-1 suppliers with purpose-built, scalable solutions, designed to support a safe, secure consolidation of Android and Linux-based infotainment processing with critical ASIL-certified vehicle services into a single multicore-based electronic control unit (ECU). As a part of the relationship, Green Hills is working with Qualcomm Technologies to feature the Green Hills INTEGRITY®real-time operating system (RTOS), INTEGRITY Multivisor™ secure virtualization, and integrated MULTI® ASIL D-qualified software development environment as part of the new Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Automotive Cockpit Platforms. Designed with a focus on production-readiness and consolidation of diverse safety and security requirements, customers can quickly and confidently design, develop and deploy these high performance, complex next-generation automotive systems.

Green Hills Software’s INTEGRITY RTOS and Multivisor virtualization solutions are the certified software foundation that safely and securely combine open-source Linux and Android infotainment environments with critical vehicle functions such as vehicle gateways, instrument clusters, telltales, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and heads-up displays (HUD), which in many cases, require adherence and certification to the ISO 26262 automotive safety standards.

Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms

The Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms are the third-generation automotive platforms from Qualcomm Technologies. Designed to support future intelligent automotive cockpits to meet rich intuitive user experiences and stringent automotive industry standards, the third-generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms are engineered with immersive graphics, multimedia, computer vision and artificial intelligence capabilities and feature truly heterogeneous computing capabilities, leveraging the multicore Qualcomm® Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine, Qualcomm Spectra™ Image Signal Processor (ISP), fourth generation Qualcomm® Kryo™ Central Processing Units (CPU), Qualcomm® Hexagon™ DSP and sixth-generation Qualcomm® Adreno™ Visual Subsystem. The Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms also feature the Qualcomm® Secure Processing Unit (SPU), engineered to help protect personal and vehicle data, and Qualcomm® Vision Enhanced Precise Positioning solution’s camera sensors and computer vision capabilities to enable differentiated use-cases on lane-level navigation and crowdsourcing of drive data for building high definition map layers.

The new Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms also provide fully scalable architecture with differentiated experiences, leveraging the same software architecture and framework allowing consumers to enjoy a harmonized user experience independent of the vehicle tier while leveraging the same software framework.

“Today’s integrated cockpits mandate a scalable software architecture to safely and securely combine Linux and Android infotainment functions with critical vehicle functions that require automotive-grade safety and certification. When used with a third-generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platform, the breakthrough INTEGRITY RTOS and Multivisor virtualization solution allows global Tier 1s and OEMs to overcome this challenge,” said Nakul Duggal, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We look forward to further strengthening our relationship with Green Hills as we share the commitment to offer the highest levels of safety-conscious and security-rich, performance solutions that define the future of high-performance, scalable vehicle cockpits.”

INTEGRITY Safe and Secure Consolidation

The INTEGRITY RTOS architecture was designed from the beginning for use in the most life-critical, mission-critical embedded systems. Its impenetrable separation partitions help software teams to safely and securely partition software running at different levels of criticality on the same multicore processor while guaranteeing the system resources required for the proper execution of applications. When Linux or Android environments are added, the INTEGRITY Multivisor secure virtualization safely runs these high-level operating systems in safe, secure partitions, assuring freedom-from-interference while achieving near native execution speeds, secure and flexible inter-process communications and the option to share GPU or other critical acceleration resources on the Snapdragon Automotive platform.

“The third-generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms are based on an impressive high-performance multicore automotive grade system-on-chip. With customers already deploying our solution built with the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820A platform, we are pleased to be using these highly advanced automotive platforms with our safe and secure software solutions for inclusion in potentially millions of vehicles starting in 2020,” said Dan Mender, vice president, business development, Green Hills Software. “The INTEGRITY RTOS with Multivisor secure virtualization provides the essential software foundation to protect and partition the complex, mixed-criticality integrated cockpit software components.”

INTEGRITY with Multivisor secure virtualization and Green Hills Software’s award-winning MULTI IDE development tools for the third-generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms and Snapdragon 820A Automotive platform are currently available.

> Read More

About Smart Cities

This news story is brought to you by smartcitieselectronics.com, the specialist site dedicated to delivering information about what’s new in the Smart City Electronics industry, with daily news updates, new products and industry news. To stay up-to-date, register to receive our weekly newsletters and keep yourself informed on the latest technology news and new products from around the globe. Simply click this link to register here: Smart Cities Registration