ICs & Semiconductors

New versions of Lattice Semiconductor’s MachXO3LF and MachXO3D FPGAs have been announced. The MachXO3LF FPGAs are for automotive control applications and the MachXO3D FPGAs are for system security that support extended temperature operating ranges for automotive and other ruggedised applications.

The MachXO3D FPGAs augment the popular system control capabilities of the Lattice MachXO FPGA architecture, says Lattice Semiconductor. They include hardware Root of Trust (RoT), platform firmware resilience (PFR), and secure dual-boot support. The MachXO3D and MachXO3LF FPGAs target control, bridging, and I/O expansion applications for reliable operation in rugged environments, including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), infotainment, motor control, 5G communications infrastructure, industrial robots and automation systems, and defence systems, Lattice advises. They also support for an extended operating range -40 to +125 degrees C (junction temperature). They require a single 3.3V or 1.2V supply.

As more sensors and electric motors are integrated into vehicles, automotive systems will become exposed to the risk of malicious attacks and hacks. To immediately detect vulnerabilities and combat cyber attacks OEMs will demand electronic systems capable of reliable and secure operation in rugged environments, in different weather conditions, vibration and connectivity parameters.

The MachXO3D FPGAs’ security features include on-chip flash memory which secures bitstream and user data against malicious attacks via OTP mode and password protection. There is also an immutable embedded security block to enable security compliant with NIST SP-800-193 Platform Firmware Resilience (PFR) guidelines to protect, detect and recover firmware from unauthorised access. The on-chip flash enables single-chip, instant-on, and dual-boot images for fail-safe programming and in-field updates with flexible system with secure reprogramming to support reliable in-system updates.

“By collaborating with Lattice, the leading provider of low power FPGAs, we are able to provide developers in the automotive market with ready-to-use IPs that simplify their design efforts by accelerating implementation of networking controllers for CAN and LIN,” said Nikos Zervas, CEO of CAST. “With the extended temperature range for automotive and other ruggedised applications, the new MachXO3D automotive family of FPGAs will allow developers to achieve their performance and power consumption goals and get their products to market faster, while enhancing the security of their control systems,” he added.

MachXO3LF and MachXO3D FPGAs are supported by Lattice’s integrated design software suite, Lattice Diamond, a graphic user interface (GUI) -based FPGA design and verification environment with design and implementation tools optimised for low-power Lattice FPGAs. The latest version of Lattice Diamond, version 3.11.3, is now available.

http://www.latticesemi.com

Xilinx’s automotive-qualified (XA) Zynq UltraScale+ multi-processor SoC (MPSoC) has been selected by Subaru for its next generation EyeSight system as part of its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) in its latest model which has been launched in Japan this week.

The Levorq model’s EyeSight system is vision-based, using stereoscopic cameras and will provide advanced features including adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist and pre-collision braking, says Xilinx.

The vision system is based on Xilinx’s 16nm XA Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC which provides the high-performance, low latency, and functional safety (ASIL) capabilities that the EyeSight system requires to accurately depict and react to dynamic driving scenarios.

Tetsuo Fujinuki, chief technology officer of Subaru said: “Stereo cameras are at the heart of Subaru’s ADAS applications. Unlike common approaches, the image processing technology adopted in our new generation system scans everything captured by stereo cameras and creates high-precision 3D point clouds, enabling us to offer advanced features such as pre-collision braking at an intersection and assisting with hands-off driving in traffic congestion on a highway. Xilinx technology plays an important role in this. Because Xilinx automotive devices contain built-in capabilities that allow us to meet strict ASIL requirements, they are unquestionably the best technology to implement Subaru’s new ADAS vision system.”

Programmable logic provider, Xilinx has over 20 years of automotive industry experience, offering hardware and software partitioning flexibility combined with a variety of networking connectivity options, functional safety architecture configurations, and security features for current and future autonomous drive modules.

Xilinx says it has shipped over 190 million devices globally for automotive use, with 75 million used for production ADAS deployments. It works with over 200 automotive companies, comprised of major Tier 1s, OEMs, and start ups around the world.

California-based Xilinx develops adaptive processing platforms for a variety of technologies, from the endpoint to the edge to the cloud. Xilinx is the inventor of the FPGA, hardware programmable SoCs, and the ACAP.

http://www.xilinx.com