ARM Cortex-R52 advanced safety processor launched

ARM Cortex-R52 advanced safety processor launched

By Unknown   06:33   No comments:

ARM has launched a new processor aimed at real-time automotive, industrial and medical applications. The ARM Cortex-R52 advanced safety processor addresses functional safety in compliance with the stringent ISO 26262 ASIL D and IEC 61508 SIL 3 standards. ARM partner STMicroelectronics is the first company to license the processor for use in an SoC targeting the automotive market.

ARM Cortex-R52 Key Benefits

·         - Streamlined next generation system development with the highest level of integrated functional safety features

·        -  Simplified integration of complex software through strong separation of mixed criticality code without impacting real-time performance

·       -   Address higher workloads with increased performance compared to Cortex-R5

James McNiven, general manager for CPU and media processing groups at ARM, provided some background information about the new processor's development: "We are helping partners to meet particular market opportunities, especially in fully autonomous vehicles and robotics systems where specific functionality is required for safety-critical tasks." To meet the industry safety standards ARM has documented the strict development process, fault modelling and supporting software isolation for the Cortex-R52.

A functionally safe system must be protected against the occurrence of both random and systematic errors. In an example of the car braking system, the safety application will protect against both random hazards that can disrupt your vehicle, and systematic issues such as design and software errors.

The new processor works by implementing hardware-enforced separation of software tasks. This ensures that safety-critical code is fully isolated. With this system built-into the processor less code needs to be safety-certified, aiding development, integration, maintenance and validation of software. In addition, the processor design provides fast context switching that real-time systems demand.

STMicroelectronics will be using the ARM Cortex-R52 advanced safety processor in smart driving applications controlling the powertrain, chassis and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System). DENSO, a leading global supplier of advanced automotive technology, systems and components is also supporting the launch.

ARM's new Cortex-R52 offers a 35 per cent performance uplift compared to the Cortex-R5, which is already deployed in a range of safety applications. The new processor scores 1.36 Automark/MHz on the EEMBC AutoBench, the highest in its class, and is 14x faster at context switching.

For those interested in reading further, ARM has published a comprehensive blog post about the new Cortex-R52 safety processor.

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ARM Aims for Self-Driving Cars With New Safety-Focused SoC

ARM Aims for Self-Driving Cars With New Safety-Focused SoC

By Unknown   23:16   No comments:

The company's Cortex-R52 targets markets where safety is critical, including autonomous vehicles, robotics and health care.

ARM is looking to establish itself in the burgeoning autonomous car market with a new chip design that is aimed at addressing the high safety standards needed for not only driverless vehicles but also other areas such as industrial and medical robots.

Company officials on Sept. 20 unveiled the Cortex-R52, a system-on-a-chip (SoC) design built on the company's ARMv8-R architecture that is designed to comply with a range of safety standards—such as ISO 26262 ASIL D and IEC 61508 SIL 3—that apply to situations in the growing internet of things (IoT), such as autonomous cars and robots in health care settings, where safety and security is paramount in the interaction between humans and machines.

The includes with robots that assist doctors in surgery to self-driving cars that need to understand the environment around them and immediately react to ensure the safety of the drivers and the people around the cars. In addition, the systems need to be highly secure to protect them against hackers.

"We are helping partners to meet particular market opportunities, especially in fully autonomous vehicles and robotics systems where specific functionality is required for safety-critical tasks," James McNiven, general manager for CPU and media processing groups at ARM, said in a statement.

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Like other chip companies, ARM—which is being bought by Softbank for $32.2 billion—is working to branch out beyond its core markets to gain traction in a broad range of emerging growth areas being fueled by the rapid proliferation of connected devices, systems and sensors that make up the growing IoT. ARM designs SoCs and licenses those designs to a wide variety of chip manufacturers, such as Qualcomm, Samsung and Applied Micro. Most smartphones and tablets run on ARM-designed processors, but now company officials are looking to extend the reach of the architecture into other areas, from the data center to the IoT.

A growing number of ARM chip partners—including Qualcomm and Broadcom—are rolling out new products for the autonomous vehicle space. ARM also has been building up its capabilities in the IoT, including with the acquisition last year of Offspark, a company that specialized in security software for connected devices and sensors.

In a post on the company blog, James Scobie, a product manager at ARM, wrote about the growing demand for safety and security in IoT systems.

"Across multiple markets, electronic systems are becoming more complex—including automotive, industrial control and healthcare," Scobie wrote. "Vehicles are beginning to drive themselves, industrial robots are becoming increasingly collaborative, and medical systems are automated to assist with surgery or deliver medication. More of these systems are demanding functionally safe operation and requiring that functional safety be provided at a higher safety level than previous generations of systems demanded."

The Cortex-R52 architecture was created to address those functional safety needs, not only in self-driving cars, but also in increasingly automated factories that include autonomous robots that use machine learning and vision systems to enable them to work with less human control, he wrote.

"Outside the factory, robotics will be used in environments too harsh for humans, such as the nuclear industry, where there is a need to maintain precise and assured operation," Scobie wrote. "They can also be used in the medical operating theaters with remote surgery. In both areas, functionally safe operation is critical."

A key point in the Cortex-R52 is that there is what officials called hardware-enforced separation of various software tasks to make sure the code that is critical for safety is isolated. The hardware is managed by a software hypervisor. Not only does this ensure the protection of the code, but also lessens the amount of code that must be safety-certified, which makes software integration, maintenance and validation easier and development faster, they said.

"The Cortex-R52's ability to compartmentalize software provides our users with the best solution for safety without loss of determinism," Fabio Marchiò, vice president of STMicroelectronics' Automotive and Discrete Group and general manager of its Automotive Digital Division, said in a statement. "Its virtualization support simplifies the consolidation of applications and functions into a single processor, delivering a shorter integration time."

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ARM launches safety-centric Cortex-R52 processor

ARM launches safety-centric Cortex-R52 processor

By Unknown   03:30   No comments:

Cambridge-based and Japanese-owned chip designer ARM has announced the launch of its first ARMv8-R architecture IP, the ARM Cortex-R52, designed specifically to address functional safety in autonomous vehicle and other safety-critical applications.

 
ARM has announced the launch of the Cortex-R52 processor, its first to use the ARMv8-R architecture, with a focus on safety-critical tasks such as autonomous vehicles.
 

Based around an extension of the 64-bit ARMv8 microarchitecture, ARMv8-R introduces extensions for one simple purpose: to improve safety. The design introduces a hardware-enforced separation of software tasks, whereby a software hypervisor polices the execution and resource allocation to ensure that safety-critical code is run in a completely isolated environment away from any other code. The result, ARM claims, is a significant boost in security, a reduction in the amount of code that needs to go through safety certification, and the ability to run complex software without losing support for deterministic real-time operating system (RTOS) operation.

'The Cortex-R52 is the first processor built on the ARMv8-R architecture and it was designed from the ground up to address functional safety,' explained James McNiven, ARM's general manager for CPU and media processing groups, of the launch. 'We are helping partners to meet particular market opportunities, especially in fully autonomous vehicles and robotics systems where specific functionality is required for safety-critical tasks. By documenting the strict development process, fault modelling and supporting software isolation, ARM is enabling a faster route to market for partners addressing these applications.'

The first licensee for the Cortex-R52 design is STMicroelectronics, which is to build the part for its customers as a replacement for the older safety-centric Cortex-R5. Those looking to upgrade will, the company has claimed, see a 35 percent increase in performance as a result. 'The Cortex-R52 supports our Smart Driving vision by enabling a new range of high-performance, power-efficient SoCs for any in-vehicle application demanding real-time operation and the highest levels of functional safety, including powertrain, chassis and ADAS,' claimed Fabio Marchiò at STMicroelectronics. 'The Cortex-R52's ability to compartmentalise software provides our users with the best solution for safety without loss of determinism. Its virtualisation support simplifies the consolidation of applications and functions into a single processor, delivering a shorter integration time.'

Thus far, no company has stepped forward to suggest when the first devices based around the Cortex-R52 design will hit the open market.

ARM has announced the launch of the Cortex-R52 processor, its first to use the ARMv8-R architecture, with a focus on safety-critical tasks such as autonomous vehicles.

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ARM created its Cortex-R52 processor for self-driving cars

ARM created its Cortex-R52 processor for self-driving cars

By Unknown   00:55   No comments:

ARM is beefing up its safety technology for the ARM Cortex-R52, a processor designed for self-driving vehicles.

The Cambridge, England-based company was recently acquired by Japan’s SoftBank for $31 billion. And now it is expanding its chip designs to include a processor with the robust, real-time performance needed for autonomous cars.

The new chip will simplify the path for certification of automotive applications, industrial robots, and medical operations. The processor — which ARM will license to other chip manufacturers — must comply with tough safety standards such as ISO 26262 ASIL D and IEC 61508 SIL 3.

It will enable applications as diverse as surgical automation, safety management and automotive powertrain control. STMicroelectronics is the first ARM chip manufacturing partner to announce it has licensed the high-performance processor to enable it to create highly integrated system-on-chips (SoCs) for the automotive market.

“If these systems go wrong in any way, they can affect life,” said Richard York, worldwide marketing and business development manager at ARM, in an interview with VentureBeat. “The R-52 will make it much easier to do increasingly complex software.”

The Cortex-R52 offers hardware-enforced separation of software tasks to ensure safety-critical code is fully isolated. So when one part of the system goes down, it’s easier to decipher what happened. This allows the hardware to be managed by a software hypervisor policing the execution and resourcing of tasks. By enabling the precise and robust separation of software, the Cortex-R52 decreases the amount of code that must be safety-certified, so speeding up development as software integration, maintenance and validation is easier. The processor also deals with increased software complexity while delivering the determinism and fast context switching that real-time systems demand.

“The Cortex-R52 supports our Smart Driving vision by enabling a new range of high-performance, power-efficient SoCs for any in-vehicle application demanding real-time operation and the highest levels of functional safety, including powertrain, chassis and ADAS,” said Fabio Marchiò, Automotive & Discrete group vice president and Automotive Digital Division general manager at STMicroelectronics, in a statement. “The Cortex-R52’s ability to compartmentalize software provides our users with the best solution for safety without loss of determinism. Its virtualization support simplifies the consolidation of applications and functions into a single processor, delivering a shorter integration time.”

Denso, a leading global supplier of advanced automotive technology, is supporting the launch.The availability of ARM Fast Models and Cycle Models enables software partners to develop solutions for the processor. They further speed the path to market as software developers will get access to the Cortex-R52 early in the design process.

The Cortex-R52 is 35 percent faster than the previous generation Cortex-R5, which is already deployed in a range of safety applications. It has achieved a score of 1.36 Automark/MHz on the EEMBC AutoBench, the highest in its class, using the Green Hills Compiler 2017.

The processor has protections against various kinds of random errors, design errors, and software errors. If it senses a system problem, the processor has to handle cores such as shutting down a vehicle and bringing it to a safe halt. So it has to be able to sense, perceive and analyze, make a decision, and acutate (or execute on that decision).

James Scobie, product manager for the Cortex-R52, said chips based on the design will likely be available in 2018.

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