Dual-core CPUs have achieved rapid application in automotive electronic systems, and system hardware and software, power consumption, and heat dissipation also need to be changed accordingly.
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Most of the microcontrollers used in today's cars use a traditional single-core architecture, but dual-core processors that have been widely used in the computer industry will also grow rapidly in the automotive industry and will soon become standard. Power systems and safety systems have taken the lead in adopting dual-core processors, and other systems are beginning to change architecture.
"Multicore is actually a new generation of product design standards for powertrains," said Kent Helfrich, director of electronic integration and software at GM. “In the past decade, we have done some multicore design on the engine control module, and now we are integrating these designs onto one chip.â€
However, multi-core processors are still limited in some systems such as infotainment systems, but are expected to grow rapidly in the next few years. Chip makers expect significant changes in product mix.
Freescale's dual-core processors for use in safety and power systems are often used to synchronize the redundancy tasks of a system.
"We expect the market capacity of multi-core processors to be quite large by 2015, which is about half of our shipments," said Amrit Vivekanand, automotive business unit marketing manager at Renesas Technology America Inc.
Like most electronic designs, software is the biggest challenge for electronic control designers. To recognize the speed of dual-core processors, it is necessary to clearly separate the tasks of the single-core and dual-core processors.
Most chipmakers say that dual-core processors are about 1.7 times faster than a single core, but because memory access and other issues can affect the speed of dual-cores slightly, the clock rates of the two processors are similar. However, a badly segmented program also affects the performance of the processor.
"If the segmentation of the program is not done well, it is difficult to enjoy the performance advantages, and it is difficult to achieve the goal of performance improvement," said Julien Fabregues, market manager of automotive microcontrollers at STMicroelectronics.
The increased demand for infotainment systems will enable Renesas Technology to increase its multi-core shipments by 50% by 2015.
In automotive applications, OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers work on their own segments rather than relying on operating systems or other software tools. This is especially important for systems such as powertrains and safety systems because the instructions in these systems must be started without errors when needed.
"Now, we have to divide part of the code into the 0 processor and the other part into the 1 core. There is a conversion problem," Helfrich said. General technician Michael Grimes pointed out that this approach (called static allocation) forms a fixed pattern. "The operating system in the computer world uses a dynamic allocation method, and the system decides which kernel to use to run the code," he said. "And we are deciding what to do with the 0 kernel and what the 1 kernel does."
Hardware change
Although software may be a key issue for multi-core processors, this is not to say that the hardware engineer's job is simple, just upgrade it. When two processors are simultaneously present on a single silicon chip, the characteristics of power consumption, clock speed, and electromagnetic interference are completely different.
Storage issues are also very important. The silicon space is basically used for storage and processor work. Flash memory typically takes up half the space, while adding a processor core takes up only 5% of the space, Grimes said.
In order to increase the efficiency of flash memory, designers must adopt a system allocation scheme that guarantees that each core can read data when needed—and the data must be up-to-date. This is the time when storage management needs to debut.
“From a storage perspective, you need an intelligent storage controller and a smart read-ahead cache,†Fabregues said.
Safety system components such as airbags will drive growth in STMicroelectronics' business
On the other hand, engineers also need to figure out what they want to do through the second kernel. In some applications, such as infotainment, the kernel is responsible for different jobs. But in the powertrain and security systems, many processors perform the same procedures to provide fault tolerance.
"In many security applications, the processors run sequentially, which is the most efficient way to meet the ISO26262 standard," Fabregues said.
Chips designed specifically for this application must have a unique logical relationship that compares the results of each processor. "The chip is specifically designed for lock-step operation, and the logic is responsible for comparing the results so that errors can be quickly identified," said Ray Cornyn, director of automotive microcontrollers at Freescale Semiconductors.
Energy consumption and heat
The challenges of heat and energy management will not disappear due to the adoption of dual-core processors. These problems are actually the driving force for dual-core processor applications, but the increase in clock speed has also led to increased energy requirements and increased system temperatures.
The lower clock speed of the dual core chip performs well in the powertrain. Lower clock speeds also give dual-core chips an advantage over single-core chips. “The power system is operating at a very high temperature, and the chip's speed is certainly not as fast as it is at room temperature,†Grimes said.
In other systems on the car, engineers are more concerned about the reduction in the number of electrical control boxes. In the case of a large number of controllers on many cars, the need for each module can be reduced by a small amount to save a lot of energy.
“Energy consumption will be a big problem, especially for electric vehicles,†said Chris Wunderlich, automotive systems applications engineer at Infineon Technologies. “You can turn off a processor to reduce power consumption, and you can start it and improve processing performance when you need it.â€
Wunderlich also said that in the transmission system, every shift will involve many actions. Adding a processor can be turned on when needed to handle these tasks, and turned off before the next shift to save energy.
The increase in electronic components has also brought other problems, such as electromagnetic coupling. EMC affects the operation of the chip on the vehicle and the consumer electronics that are connected to the vehicle, so lower clock speeds can bring many benefits.
GM's Ken Helfrich said software is a major issue in the transition of engine systems toward dual-core processors (such as the 2010 Ecotec DI turbine engine).
"If you increase the processor frequency from 200MHz to 400MHz in order to improve system performance, the increase in electromagnetic radiation is very noticeable - several orders of magnitude more than a single EMC," Vivekanand said. He pointed out that in some applications, such as entertainment information systems, dual-core processors can allow engineers to double the clock speed without increasing the power consumption, so it does not add too much energy.
Although dual-core processors will continue to be the mainstream architecture in the computer market in the next few years, automotive engineers are already planning to adopt more processors in the automotive sector. Of course, higher-performance multi-core processors may not be applied to cars in the next few years, but companies have begun to develop related research and development projects and seek cooperation.
“About more than a year and a half ago, we started discussions with mainland companies on the development of triple-core processors for automotive brakes and chassis systems,†Cornyn said.
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