Automotive Goes Dual-Core

Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
edited August 2006 in Science & Tech
Renesas Technology anticipates that its dual-core microcontroller (MCU) for automotive vehicles could hit the market by 2010 at the latest, and possibly as early as 2008. The new solution will help to enhance the functionality of electronic components that will be deployed within an increasingly complex driving environment.
The new dual-core MCU will be fabricated on 90nm process and will be available for the market during a 2008 to 2010 timeframe. Renesas emphasized that the number of MCUs required for automotive vehicles has been growing substantially. Taking a BMW as an example, the number of MCUs onboard has grown from 18 in 1999 to 40 in 2004.
Now Geeks with nice cars will be comparing Dual-Core chips for their airbags. I want to see these benchmarks...

Source: Digitimes

Comments

  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    Great, so now instead of $600 to replace a failed ECM, it's going to cost $1200... :rolleyes::p
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    Yup... got to love BMW and the Benz
  • DogSoldierDogSoldier The heart of radical Amish country..
    edited August 2006
    Yes, but how fast will it Fold?!
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    Governor-limited at 155 MPH, stateside :(
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    Good idea Dog...

    My car is running 64 instances of folding while I drive! what now sucker punk!
  • DaxxDaxx
    edited August 2006
    Well, I say overclock that sucker for an extra 50HP! Beats the heck outta slapping on the 25HP coffee can muffler mod...
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    I don't think it's a good idea to build MCUs this way. The only reason you'd put another core on an MCU is to increase the load borne by individual MCUs. In doing so, you're running the same processing load on fewer, more powerful computers. While this would be great in a server room or at home, in automotive or aerospace applications you're putting too many eggs in one basket.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    Perhaps there will be a need for multiple processing within automotive apps by 2010, though.. The processing needed for things like hybrid engines, fuel management, adaptive braking, and in-cabin electronics is rapidly becoming more complicated.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    I don't know... I guess where I'm going with this is that having discrete MCUs for each different task reduces the likelihood of a fault in one task affecting the performance of other tasks. Typically engineers use a different MCU for each different task, eg one for engine control, one for adaptive braking etc.

    The intent behind producing a multi-core MCU is either you anticipate that your task has code that will execute well in parallel (unlikely) or you intend to combine multiple tasks on a single MCU. This introduces another set of challenges like the fact that all of a sudden you now need a task scheduler and a whole 'nother layer of support software. Keep in mind that a normal MCU doesn't have anything like an OS, it just grabs its single program from ROM and runs it without having to play nice with other applications on the same computer. The entire idea of multi-core MCUs strikes me as taking a special-purpose computer and giving it PC-like qualities and PC-like reliability. In a device that needs to work ALL the time you don't want to have to deal with software glitches.

    -drasnor :fold:
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