Description

AutoSoC Platform

The AutoSoC is distributed as a set of configurable Hardware IPs (described in RTL), integrated into a System on Chip. The complete system is synthesizable. The synthesis compatibility was checked with the Cadence GPDK045 (45nm CMOS Generic Process Design Kits). Also, AutoSoC includes compatible Software applications compiled with RTEMS and Linux Operational Systems, and Bare Metal. The AutoSoC environment incorporates Makefiles and scripts to facilitate the configuration and simulation of the SoC.

The proposed SoC considered the main features available in well-known automotive platforms. The objective of this characterization was to create an SoC that is representative of the industry standards. Although different commercial solutions are available, in general, architectures have similarities that can be explored to define a set of requirements for an Automotive SoC.

Based on the characterization of industrial solutions, an initial architecture of AutoSoC was established. Functional blocks were defined aiming to cover the minimum set of features required for a representative automotive platform. The concept of functional blocks is also important to keep the design modular. Different versions of AutoSoC can deploy diverse hardware components to cover the requirements of each functional module.

Functional Modules

At the current development stage, the AutoSoC contains the minimum set of elements for Preliminary Functional Safety Analysis as reported in the article published in the IEEE VLSI Test Symposium 2020. The available configuration comply with the Functional Modules: Safe, Automotive, Infrastructure, and Interconnect. The Application Specific and Security Blocks, as illustrated above, will be developed in the next stages of our work.

As part of its modular concept, several configurations of the AutoSoC are possible by enabling different combinations of Safety Mechanisms. Details about setting up different configurations are described in Quick Start. Any new configuration can then be elaborated and simulated with the provided Makefile. Although any possible combination of components can be created, we have defined a conceptual group of initial configurations. These configurations are based on common SM combinations from industry solutions. Preliminary Functional Safety Analysis results are available in Publications and can be used as a Benchmark for Automotive SoCs aiming different Safety Integrity levels.

Hardware Architecture

Software Elements