The Cortex-A76AE is a CPU that has been designed specifically for automotive and optimised for 7nm process nodes. AE stands for “Automotive Enhanced” and any ARM IP with that designator will include specific features addressing the requirements of in-vehicle processing.
A high level of processing capability is required for autonomous driving, with inherent safety as standard. The Cortex-A76AE is the industry’s first high-performance application processor with Split-Lock capability, combining the processing performance required for autonomous applications and high-integrity safety.
While Split-Lock is not new to the industry, ARM claims to be the first to introduce it to a processor uniquely designed for high performance automotive applications such as autonomous drive.
Split-Lock delivers: flexibility not available in previous lock-step CPU implementations; enables CPU clusters in an a SoC to be configured either in ‘split mode’ for high performance, where two (or four) independent CPUs in the cluster can be used for diverse tasks and applications, or ‘lock mode’ where CPUs are in lock-step, creating one (or two) pairs of locked CPUs in a cluster, for higher safety integrity applications.
The CPU clusters can be configured to operate in a mix of either mode, post silicon production.
The Cortex-A76AE also offers much improved power efficiency and enables a more energy-efficient use of vehicle battery power combined with thermal efficiency to aid the packaging of compute capability while extending the range of vehicles for a lower total cost of driving.
To complement the Cortex-A76AE, ARM is introducing a new Automotive Enhanced system IP for designing a comprehensive autonomous-class SoC.
The new CoreLink GIC-600AE, CoreLink MMU-600AE and CoreLink CMN-600AE provide critical elements such as high-performance interrupt management, extended virtualization and memory management, and connectivity to multiple CPU clusters to scale performance in safe multicore systems.
According to ARM, these products have been designed to enable high-performance systems, targeting ASIL-B to ASIL-D safety integrity, and to support the Split-Lock and systematic capabilities for functional safety designed into the Cortex-A76AE.
ARM said that the Cortex-A76AE was the first in a roadmap of “Automotive Enhanced” processors which will deliver the fullest functional safety capable IP portfolio in the industry. The new roadmap will include the “Helios-AE” and “Hercules-AE”, all optimised for 7nm.