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.