ARM unveiled this week its first in a line of autonomous-class processors, the Cortex-A76AE, with security features that will allow autonomous cars to meet the toughest safety requirements. It expects the first cars using this processor to hit the roads in 2020.
With automotive OEMs and suppliers preferring to run multiple applications, with varied levels of safety requirements, all within the same chip, ARM is looking to drive innovation and new applications through these new line of dedicated autonomous car chips. Cortex AE chips are optimized to be built with the most advanced 7-nanometer circuit wiring, which multiplies the number of features that can be crammed into the same space.
In semiconductor terms, ARM designs the chassis, on which hardware and software makers can then build autonomous driving applications, controlling everything from car brakes and steering to collision detection and vehicle entertainment systems. Currently, ARM based chips are used in 85 percent of the car entertainment systems and two-thirds of collision detection processor chips.
Existing ARM customers working on autonomous driving platforms include Nvidia, NXP, Renesas, Samsung's Harman business and Siemens Mentor unit among others. – Vinay Piparsania