Renesas Electronics uses embedded virtualization technology for the R-Car platform

Renesas Electronics announced a new software package for its R-Car automotive computing platform to improve functional safety and cybersecurity for the next generation of connected vehicles. The software package implements optimized embedded virtualization technology that enables embedded systems to have security features in a single system that protect the vehicle from external threats, as well as functional safety features that ensure continued safe operation of the vehicle even in the event of a failure.

Functional safety is the number one concern in the automotive industry. Automotive systems, including cloud-connected systems, dashboards, and driver monitoring, are expanding in number and scale every year. In addition, new user experience requirements such as multi-screen information sharing and multi-system control are increasing. These trends have led to increasing expectations for automotive system integration. For dashboards and driver monitoring, functional safety needs to be supported to safely operate the vehicle, even in the event of a failure.

Cyber security is another key issue. For example, as cars move towards connected vehicles, allowing applications to be downloaded from the open cloud to update and upgrade in-vehicle software, automotive cybersecurity is becoming a priority. Security features need to be added to protect cars from cyber malicious attacks and to protect personal information processed in the cloud. Cloud service applications must be separated from the dashboard to prevent important information from being lost or destroyed.

At the same time, the automotive cockpit environment is poised to evolve into a multi-system integrated automotive computing system to provide a more consistent and advanced user experience. Cybersecurity and functional safety features that were previously implemented separately in multiple systems are now implemented in a single system, creating new integration challenges for automakers and Tier 1 suppliers.

To address these issues, Renesas offers several new software packages that integrate multiple automotive systems in a single R-Car platform, including systems that require cybersecurity and functional safety features:

1. Virtualization software packages that allow simultaneous integration of multiple operating systems (OS) and the ability to run multiple different applications on a single R-Car system to enhance system integration.

2. Security package, which implements secure startup and security updates and other features to meet changing security requirements.

3. Functional safety package that controls the security mechanisms (hardware IP) contained in the R-Car system-on-chip (SoC).

Renesas and its partner companies make these packages available to Tier 1 vendors and plan to expand them further in the future.

Key features of the new package:

(1) Embedded virtualization technology can integrate multiple systems while supporting functional safety and network security

Renesas Electronics' first version of the embedded virtualization hypervisor uses INTEGRITY® MultivisorTM from Green Hills Software. Through the hypervisor, you can choose the operating system for the application, such as real-time operating system (RTOS), Linux, or AndroidTM. By dividing the system into independent and reliable partitions, the required level of network security and functional security can be ensured. Different applications can run on a single R-Car platform. For example, Linux and/or Android operating systems can be installed to run applications that require cloud connectivity or navigation, while Green Hills Software INTEGRITY or other real-time operating systems can be installed on the same platform to run software that needs to support functional safety and network security. Such as the instrument panel and warning tone generator. The low performance degradation enables single-system integration on the R-Car platform compared to running these applications on individual hardware, such as system-on-chip (SoC) or microcontrollers (MCUS). Support for other hypervisors will be rolled out in turn.

(2) Security software can achieve a safe operating environment for software

Network security features are essential to prevent hackers and other cyber attacks. Renesas offers a wide range of software for powerful security features, such as: secure startup to prevent program modification; Safety level management function corresponding to product life; And trusted execution environment. In addition, the new software is capable of OTA updates, allowing applications and operating systems to be upgraded without the driver having to return to the car dealership. Renesas Electronics plans to gradually introduce various security packages that respond to the system structure and requirements and support the hypervisor.

(3) Functional safety software can support the development of functional safety systems

For functional safety, the Renesas R-Car H3 and R-Car M3 SOCs feature a variety of hardware IP to support their safety philosophy, including a run-time self-test system announced by Renesas Electronics at the International Solid-State Circuit Conference ISSCC 2016. This technique achieves the necessary diagnostic coverage for functional safety and reduces program run interruptions during testing, while using a multi-core CPU to perform self-tests to detect faults. Renesas supports the development of systems that maintain functional safety by providing control software for this safety mechanism. Renesas Electronics will introduce various functional safety packages in turn.

Tim Reed, vice president of advanced products at Green Hills Software, said: "Today's automakers and Tier 1 suppliers need a proven runtime software foundation to build production-grade automotive electronics. INTEGRITY Real-Time Operating System with Multivisor Secure Virtualization is an ASIL-certified secure microkernel architecture that provides system designers with a combination of a virtual operating system that runs in multiple cores, supports functional safety and network security, and a flexible platform that takes full advantage of R-Car's high performance. "As the first company to deploy virtualization in vehicles, we are excited to continue our partnership with Renesas Electronics to launch the first virtualization platform for Renesas' high-performance R-Car devices."