Tokyo, Japan (PRWEB) September 14, 2013
ASTC’s VLAB Works, an industry leader in virtual prototyping technology, software and services for the development and test of electronic systems, software, and semiconductors, today announced that VLAB virtual platform support for Renesas microcontrollers (MCUs) now extends to the new RH850 family for automotive applications.
Highlights:
- Collaborate with Renesas to develop VLAB models of the RH850 CPU and peripheral IP models.
- VLAB RH850 Virtual Platform Toolbox supports the range of Renesas RH850 MCUs.
- Toolbox is user-extensible: Easy user modification and extension supports development of custom MCU variants and end user ECU and system-level virtual prototypes and platforms, without requiring additional tools.
- VLAB enables early software development, debug, test, analysis, optimization, and automated regressions.
- VLAB offers integration and interoperability with automotive electronic design and validation tools, including MATLAB Simulink, third party software IDEs, Vector CANoe, HDL/RTL and AMS simulators, and Real IO interfaces to hardware devices and networks, such as CAN, FlexRay and Ethernet.
A VLAB virtual platform solution for Renesas’ RH850 MCUs comprises the VLAB virtual prototyping system, an RH850 MCU Virtual Platform Toolbox with RH850 virtual prototypes, and a wide selection of tools and toolboxes for software and system development, debug, and analysis. Users of VLAB RH850 MCU virtual platforms can, in the same tool environment, import and add their own IP and ECU level models, develop their own ECU virtual prototype, debug and integrate with other tools, prepare their own system test bench, and bring up, debug and test the SW for their applications, from low-level drivers through OS to ECU applications software. VLAB RH850 virtual platforms enable early ECU software development, long before hardware is available. At the other end of the ECU development lifecycle, after hardware is available, they provide superior and cost-effective means for software development, analysis, test, and regression. This allows both reduced time to market and improved product quality, with reduced development and support costs over the lifetime of an ECU.
"Embedded software for automotive systems is becoming increasingly important," said Akihiko Watanabe, Senior Manager of AS Strategy Department, Automotive Solutions Business Division at Renesas Electronics Corporation. “Renesas has been supporting the development of VLAB virtual platforms for our RH850 MCUs to serve our customers, and help unify the automotive design chain of hardware and software developers, parallelizing development cycles, and reducing the cost and barriers to adoption of virtual platform technology."
Renesas' 32-bit RH850 MCU family supports a wide variety of automotive applications such as safety, body and engine control, driver interfaces and infotainment via flexible single- and multi-core architecture configurations. The new VLAB RH850 MCU Virtual Platform Toolbox supports the range of Renesas RH850 MCU variants, P1x, C1x, E1, F1x and others, for safety, chassis, hybrid motor and engine control, and body applications in automotive. It includes extensive RH850 IP model libraries, with models of the RH850 IP blocks and pre-integrated and pre-validated netlists for selected MCU variants, as well as example target software, scripts, and extensive documentation. RH850 MCU virtual prototypes are also available as building blocks for system prototypes and simulations, as library component for multiple instantiation and assembly of user defined system virtual prototypes, including of ECUs comprising multiple RH850 MCUs and networks of ECUs. VLAB integrates with industry standard tools such as MathWorks’ MATLAB and Simulink; Green Hills Software’s MULTI IDE; HDL/RTL and AMS simulators; Vector’s CANoe; RealIO interfaces to hardware and network cards; and other tools, to allow the seamless replacement of RH850 hardware boards with RH850 virtual platforms in the same test bench environment.
VLAB support for the RH850 is the latest development in a longstanding cooperationbetween Renesas and VLAB Works, which collaborated to develop, validate and support models of the RH850 CPU and peripheral IPs. The new VLAB RH850 Virtual Platforms release follows a long line of successful joint virtual platform development and delivery activities between the two companies, including earlier generations of Renesas MCUs devices, such as the V850E2/Fx4, Px4, and Dx4, and V850ES/Fx3 and V850E/Rx3 MCU series, available from VLAB Works.
The new VLAB RH850 Virtual Platform Toolbox is available now. Production-ready systems have been delivered to select Tier 1, software and OEM companies.
Hiroshi Yoshizawa, Country Manager and Director of ASTC / VLAB Works Japan, commented, "VLAB Works has developed a new generation of virtual platforms of automotive industry grade capability and quality in support of the new RH850 MCU series. Automotive engineers in Tier 1, embedded software, and OEM companies can all now benefit from virtual prototyping methodologies, accelerating software and systems development across the automotive ecosystem. The new VLAB solutions for MCU virtual platforms set a new reference point of capability and cost which dramatically reduce the barriers of adoption of this new technology in the automotive supply chain."
About ASTC / VLAB Works
ASTC and VLAB Works serve global markets and supply chains for automotive, transportation, mobile and multimedia electronics and embedded software. ASTC (Australian Semiconductor Technology Company) is a privately-held hardware and software design services and solutions company. VLAB Works, a business subsidiary of ASTC, delivers innovative electronic system simulation and virtual prototyping solutions for embedded system and software developers. VLAB Works and ASTC are headquartered in Adelaide, Australia, with over 100 staff, and offices in Australia, Europe, Japan, and North America. For more information, see http://www.vlabworks.com and http://www.astc-design.com.