Two new real-time microcontroller (MCU) series from Texas Instruments (TI) offer innovations to assist engineers in achieving more secure and smarter processing in industrial and automotive applications.
The first real-time microcontroller portfolio in the industry with an inbuilt neural processing unit (NPU) is TI’s TMS320F28P55x family of C2000 MCUs, which allows for fault detection with minimal latency and high accuracy.
The F29H85x series has an innovative design with integrated safety and security features, and it is based on TI’s new 64-bit C29 digital signal processor core. At electronica 2024, which will take place in Munich, Germany from November 12–15, TI will showcase both devices.
Empowering Smarter, More Efficient Systems Through Edge AI-Enabled MCUs
In order to carry out tasks like arc fault detection in solar and energy storage systems and motor-bearing fault detection for predictive maintenance, engineers today must create systems that can make precise, intelligent judgments in real time.
By guaranteeing consistent performance with real-time processing, TI’s innovative C2000 TMS320F28P55x series, the first real-time MCUs in the industry with an integrated neural processing unit, addresses both of these issues.
In order to facilitate quicker and more precise decision-making, the TMS320F28P55x series’ NPU offloads the neural network model’s execution from the main CPU, achieving five to ten times lower latency than software solutions.
Additionally, by learning and adapting to various settings through training, the model that operates on the embedded NPU helps systems reach fault detection accuracy of over 99%, allowing for better informed decision-making at the edge.
With TI’s comprehensive AI toolchain, engineers of all skill levels can effortlessly finish the AI model creation process thanks to models that have been optimized and proven for particular applications.
Enabling industry-leading real-time control performance with advanced safety and security
A single MCU with more flash memory, greater processing power, and more integrated functionality is what designers are increasingly searching for. As cars move from discrete to integrated solutions—where a single chip may manage multiple computational and housekeeping tasks within the powertrain—this need becomes even more apparent.
With its 64-bit design, TI’s new C29 core more than doubles the C28 core’s real-time signal-chain performance.
The F29H85x series, which has extensive diagnostics and error-checking features, was designed to meet the automotive and industrial safety standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission 61508 and the International Organization for Standardization 26262, with levels up to ASIL D and SIL 3.
With a completely isolated hardware security module that guards against cyberattacks and unwanted access, these MCUs also offer cybersecurity features.
Furthermore, employing a sophisticated, context-aware memory protection unit for hardware separation of CPU workloads, free from interference and self-test procedures, TI’s patented safety and security unit offers runtime safety and security without sacrificing speed.
Package, Availability and Pricing
- The TMS320F28P550SJ and TMS320F28P559SJ-Q1 are available now at com/C2000 in preproduction quantities, with the F29H850TU and F29H859TU-Q1 available by year-end 2024.
- Multiple payment and shipping options are available.
- Includes evaluation modules.
Key Comments
“Engineers increasingly strive to design automotive and industrial applications that are more energy efficient and can make faster decisions, driving a need for more scalable processing power, expanded memory, and on-chip safety and security enablers,” said Amichai Ron, senior vice president, TI Embedded Processing. “For decades, our C2000 MCUs have been enabling manufacturers to measure and efficiently process real-world data. Today’s introduction of enhanced real-time performance and edge AI in our C2000 portfolio will empower engineers to solve more complex problems and reach higher levels of system efficiency, safety and sustainability.”
TI at electronica 2024
At electronica 2024, TI will showcase how its analog and embedded processing products are helping design a more intelligent and sustainable future. Demonstrations include the latest advancements in robotics, industrial communications, edge AI and intelligent systems, energy infrastructure, and software-defined vehicles. See ti.com/electronica for more information.
Highlights during the show include:
- Tuesday, Nov. 12-Friday, Nov. 15: Visit TI in the Neue Messe München exhibition center, hall C4, booth 159.
- Tuesday, Nov. 12:
- Chen Yu Chang presents “Reinventing Real-Time Control with Advanced CPU Architecture.”
- Ibukun Olumuyiwa presents “Enabling Cybersecurity for High-Performance Real-Time Microcontrollers.”
- Wednesday, Nov. 13:
- Arthur Redfern participates in “Embedded AI: Bridging the Gap from High-Level Neural Network Design to Low-Level Embedded Execution.”
- Friday, Nov. 15:
- Daolin Qiu and Pekka Varis present “Network Redundancy for Smart Grid Performance Measurements.”
To learn more about how TI helps engineers solve processing and safety design challenges, read the article, “How MCUs Built With Innovative C29 Cores Increase Real-Time Performance in High-Voltage Systems.”
For more information, see ti.com/TMS320F28P550SJ, ti.com/TMS320F28P559SJ-Q1, ti.com/F29H850TU, and ti.com/F29H859TU-Q1.
To learn more about AI-enabled real-time control applications, read the technical article, “Optimizing system fault detection in real-time control systems with edge AI-enabled MCUs.”