Real-Time Benchmarks for Automotive Applications

To make an informed choice among the available embedded microcontrollers for automotive applications, designers need benchmarks that are specific to these applications and provide a realistic representation of how the device will perform in the automotive environment. This class gives an overview of the challenges of developing such benchmarks, the hardware required for their implementation, and the process by which a new suite of benchmarks that addresses these concerns is being implemented by EEMBC. Key points include the creation of benchmarks that can be generated to match specific OEM specifications and which can evolve in tandem with automotive standards as soon as requirements are known, rather than requiring a long development cycle. Real-Time Benchmarks for Automotive Applications By Shay Gal-On and Markus Levy, EEMBC Since the early 1980s, advanced microcontrollers (MCUs) have been adding digital intelligence and sophisticated control to an ever-increasing variety of applications in the automobile. Some MCUs optimize the engine performance, while others monitor and operate critical systems like airbags and antiskid braking. MCUs may control simple power windows and air conditioning or operate the audio, video, and navigation systems in the car. To select the best MCU for each of those applications, the designer must properly evaluate the MCU’s capability in the specific application. The performance and capabilities of earlier 8-bit MCUs were relatively easy to assess, but evaluating modern processors with 32-bit capabilities, multilevel memory structures, and complex peripherals can be a challenge – and MCU selection must be done before any real work on the actual design begins. System partitioning and software development choices can impact application performance as much as MCU characteristics. Benchmarks are a popular method of evaluating a processor’s performance but can only predict true performance if they closely approximate the target application and its development environment. A team of programmers and applications engineers within EEMBC is developing a benchmark suite that gives the automotive application designer an improved tool for evaluating processor choices for this unique environment. The goal of the project is to develop a benchmark suite capable of determining the right MCU for the automotive application and is also accepted as a standard measuring tool by automotive developers around the world. To do this, every factor influencing the processor’s performance must be considered, including MCU characteristics, the instruction set, buses, peripherals, memory, compilers, profilers, operating systems, software, drivers, and automatic code generators. Introduction Microcontrollers have come a long way since those early 8-bitters appeared under the hood. Microcontrollers have evolved to 16-bit and 32-bit instruction sets and data types, providing the