Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a semiconductor solutions provider, has revealed its comprehensive plans for the next generation of system-on-chips (SoCs) and microcontrollers (MCUs) catering to various applications in the automotive digital domain.
The company introduced its fifth-generation R-Car SoC, featuring advanced in-package chiplet integration technology. This innovation provides automotive engineers with greater flexibility in customizing designs. For instance, in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), engineers can integrate AI accelerators into a single chip, enhancing AI performance as needed.
Renesas also outlined its upcoming MCU advancements within the next-generation R-Car family. This includes a new crossover MCU series designed for domain and zone electronic control units (ECU) in next-generation E/E architectures in automobiles. These MCUs bridge the performance gap between traditional MCUs and advanced R-Car SoCs. Additionally, Renesas plans to introduce a separate MCU platform tailored for the vehicle control market, powered by Arm® architectures. These MCUs will become integral components of the R-Car family, offering scalable options and software reusability for automotive engineers.
The company’s roadmap includes the development of a virtual software environment, aligning with the automotive industry’s shift towards the “shift left” approach. These tools enable customers to design and test software earlier in the development process, accelerating software development efforts before prototypes of the next-generation devices become accessible. Renesas aims to release new products based on this roadmap starting from 2024 onwards.
“This roadmap comes after years of collaboration and discussions with Tier 1 and OEM customers,” stated Vivek Bhan, Senior Vice President, Co-General Manager of High Performance Computing, Analog and Power Solutions Group at Renesas. “We will help them realize this goal by continuing to invest in shift left and software-first innovations, deploying new scalable embedded processors, and bolstering our vast network of development tools.”
