The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS has developed a fault-tolerant embedded RISC-V processor core to meet the strict requirements of functional safety in the automotive environment. The IP core called EMSA5-FS is marketed by the partner CAST Inc. It is a 32-bit/in-order/single-issue/5-stage pipeline processor.
The fail-safe features of the EMSA5-FS include dual and triple mode redundancy (with/without lockstep), ECC (Error Correction Code) protection of the internal buses, a configurable memory protection unit, privileged operation modes as well as reset and safety manager modules. It is available as a stand-alone processor or as a pre-configured subsystem combined with typical peripheral components for ASIC and FPGA implementations.
With the fault-tolerant design of the EMSA5-FS processor and the supplied safety documents, users can easily achieve ISO 26262 certification up to ASIL-D, the highest automotive safety integrity level. It is therefore suitable for use in safety-critical systems in vehicles. Due to the support of several IDEs, the processor core enables efficient and professional software development for complete systems, also in the context of functional safety according to ISO 26262 and IEC 61508. The specific documents supplied include FMEDA (Failure Modes, Effects, and Diagnostic Analysis) and SAM (Safety Manual). Available FPGA-based development kits and sample designs also facilitate certification, evaluation and rapid prototyping.
