STMicroelectronics offers connected-car automotive MCU

New connected-car automotive microcontroller (MCU) enables secure remote updates and high-speed in-vehicle networking.

Image: STMicroelectronic

STMicroelectronics (ST) has launched a new flagship SPC58 H Line as part of its Chorus series of automotive microcontrollers (MCUs).

The new line can run multiple applications concurrently to allow more flexible and cost-effective vehicle electronics architectures.

The SPC58 H line has three high-performance processor cores, more than 1.2MB RAM and powerful on-chip peripherals, the company said.

As critical vehicle powertrain, body, chassis and infotainment features increasingly become defined by software, securely delivering updates such as fixes and option packs over the air (OTA) enhances cost efficiency and customer convenience, the company said.

With high security and large on-chip code storage, ST’s Chorus automotive microcontroller is a gateway/domain-controller chip capable of handling major OTA updates securely.

Two independent Ethernet ports provide high-speed connectivity between multiple Chorus chips throughout the vehicle and enable responsive in-vehicle diagnostics. Also featuring 16 CAN-FD and 24 LINFlex interfaces, Chorus can act as a gateway for multiple ECUs (electronic control units) and support smart-gateway functionality via 2 Ethernet interfaces also on-chip.

“The way carmakers create, configure, deploy and maintain new vehicles is changing, as software-defined functionality makes advanced features, flexibility and convenience ever more widely accessible,” said Luca Rodeschini, microcontroller business unit director at STMicroelectronics. “Our latest and highest-performing Chorus microcontroller, being OTA-ready and with dual Ethernet ports up to Gigabit speeds, creates a state-of-the-art platform for seamless, safe and secure in-car connectivity and control.”

To protect connected-car functionalities and allow OTA updates to be applied safely, the new Chorus chip contains a Hardware Security Module capable of asymmetric cryptography. Being EVITA Full compliant, it implements industry-leading attack prevention, detection and containment techniques.

Some customers have received samples of the SPC58 Chorus H Line microcontrollers in the next generation of smart gateways and central body modules, and are also evaluating the devices for battery-management units and ADAS safety controllers.