Design and application of 32-bit microcontroller MPC555 in automotive electronics

With the rapid development of the automobile industry, the requirements for automobile control, communication and networking are becoming more and more complex. The new generation of electronic control units (ECUs) with 32-bit microcontrollers and embedded real-time operating systems as basic technical features have become the mainstream of automotive electronic applications.

The 32-bit microcontroller MPC555 has been widely used in automotive electronics and other fields due to its powerful performance.

1. Introduction to MPC555 microcontroller

The MPC555 microcontroller is a representative product of the Motorola PowerPC 500 series, and is designed for high-end embedded control systems such as automotive electronics, aerospace, and intelligent systems. This product can work in high-speed mobile and harsh environments (working temperature: -40 ~ 125 ° C), has excellent performance, and has a high degree of flexibility and reliability, suitable for mass production at low cost. MPC555 mainly has the following functional modules:

· Reduced instruction set CPU (RCPU) with a main frequency of 40MHz;

Four-level memory controller;

U-Bus system interface unit (USIU);

Flexible instruction and data storage protection unit;

448KB Flash EEPROM;

26KB SRAM

Dual Time Processing Unit (TPU3);

18-channel modular I/O system (MIOS1);

Dual-queue analog-to-digital conversion module (QADC);

Dual CAN2.0B controller module (TouCANs);

Queued Serial Multi-Channel Module (QSMCM).

In the process of designing and developing the application of MPC555 microcontrollers, manufacturers actively guide the development of application product markets through cooperation and joint promotion. MPC555 microcontrollers use chip structure technology of IBM microcontrollers and AMD flash memory technology. Professional embedded software and hardware development companies: ETAS, Pi-Technology, Axiom, ADI, Opti-Num Solution, dSPACE, etc. have developed MPC555 application boards, I/O modules, real-time operating systems, integrated development tools, application software and other embedded software and hardware systems and integrated development environments. Automotive electronics product developers: BOSCH, Delphi, etc. have developed corresponding automotive electronics application products. Thus, a product chain mode of specialized division of labor and joint development of MPC555 has been formed. This industry/product chain development mechanism has become a successful development model in the high-tech field.

2. MPC555 application software and hardware platform and system integrated development environment

For the target system, we must first select a microcontroller that matches the environment and functional parameters of the application product as the core control system. In addition, a complete and powerful development environment technical support is also crucial. With the increasingly fierce market competition, it is required to develop application products quickly and flexibly, and to minimize and shorten each link and cycle from decision-making, design, research and development, testing, correction to final mass production. The speed of developing new products is often closely linked to the survival of an enterprise. In order to meet this requirement, in recent years, the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) technology has received more and more attention. Advanced development methods such as model-based design, simplified software programming, hardware and software integration, rapid prototyping to establish target systems, and modularization of application programs are widely used. In addition, the embedded real-time operating system (RTOS) is also crucial to the safe operation of the system, the management of application system programs, and the compatibility and versatility of the system.

A complete MPC555 development application system is mainly composed of software and hardware platforms and integrated development environment. The functions of the integrated development environment include: providing a control operation interface; browsing the status and information of the MPC555 hardware platform through the BDM interface; establishing a control model; simulating the control algorithm of the application system; connecting with the compiler to generate the MPC555 machine source code from the control model or C language program; transmitting the source code to the MPC555 hardware platform through the BDM interface; real-time debugging and running the application program, etc. This development mode is convenient and fast. It uses a friendly interface to connect the visual model block diagram, input calculation formulas, empirical formulas, etc. to compile the development program, and the system automatically compiles it into target code. After the application is repeatedly simulated and successfully debugged and run in real time, it is loaded into the MPC555 hardware platform. The MPC555 system is equipped with various application I/O modules and communication interfaces, and is equipped with a real-time operating system (RTOS).

Under the management of the operating system, the developed application is run and verified in two environments: under the monitoring of the host computer and away from the host computer. Some specific and repetitive task applications are generated as modular library files for ready call. In order to improve the real-time performance of the development system, the system has functions such as HIL (Hardware-in-the-loop), Bypass and other hardware-in-the-loop development, real-time embedded loading, etc. Modular applications can be imported and exported online in real time without affecting the normal operation of the system.

In terms of hardware, the MPC555 microcontroller is an ideal embedded hardware system platform for automotive electronics. Table 1 lists the comparison of MPC555 development boards developed by professional companies at home and abroad.

In terms of integrated development environment, various development systems generally use MathWorks' MATLAB series software products Simulink, Stateflow, etc. for simulation and model building, and then match the corresponding cross compiler, control interface connection program and hardware platform to form a complete development system. In the application field of MPC555, the more representative products include ETAS's development tool ASCET-SD; OSEKWorks, a real-time operating system that complies with the OSEK standard; LabCar, a debugging tool, and the corresponding MPC555 hardware development board; ADI's embedded system rapid prototyping SIMsystem; development platform BEACON, and Axiom, Pi-technology's MPC555 hardware development series products.

[page]

In order to adapt to the increasingly large characteristics of embedded computer control software development; to achieve modularization and portability of software development; to ensure smooth communication between distributed control subsystems; to achieve the interchangeability and compatibility between control modules of different manufacturers as much as possible, the standardization of application systems has become an urgent issue to be solved. In the field of automotive electronics, the CAN bus communication standard defines relevant communication technical specifications at the physical layer and data link layer. The OSEK (Open Systems and the Corresponding Interfaces For Automotive Electronics) technical specification is an embedded real-time operating system developed for software specifications that meet the automotive electronics open system and its interface. The OSEK specification makes a comprehensive definition and regulation from two aspects: real-time operating system and software development platform. The specification was first advocated by the automotive industry in Germany and France and has been gradually improved. The complete set of solutions it proposes represents the future development direction of the automotive electronics software industry, and its influence in the international automotive electronics field is increasing.

In the major electric vehicle project "Fuel Cell Bus Multi-Energy Powertrain Controller Hardware and Software Platform" of the National High-Tech Research and Development Program (863 Program), Beijing Ximan Automation Technology Co., Ltd. cooperated with the project undertaker, the State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Technology and Systems, Department of Computer Science, Tsinghua University, to actively develop a new generation of automotive electronic ECU hardware and software platform and integrated development environment based on the MPC500 series, including: MPC555 evaluation board, MPC565 single-board system, OSEKLinux real-time operating system, etc. These are to develop my country's key core technologies of automotive electronics with independent intellectual property rights, and actively develop embedded hardware and software and integrated development environment.

3. Application of MPC555 microcontroller in automotive electronics

Soon after the launch of MPC555, it won the International PACE Automotive Innovation Product Excellence Award in the automotive industry in 1999 and has been rapidly developed in the field of embedded computer control, especially in the field of automotive electronics applications. Due to its excellent performance and strong market promotion, MPC555 has been highly valued at all levels, from high-tech R&D projects, end users (automakers) to professional software and hardware developers, and has actively developed and applied MPC555 products. For example, the American MoBIES (Model-Based Integration of Embedded System) model-based integrated embedded system research project. MoBIES is a project funded by the Information Processing Technology Office (IPTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). This project aims to develop model-based software component integration technology for embedded systems. The MoBIES project started in June 2000 and ended in November 2003. The project's automotive OEP (Automobile Open Experimental Platform) was undertaken by Vehicle Dynamic Laboratory, which used MPC555 as the system hardware control unit. MPC555 is increasingly valued.

The MPC555 microcontroller has been widely used in the field of automotive electronics and is a new generation of chips widely used in international automotive electronic systems. The annual sales of the MPC500 series products in the automotive industry reached as much as $1 billion in 2000 (according to Motorola). The foreign automotive electronics industry has formed a complete development and production system from semiconductor hardware to software to component development, and then to system integration applications. Around automobile manufacturers, various types of specialized suppliers that can provide a full set of application systems have been formed: from hardware design to software development, as well as the provision of various special control prototypes, and then equipped with advanced development tools, professional designers and manufacturers can develop and debug new products on the production line. This greatly shortens the product development cycle.

The new generation of electronic control units (ECUs) with 32-bit embedded microcontrollers as their basic technical features have become the mainstream of automotive electronics development and application. The automotive industry is the industry that uses the most microcontrollers, and a modern car can use up to hundreds of microcontrollers. The proportion of automotive electronic systems in the cost of the entire vehicle exceeded 30% in the late 1990s and is still rising.

The development of the automotive electronics industry depends on the booming automotive industry and the latter's important position in the entire industrial field. The technical foundation of automotive electronics comes from the development of electronic technologies such as the semiconductor industry, software development, actuators and sensors. Automotive electronic products can operate in high-speed movement, harsh and drastically changing environments, and have high reliability, safety, strong electromechanical integration, and are suitable for large-scale and low-cost production.

International automotive electronics technology is in a stage of rapid and comprehensive development. Its characteristics are mainly reflected in four modernizations and one function, namely, diverse functions (from the initial electronic ignition and injection of the engine to various control functions today, such as automatic cruise, automatic start-stop, automatic collision avoidance, etc.), technical integration (from the initial loose combination of electromechanical components to today's mechanical-liquid-electromagnetic integration, such as direct-injection engine electronic control common rail fuel injection system), system integration (from the initial single control to today's multi-variable multi-objective comprehensive coordinated control, such as powertrain integrated control, integrated safety control system, etc.), communication networking (from the initial multi-subsystems working separately to today's distributed modular controller local network, such as the vehicle-mounted distributed control system based on CAN bus for vehicle information sharing, and the remote high-frequency network communication system based on D2B wireless communication), and technical standardization (such as OSEK technical specifications, which will become the technical standard of embedded operating systems in the future automotive electronics industry and will be widely adopted). The foreign automotive electronics industry has formed a complete set of development and production systems from semiconductors to software to component development to system integration applications. However, the domestic automotive electronics research and industry are still at a low level of dispersion, segmentation, duplication, and overlap, and the current situation is not optimistic. Application examples of MPC555 microcontrollers in automotive electronics:

BMW's Valvetronic electronic valve system is currently the most advanced power control system technology in the world (three of its models are already running on the road);

Ford's Taurus powertrain control system;

Byteflight data transmission system (for airbags) developed by BMW in collaboration with Motorola and others;

Siemens VDO vehicle power management integrated system;

Ford uses the MPC500 series of powertrain control systems developed for Lincoln LS Luxury Sedans;

Ford uses the MPC500 series for ignition, injection, and exhaust control on Jaguar S-Type Sedans;

Assembly control of Hyundai's latest fuel cell sedan SANTA FE FCEV (exhibited at EVS19);

MoBIES Project OEP Automotive Powertrain Control Open Test Platform Hardware Control Unit (ECU).

The automotive power system, chassis system, body and safety system are gradually evolving from traditional mechanical and hydraulic structures to electronic structures and intelligent control. Electronic means are used to improve performance in braking, driving, suspension, power assistance, body and other control aspects. GPS global satellite positioning navigation, stability management, electric braking, automatic driving, anti-collision vehicles, voice recognition, networking, nighttime identification and other systems are being actively developed and applied. In addition, the internal network connects the subsystems of each independent function to form real-time resource sharing, making the system integrated and intelligent. For example, the chassis stability control system: it is optimized by obtaining information from the braking, driving and suspension systems.

[page]

4. MPC555 application development prospects

The development of automotive electronic technology has played a key role in improving vehicle performance. With the deepening of automotive electronics development, 32-bit microcontrollers will gradually replace 8-bit and 16-bit microcontrollers and become mainstream application products. Future development trends should focus on the development of technologies in the following areas.

(1) Software

Standard I/O driver modules, real-time multi-tasking operating system, high-level language control programming, model-based algorithm design, automatic code generation and virtual simulation testing.

(2) Hardware

Provide a complete hardware development platform integrated with the software system. Flexible and multifunctional rapid prototyping, hardware-in-the-loop simulation HIL (Hardware-in-the-Loop) Simulation, bypass method application, etc.

(3) Rapid prototyping to establish a hardware and software integrated application system

Use rapid prototyping to build the target system: build control algorithms based on model design; simulate system dynamic testing to verify control algorithms; verify models in real time; test, verify, debug, and modify the system online; automatically generate source code, and perform online debugging and calibration.

(4) Standardization

Automotive electronics is in a period of comprehensive development, and the standards of related technologies are also in the stage of establishment and improvement. Technical specifications such as communication, network specifications, and real-time operating system specifications are becoming more mature. Such specifications and targeted hardware systems are mutually infiltrated and interdependent, becoming one. Major automotive companies are competing to develop and establish different standard systems in order to gain an advantage in the competition for automotive electronics.

The development of the automobile industry revolves around the themes of safety, energy saving, environmental protection, comfort and convenience, providing consumers with high-quality, safe, reliable, multifunctional and low-priced innovative products. The challenge facing developers is how to bring new products to the market in the shortest possible time. In order to adapt to this feature, companies in the automobile industry and the IT industry are increasingly accepting the joint development approach and focusing on increasing efforts in formulating standards and unifying development models.

The MPC555 embedded system has broad application prospects in the automotive industry. With the rapid development of my country's national economy and the improvement of people's living standards, automobiles are expected to become a new consumer hotspot for residents and a new growth point for the national economy. With China's entry into the WTO, competition is becoming increasingly fierce. As BMW President Helmut Panke said, the future development trend will be "from the sheet metal to software". Traditional automobile manufacturing must inevitably be combined with information, computing, and electronic technology, and the cooperative relationship between automobile manufacturers and the IT industry will become closer and closer. Advanced methods and means will continue to be applied to product development and production. The application of MPC555 in the field of automotive electronics will continue to improve. We need to increase the development of the application of MPC555 embedded computer control systems to promote the development of my country's automotive electronics industry.