Renesas unveils next-generation automotive SoC and MCU processor product roadmap

Future product lineup includes R-Car SoC using advanced chiplet integration technology

and automotive MCUs based on ^{Arm® cores}

November 8 , 2023 , Beijing, China - Renesas Electronics, a global semiconductor solutions provider , today unveiled its next-generation system-on-chip (SoC) and microcontroller (MCU) plans for all major applications in the automotive field .

Renesas has pre-announced relevant information about the fifth-generation R-Car SoC. This SoC is oriented to high-performance applications and uses advanced Chiplet small chip packaging integration technology, which will bring greater flexibility to vehicle engineers in design. For example, if advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) need to take into account more prominent AI performance, engineers can integrate the AI ​​accelerator into a single chip.

Renesas also shared two MCU product plans for the upcoming next-generation R-Car product family: one is a new cross-border MCU series designed to provide domain and regional electronic control units (ECUs) in the next-generation automotive E/E architecture. ) to create the required high performance, this product will narrow the performance gap between traditional MCUs and advanced R-Car SoCs; Renesas will also release an independent MCU platform tailored for vehicle control applications. Both MCUs will be based on Arm® ^architecture and will become important members of the outstanding R-Car product family, providing vehicle engineers with complete scalability options and software reusability.

As part of its product roadmap, Renesas plans to provide a virtual software development environment that aligns with the automotive industry's well-known "shift left" model. These software tools will allow customers to design and test software earlier in the development process.

Vivek Bhan, Senior Vice President, Co-General Manager of High Performance Computing, Analog and Power Solutions Group at Renesas said: “Renesas has developed this roadmap based on years of collaboration and discussions with Tier 1 suppliers and OEM customers. The biggest customer feedback we receive is the need to speed up development without compromising quality. This means software design and verification must be started before the hardware is available, so we will continue to invest in a "shift left" model and software first. Innovate, deploy new scalable embedded processors, and strengthen Renesas' already vast network of development tools to help customers achieve their goals."

Fifth generation R-Car SoC platform

Until the launch of the fourth generation, R-Car SoCs were designed for specific cases, such as ADAS/autonomous driving that require high-end AI performance, and gateway solutions with enhanced communication capabilities. Renesas' fifth-generation R-Car SoC will use Chiplet technology to build a flexible platform that can be customized according to the different requirements of different cases. The new platform will offer multiple processor sets from entry-level to high-end models and integrate various IP such as AI accelerators, as well as partner and customer IP into a single package. This will give users the option to customize designs according to their needs.

Two new Arm -core MCU platforms for vehicle control applications

With the continuous development of automotive E/E architecture, the high-performance computing and real-time processing capabilities of domain control units (DCUs) and regional control units have become increasingly important. To address this challenge, Renesas has developed a 32-bit cross-border R-Car MCU platform based on the Arm core. This platform has built-in NVM (non-volatile memory) and can provide higher performance than current traditional MCUs. In addition, based on the outstanding achievements of the RH850 product family MCU, Renesas has also launched a new R-Car MCU series also using Arm technology to expand its vehicle control product lineup. This means that for the first time, vehicle system developers will be able to leverage Arm’s software and vast ecosystem to use these new MCUs to build powertrain, body control, chassis and instrument cluster systems. This expansion will enable Renesas to standardize IP between MCUs and SoCs, thereby improving software usability and reducing customer development costs.

Renesas plans to launch new products in accordance with this roadmap starting in 2024.

software development environment

As in-vehicle software continues to grow in size and complexity, the traditional model of using hardware for software design is becoming obsolete due to its lengthy production process. Renesas has taken the lead in launching an application software virtual development environment, providing advanced debugging and evaluation tools for analyzing and evaluating software performance. Renesas will provide these tools for next-generation processors starting in the first quarter of 2024. This way, developers can accelerate their software development efforts even before next-generation device prototypes are available, bringing products to market faster.