Dev kit speeds development of Renesas MCUs

The Synopsys VDK for Renesas' RH850/P1x is a software development kit that uses a virtual prototype as a target to enable automotive engineers to start software development, integration and test months before physical hardware and testbenches are available, resulting in higher product quality and reduced development cost. The Renesas RH850/P1x virtual prototype was developed through the Center of Excellence collaboration between Renesas and Synopsys, which uses joint engineering teams to develop models and VDKs optimised for the RH850 MCUs.

The VDK for the RH850 software debug and analysis tools, combined with support for Synopsys Saber, Mathworks Simulink and Vector CANoe tools, enable system integration and testing using a virtual Hardware-in-the-Loop environment. The combined solution accelerates integration and functional safety testing (ISO 26262), resulting in higher ECU and vehicle software quality. Companies can further customise the VDK for RH850/P1x to support all versions of the RH850/P1x or P1x-C MCUs using the Virtualizer tool set and can also call on Synopsys' expert virtual prototyping services to accelerate customisation.

"The scalability, performance and reliability of the Renesas RH850/P1x MCU series is suitable for our customers developing chassis applications," said Naoki Yada, Senior Manager, Automotive Control Technical Strategy Department, Renesas Electronics. "As software content and complexity of chassis applications increases, our customers benefit from our Center of Excellence collaboration with Synopsys by having access to a complete virtual prototyping solution from a preferred provider to accelerate software development, integration and test and deliver increasingly reliable products faster."

"Chassis and safety applications such as electric power steering, stability systems and brake systems are increasingly relying on more complex embedded software and must comply with the ISO 26262 functional safety standards," commented John Koeter, Vice President of Marketing, IP and Prototyping, Synopsys. "Expanding our VDK portfolio for Renesas' RH850 MCUs with support for RH850/P1x helps Tier 1 and OEM companies perform earlier, faster and better software testing including fault and coverage testing for these applications."