Platform based design of Innovative Architectures for Sensor Conditioning in Automotive Applications

Electronic systems in the automotive market are getting more and more pervasive and complex. Many target applications are spreading in this field: sensor conditioning devices are only examples of driving applications. Time-to-market and specification requirements are harder to meet than in the past; for these reasons it is important to explore new design strategies. Currently the design strategy of sensor conditioning units is often the standard ASIC flow. However, the design effort can be reduced by automatic or platform-aided design strategies and by using software-based solutions. This work presents SensASIP platform. It is a design-aiding platform targeting a microprocessor architecture enhanced by dedicated instructions for carrying out signal processing tasks. SensASIP allows a seamless design flow from MATLAB-based algorithm definition and Instruction Set design and simulation, down to the processor macrocell HDL description and implementation in CMOS technology. Two automotive sensor conditioning examples are presented to show the flexibility of SensASIP platform to meet application specific requirements. Special focus is put on its reduced design-effort and increased flexibility with respect to standard ASIC design approach; on its low complexity overhead with respect to other state-of-art software-based solutions.