Date: 13/09/2011

Microcontroller implement safety features in hardware for medical and industrial apps

Texas Instruments has announced three ARM Cortex-based microcontroller families for medical, industrial and transportation applications. Hercules microcontrollers implement safety features in hardware. The Hercules TMS570 family addresses transportation applications and the Hercules TMS470M family cost-efficiently meets the needs of applications that require less performance.

Safety features of this family:
Error correction code (ECC) for flash and RAM with Single Bit Error Correction and Double Bit Error Detection (SECDED) evaluated in the lockstep CPUs without performance impact
CPU and RAM include built-in-self-test (BIST) for detection of potential latent faults without software overhead
Parity on peripheral RAMs, dual analog-to-digital-converters (ADCs) and timers, as well as voltage and clock monitoring for additional diagnostic coverage
Intelligent Error Signaling Module allows the end application to take appropriate action based on the type of error
Safety manual details how to implement Hercules MCUs into safety-critical applications
Failure Modes, Effects and Diagnostic Analysis (FMEDA) provides the failure rate information needed to meet safety standards

Features and benefits of the Hercules RM4x MCU family:
Up to 220 MHz based on dual ARM Cortex-R4F floating-point cores in lockstep
Supports single and double precision floating-point math to execute complex math
Achieve International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61508 SIL-3 safety standard
Features Ethernet, CAN, and USB connectivity
Up to 3 MB flash and 256KB RAM for feature-rich applications

Features and benefits of the Hercules TMS570 MCU family:
Up to 180 MHz based on dual ARM Cortex-R4F floating-point cores in lockstep
Supports single and double precision floating-point math to execute complex math
Achieve ISO 26262 ASIL-D and IEC 61508 SIL-3 safety standards and is AEC-Q100 qualified to satisfy automotive requirements
Operation up to 125 degrees Celsius to address transportation temperature ranges
Features Ethernet, CAN, and FlexRay connectivity
Up to 3MB flash and 256KB RAM for feature-rich applications

Features and benefits of the Hercules TMS470M MCU family:
Up to 80 MHz based on an ARM Cortex-M3 core
AEC-Q100 qualified to satisfy automotive requirements and support for IEC 61508 system safety requirements
Local Interconnect Network (LIN) and CAN support common transportation networking
320 - 640KB flash and 16 - 48KB RAM address varying memory requirements

Pricing and availability: Hercules microcontrollers range from $5 - $30 USD at 10K unit quantities and are immediately available for order. The RM4x Hercules USB Stick Development Kit (TMDXRM48USB) is priced at $79 USD and the RM4x Hercules Development Kit (TMDXRM48HDK) is priced at $199 USD.