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How STMicroelectronics and HighTec EDV-Systeme Are Shaping the Future of Intelligent Driving

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STMicroelectronics and HighTec EDV-Systeme have partnered to advance the development of intelligent driving systems by integrating functional safety standards with modern software development tools. Their collaboration focuses on enhancing the safety and efficiency of software-defined vehicles (SDVs).

How Does the Collaboration Enhance Automotive Functional Safety?

The partnership combines STMicroelectronics’ Stellar microcontrollers, certified to ISO 26262 ASIL D, with HighTec’s Rust compiler, also qualified to the same safety standard. This integration ensures that developers can create safety-critical applications for SDVs while maintaining compliance with the highest automotive safety standards.

What Are the Key Features of the Stellar Microcontrollers?

ST’s Stellar microcontrollers are built on Arm® Cortex®-R52+ cores and are the first 28nm MCUs to achieve ISO 26262 ASIL D certification. They also comply with ISO 21434 cybersecurity standards and UN155 requirements, making them suitable for next-generation automotive applications.

How Does HighTec’s Rust Compiler Contribute to the Partnership?

HighTec’s Rust compiler supports the Rust programming language, known for its safety and reliability features. By integrating this compiler with the Stellar microcontrollers, developers can leverage modern software architectures while ensuring safety compliance in their applications.

What Benefits Does This Collaboration Offer to Automakers?

The integration of Rust with C/C++ code bases allows for a hybrid development approach, enabling automakers to accelerate the development of safety-critical systems. This collaboration reduces time-to-market and enhances the safety and security of SDVs.

How Does This Partnership Align with Industry Trends?

As the automotive industry shifts towards software-defined architectures, the need for reliable and efficient development tools becomes paramount. This partnership addresses these needs by providing a comprehensive solution that combines advanced hardware with modern software tools, aligning with industry trends towards SDVs.

Buying Tips

When considering components for intelligent driving systems, it’s essential to evaluate both hardware and software solutions. STMicroelectronics’ Stellar microcontrollers offer high-performance and safety-compliant hardware, while HighTec’s Rust compiler provides a modern and reliable software development tool. Together, they offer a robust solution for developing safe and efficient SDVs.

Electronic Components Expert Views

“The integration of Rust with ASIL D certified microcontrollers marks a significant advancement in automotive software development. It not only enhances safety but also aligns with the industry’s move towards more flexible and efficient software architectures.”

FAQ

Q: What is the significance of the ASIL D certification?

A: ASIL D is the highest safety level defined by ISO 26262, indicating that the component meets stringent safety requirements for automotive applications. 

Q: Why is Rust gaining popularity in automotive software development?

A: Rust offers memory safety and concurrency features, making it suitable for developing reliable and efficient automotive software.

Q: How does the integration of Rust and C/C++ benefit developers?

A: It allows developers to leverage existing codebases while adopting modern programming practices, facilitating a smoother transition to advanced software architectures.

STMicroelectronics and HighTec EDV-Systeme have joined forces to bring a comprehensive solution to the functional safety domain in the automotive industry. This solution accelerates the development of safety-critical systems, making software-defined vehicles (SDVs) safer and more affordable. The solution supports the Rust programming language, integrating HighTec’s Rust compiler compliant with ISO 26262 ASIL D standards with STMicroelectronics’ Stellar series—the industry’s first 28-nanometer microcontroller also certified to this safety standard. Rust, with its robust safety and reliability features, is increasingly favored in the automotive industry.

Davide Santo, Director of the Automotive Microcontrollers Division at STMicroelectronics, explained, “Software-defined principles are reshaping vehicle design and user experience, replacing traditional hard-wired electronic control units (ECUs) with programmable systems. This is the future trend for all types of propulsion vehicles, enabling automakers to easily differentiate their product lines and dynamically update vehicle functions. Our collaboration with long-time partner HighTec ensures that automakers can leverage the powerful capabilities of Rust while meeting the highest safety standards in the industry.”

Mario Cupelli, Chief Technology Officer at HighTec EDV-Systeme, stated, “At HighTec, our engineers have created the industry’s first modern safety-ready programming language software compiler supporting Rust, achieving the highest level of certification according to the automotive functional safety standard ISO 26262 ASIL D. On the other hand, STMicroelectronics’ Stellar series of automotive microcontrollers are the first 28-nanometer components certified according to the ISO 26262 ASIL D standard. Therefore, they perfectly fit with our compiler, enabling customers to have a complete solution ensuring a safe and seamless connection between compiler, hardware, and software.”

As automakers face immense pressure to shorten development cycles and meet evolving safety standards, this collaboration provides a powerful and safety-compliant automotive software development solution. Integrating the ASIL D-certified Rust compiler into the Stellar MCU series accelerates the development of safety-critical systems,缩短 time-to-market, while strictly adhering to automotive safety requirements.

Rust’s safety, performance, and reliability make it the preferred programming language for automotive mission-critical systems, potentially shaping the future of the automotive industry. With HighTec’s Rust compiler support for Stellar products, STMicroelectronics offers its automotive customers a highly integrated, feature-rich, and efficient toolchain that accelerates development cycles while ensuring compliance with ISO 26262 standards.

STMicroelectronics and HighTec are jointly committed to creating innovative solutions that meet the highest safety standards in the automotive industry. Their close collaboration ensures that developers can now integrate Rust along with valuable C/C++ codebases into Stellar’s safety-critical projects, accelerating the development of safety-critical systems,缩短 time-to-market, while strictly adhering to automotive safety and security requirements.

Rust includes provisions for protecting memory, process threads, and data type safety. This ensures its exceptional resilience for critical automotive systems, while Rust’s runtime efficiency is comparable to C/C++ in terms of execution time and memory usage. These features significantly reduce the cost of software development and maintenance, shorten development cycles, and enhance safety and reliability.

HighTec’s C/C++ and Rust automotive-grade compilers allow combining the safety advantages of Rust with legacy C/C++ code to build safe and reliable automotive applications for the next generation of software-defined vehicles.

STMicroelectronics’ Stellar series of automotive MCUs are built on the Arm Cortex-R52+ core and a robust safety-oriented hardware architecture. They are the first 28-nanometer MCUs to achieve ISO 26262 ASIL D certification from certification assessors in early 2024. Additionally, they comply with the ISO 21434 cybersecurity standard and adhere to UN R155 requirements, ensuring compliance with the latest safety and security standards. The Stellar MCUs offer exceptional performance, scalability, and integration for the next generation of automotive, electrification, and safety-critical systems.

HighTec’s Rust compiler complements its established C/C++ compiler suite. Both are certified to the highest safety level, ISO 26262 ASIL D, enabling automotive software developers to fully leverage the high reliability and performance features of STMicroelectronics’ Stellar MCUs. The entire toolchain is built on modern LLVM open-source technology, allowing mixed development of Rust code with C/C++, enabling the transition to modern software architectures. Now, STMicroelectronics’ Stellar MCUs benefit from HighTec’s Rust compiler, enabling seamless development of safety-critical applications.