Low power FPGA developer Lattice Semiconductor is collaborating with Green Hills Software to create a range of secure and safe embedded systems for industrial and automotive applications.

The solutions will combine Lattice Nexus-based FPGAs containing embedded RISC-V processors with Green Hills’ µ-velOSity and MULTI software. The joint solutions will be designed to enable more reliable, secure, and safer Edge computing with improved power efficiency, performance, and reduced code size.

Green Hills’ µ-velOSity is a memory-efficient real-time operating system for multicore designs with ASIL requirements, designed to be easy to program. µ-velOSity operates with a few kilobytes of ROM and boots in a minimum of processor cycles. Its context switch time and kernel service calls are designed for real-time automotive and industrial functions. It has an API designed to reduce development time and improve product maintainability.

Green Hills MULTI development tools provide productivity improvements for developers working with Lattice Nexus-based FPGAs with RISC-V. These include Green Hills C/C++ compilers, certified to ASIL D and SIL 3, as well as multicore, multi-OS debugging and visualisation.

“Edge computing creates tremendous opportunities to enable new experiences and efficiencies in Industrial and Automotive applications, while also introducing new challenges around how to ensure safe, dependable operation,” said Mark Hoopes, Director of Industrial & Automotive Segment Marketing at Lattice. “We are excited to collaborate with Green Hills to enable rapid deployment of products powered by our industry-leading low power, highly reliable, and small footprint FPGAs with integrated RISC-V processors. Together, our solutions will empower manufacturers to develop exciting new mission-critical products optimised for energy efficient, safe, secure, and autonomous operation.”

“As a global leader in embedded software with the broadest portfolio of ASIL D and SIL 3-certified software solutions for 32-bit MCU to 64-bit MPUs, Green Hills is excited to support Lattice’s remarkable range of RISC-V CPU-enabled FPGA solutions,” said Dan Mender, Vice President, Business Development, Green Hills Software. “In support of the Nexus FPGA family, Green Hills brings its unique ability to deliver production-proven FuSa-certified tools, C/C++ compilers and real time operating systems, along with decades of safety programme expertise.”