Application specific instruction set processor for sensor conditioning in automotive applications

In the automotive electronic market, sensor conditioning is one of the driving applications. Sensor solutions are pervasive in the vehicle, while signal processing in such application is getting more and more complex. Currently the design strategy is often the standard ASIC flow, but the design effort can be reduced by automatic or platform-aided design strategies, or by using software-based solutions. In this paper SensASIP platform is presented. It is a design platform targeting a microprocessor architecture enhanced by dedicated instructions for computing intensive sensor signal processing tasks. SensASIP allows a seamless design flow from MATLAB-based algorithm definition and instruction set design and simulation, down to hardware macrocell HDL description and implementation in CMOS technology. SensASIP features are described through two automotive sensor conditioning examples. Special focus is put on its increased flexibility and reduced design-effort vs. standard ASIC design approach and on its low complexity overhead vs. other state-of-art software-based solutions.