Scalability and Cost Matter for Embedded Processors

November 26, 2024

Blog

With the focus on headline-grabbing innovations in electronics and their impact on our lives, it’s easy to overlook the technology making each step forward possible. Each breakthrough for automotive and industrial applications begins with equally – or sometimes more - significant evolutions in embedded processor capabilities, availability and ease of use.

From microcontrollers (MCUs) used for motor control and wired and wireless communications to advanced application processors capable of running edge AI models, each generation of embedded processors brings unprecedented levels of integration and affordability in designing embedded systems.

It's essential to consider the role of semiconductor manufacturers like Texas Instruments when contemplating the future of embedded designs. From my perspective, our role extends beyond just creating innovative, high-quality and cost-effective devices that are easy to design with. We must also ensure that our embedded processor portfolios and software are built to meet the evolving demands of our customers and the market – today and tomorrow.

Scalability to meet evolving embedded system design challenges

Most companies produce more than one product, and each product's development is a resource-intensive endeavor with unique challenges and requirements. However, in the realm of electronics, there are commonalities across products, namely semiconductors, and more specifically, embedded processors. These processors are the driving force behind a simple motor, wired or wireless connectivity and vision processing in advanced robotics. They define the potential of a system.

However, realizing this potential comes with its own set of challenges, including time, cost, and complexity. This is where the ability of a semiconductor manufacturer to deliver scalability across hardware and software portfolios and manufacturing capacity becomes crucial. These portfolios need to meet a wide array of performance targets for automotive and industrial systems, providing devices with extensive options for packaging, pricing, and integrated features. Additionally, they should provide easy-to-use software based on open-source platforms like Linux and be supported by unified development platforms that allow for the reuse of code across designs, saving time and development resources.

EV chargers are an excellent use case. A residential charger might not have a display, fewer connections or even require only a single communication protocol and security might be simpler – therefore selecting a simpler processor. However, a commercial charger is different. From GPU support for an interactive display that might stream video advertising to handling payment remotely requiring security enablers, the processor will need to support this broader range of features and functionality.

As companies scale their suite of products, from simple to advanced, they will want to reuse as much of their investment as possible across the portfolio. It’s critical that their hardware and software investments are reused or extended across products. This is why TI designs broad and diverse portfolios of processors to offer a variety of performance and features all supported by common development environments.

Meeting design challenges today and tomorrow

Design cycles for new products last years, with the scope of the next generation of that product – and sometimes generations beyond that – is in development while the current generation of the product is being released in the market. Designers can streamline design across overlapping timelines by investing in a single, scalable portfolio of embedded processors from a semiconductor company with the manufacturing capacity to support a growing portfolio of products.

One example of this is our AM6x family of power-efficient Arm-based application processors that were designed to deliver this high level of flexibility. Their system-on-chip or “SoC” architecture integrates multiple compute and processing cores, as well as advanced components like a high-compute DSP, hardware accelerators and vision processors capable of edge AI processing and responding to sensor data in the real world. More integration means more options to fit the scope of the current design.

As those needs change, for example if an application like a collaborative robot that is updated to include sensor fusion capabilities and edge artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, the designer can leverage the same processor or select one with higher processing capabilities from the same family. In this example, these processors can also leverage our online, drag-and-drop AI tool, Edge AI Studio to test and run AI models with minimal code on actual TI hardware before deploying to their designs.

What’s next for embedded processors?

While it’s not possible to truly “future proof” a design, the future of embedded processing is about the next best thing: ensuring that the investments customers make today will continue to deliver value as technology and demands increase.

Scalability is a critical factor in enabling the continuous evolution of electronics and their impact on our lives. As we look to the future, companies like Texas Instruments will continue to play a pivotal role in ensuring that innovative embedded processor and software are capable of meeting the ever-changing demands of the market.