Renesas Electronics' leading in-vehicle SOCs are used by Continental in its high-performance computer body

     Renesas Electronics has announced that Continental has adopted the Renesas high-performance System-on-chip (SoC) R-Car M3 for its first generation body high-performance computer (HPC). HPC serves as an on-board computing platform that provides centralized control of vehicle systems and is equipped with security gateway capabilities to enable cloud connectivity.

     The R-Car M3 supports online (OTA) software updates that support the highest levels of information security and functional safety, enabling centralized control of automotive software updates. The R-Car M3 will drive a new electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture concept that helps improve vehicle performance, safety and reliability while reducing vehicle weight.

     Johann Hiebl, head of Continental's Connected Vehicles division, said: "Thanks to the new server architecture, vehicle upgrades will be easier and faster than they are today. We are committed to making the car an integral part of the Internet of everything, while improving vehicle performance and comfort. The first generation of Continental's body high-performance computer with the high-performance R-Car SoC is now in mass production at a global scale vehicle plant."

     Shingo Yamamoto, Executive Vice President of Renesas Electronics and General manager of the Automotive Electronics Solutions Division, said: "Renesas is helping our customers better balance performance and energy efficiency by focusing on the application of our products in more production models. I am honored that Continental has recognized our efforts and achievements and adopted the R-Car M3 in its HPC body. We look forward to continuing to work with Continental to drive the next generation of E/E architectures to make hardware - and software-based end-to-end solutions more cost competitive and innovative."

     Whether for personal use, taxis, or mobility services like freight, modern vehicles must adapt to rapid online software updates in order to operate efficiently and safely. It is very difficult to make individual software updates for the dozens of electronic control units (ECUs) installed in conventional vehicles. The new E/E architecture, which is currently being updated, will address this challenge by leveraging a central vehicle computer for centralized software updates.

     The versatile R-Car product line is scalable to meet the needs of a wide range of vehicles, making it an ideal General Motors computing platform. In addition to the 30,000 DMIPS performance R-Car M3, the Renesas R-Car family also includes high-end products, Examples include the high-performance R-Car H3, built on eight 64-bit Arm® CPU cores, which delivers 45,000 DMIPS, and the R-Car E3, which delivers 7,500 DMIPS.

     R-Car's virtualization capabilities isolate the software that connects to external cloud services from the software that controls the vehicle, allowing them to operate completely independently. Effective isolation based on a single chip makes R-Car a vehicle gateway for functional safety and information security. R-Car also integrates multiple hardware information security features, including secure boot and secure network communication with the domain controller over Ethernet. It also has high-speed Gigabit Ethernet capabilities to provide the data throughput needed for fast software updates and increased sensor information to support ADAS functionality.

     In addition, the R-Car can be combined with the Renesas RH850/U2A cross-domain MCUS to support functional safety up to ASIL D, as well as the company's extensive portfolio of automotive power management and clock products to build a complete in-vehicle server solution.