VDK enhances software development for Renesas' RH850 MCUs

Synopsys, Inc. recently launched the Virtualizer Development Kit (VDK) for Renesas RH850 MCUs. The new VDK is the first commercial deliverable from the Centre of Excellence collaboration between Renesas and Synopsys. VDKs are software development kits integrating design-specific virtual prototypes with software debug and analysis tools. The kit aims to accelerate software development, system integration and test for RH850-based automotive applications such as body, powertrain/hybrid and chassis/safety control.

"The availability of the Synopsys VDK for Renesas' RH850 MCU marks a key milestone in our long-term collaboration and provides developers of RH850-based applications a productive software development solution," said Akihiko Watanabe, Renesas Electronics' department manager of Automotive Electronics Core Technology Department.

Renesas' RH850 MCUs are an advanced family of scalable, 32bit microcontrollers that have been specially tuned for the performance and reliability requirements of a wide variety of automotive applications such as safety, body and engine control, driver interfaces and infotainment. The VDK for RH850 MCU includes reference virtual prototypes representing a microcontroller, including single and multi-core versions of the RH850, timers, memories, communication blocks such as LIN, CAN and Ethernet and analogue and error control modules. The initial release of the new VDK includes a virtual prototype following the F1x MCU memory map. The virtual prototype can be modified to represent other RH850 MCU series and to create additional VDKs, such as E1x, C1x and P1x, with the Virtualizer tool set. The VDK for RH850 MCU readily integrates with tools such as Mathworks Simulink, Synopsys Saber, Vector CANoe and third party debuggers, enabling system integration and test using a virtual Hardware-in-the-Loop environment and fault and coverage testing in support of the ISO 26262 safety standard.

"As software content and complexity in automotive ECUs continues to grow, our customers can take advantage of leading virtual prototyping technology that has been adapted for the RH850 family, so they can start their software development tasks earlier and accelerate system integration, test and validation," added Watanabe.