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algorithms in distributed, highly
integrated sensor logic. Thus,
software developers can now also
take advantage of a powerful
processing component that has been
sitting on the sidelines and woefully
underused - the graphics processor.
In fact, the graphics processor can
accomplish parallel compute-intensive
processing tasks far more efficiently
than the CPU, which is important
for increased parallel computational
loads. The key to all this is the
availability of Heterogeneous System
Architecture, which in terms of x86
technology has mainly been driven by
AMD but has also been joined by many
industry leaders. HSA supporting
microarchitectures
seamlessly
combine the specialized capabilities
of the CPU, GPU and various other
processing elements onto a single
chip – the Accelerated Processing Unit
(APU). By harnessing the untapped
potential of the GPU, HSA promises
to not only boost performance – but
deliver new levels of performance
(and performance-per-watt) that
will fundamentally transform the
way we interact with our devices.
With HSA, the programming is also
simplified, using open standards tools
like MATLAB® or OpenCL/OpenCV
libraries. And it is not only the vision
system that can leverage this HSA
processing performance. All forms of
perceptive computing play a role too.
These enable a robot to understand
what we say.
The AMD G-series System-on-Chip
(SoC) perfectly matches all the
points discussed above. It offers
HSA combining x86 architecture with
powerful GPU, PCIe and a wealth of I/
Os. On top of this, AMD G-Series SoCs
have an additional benefit, which
is not at all common but extremely
important for the growing demands
of application safety: an extreme high
radiation resistance for highest data
integrity:
Guaranteed data integrity is one of
the most important preconditions
to meet the highest reliability and
safety requirements. Every single
calculation and autonomous decision
depends on this. So, it is crucial that,
for example, data stored in the RAM
is protected against corruption and
that calculations in the CPU and GPU
are carried out conforming to code.
Errors, however, can happen due to
so-called Single Events. These are
caused by the background neutron
radiation which is always present and
originates when high energy particles
from the sun and deep space hit
the earth’s upper atmosphere and
generate a flood of secondary
isotropic neutrons all the way down
to ground or sea level.
The Single Event probability at sea
level is between 10-8 to 10-2 upsets
per device*hour for commonly used
electronics. This means that within
every 100 hours one single event
could potentially lead to unwanted,
jeopardizing behavior. This is where
the AMD embedded G-Series SoCs
provides the highest level of radiation
resistance and, therefore, safety.
Tests performed by NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center showed that
the AMD G-Series SoCs can tolerate
a total ionizing radiation dose of
17 Mrad(Si). This surpasses the
requirements by far, when comparing
it to current maximum permissible
values: For humans, 400 rad in a
week is lethal. In standard space
programs usually components are
required to withstand 300 krad. Even
a space mission to Jupiter would only
require a resistance against 1 Mrad.
Additionally, AMD supports advanced
error correction memory (ECC RAM)
which is a further crucial feature to
correct data errors in the memory
caused by Single Events.
Figure 3:
Susceptibility of common
electronics for the background neutron
radiation cross-section Single Event
Ratio (Upset/device*hour). In order to
compare different technologies, the SER
values have been normalized to a size of
1 GByte for each relevant technology.
Figure 5:
x can be used for illustration.
Unibap is the owner of this picture
Figure 4:
A single simple raw picture
without any filtering from the camera.
Fredrik Bruhn, CEO (left) and Research
Engineers Fabian Kunkel
New-Tech Magazine Europe l 59