Adaptive fault tolerant multi- processors
Processing is one of the critical operations in embedded systems with reliability relevant requirements. IHP is investigating single- and multi-processing systems that provide reliable operation for different applications, including space, automated driving, or industry automation. The research activities are supporting various processing platforms, from traditional cores such as LEON2, Xtensa, to the emerging RISC-V and internally developed PEAKTOP ISA. The major focus is on adaptive use of the available processing resources, in order to enable dynamic trade-off between power consumption, performance and reliability. The adaptivity also supports various types of fault tolerance modes, including dynamic hardware lock-step as well as loosely-coupled software fault tolerance. This adaptive use is enabled by the intelligent on-chip sensors, such as SEU-, ageing-, temperature- and fault- sensors. The processor architectures are implemented both in FPGA-environment as well as ASICs in various CMOS processes.
