TASKING Blogs

Intelligent Performance Tuning for Embedded ADAS Solutions The Balancing Act Developers creating embedded advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) solutions walk a performance tuning tightrope. They must continually balance the size of the compiled program versus the execution speed. In the automotive space, devices are by nature small – memory is a constraining resource. Therefore, code must be uber-efficient and make optimal use of the various available types of memory (CPU registers, RAM, etc.). In Read Article

How Compiler Vectorization in Computer Architecture Can Help You What if I told you there was a way to increase the speed of your code and reduce its size? Single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) computing can be achieved using parallel computers. It can also help you improve code performance while decreasing its size. Vectorization is a technique that really can take advantage of SIMD hardware. This can either be implemented by the programmer or can be carried out by the compiler. As always there are both Read Article

What Tesla’s Electric Car Battery Technology Means for Future Vehicles Editorial credit: Taina Sohlman / Shutterstock.com What do you think has spurred the boom in consumer electronics? Maybe it’s faster processors the size of a stamp or low power wide area networks. I, personally, think the the Internet of Things boom and the recent rise in machine learning technology comes from a different sources, batteries. Batteries inform the design of many embedded systems, but none more than the electric vehicle (EV). They Read Article

Drowned Robot Highlights Current Challenges in Autonomous Vehicle Development My father always told me to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. This advice has prepared me well for endless failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) and quality control meetings where we try to think of every way something could go wrong. In some industries, things can go more wrong than in others. If I’m designing something like smart silverware and it has a bug, no one really cares. If I’m building an autonomous vehicle and it has a Read Article

What’s in Your Sensor Fusion Toolbox? Fusion is the art of combining two (or more) disparate items and creating something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Like kimchi tacos. Or chocolate nachos. Or Chinese pizza. Or, in the case of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles, radar + Lidar + camera + GPS + gyroscope – that is, sensor fusion. By 2025, the percentage of new vehicle platforms with sensor-fusion modules will grow from 4 percent to 21 Read Article

Techniques Used in Loop Optimization: Analysis and Loop Invariant Code Motion I sometimes find it very difficult to learn about new programming techniques because there are often no explanations of what’s actually going on behind the scenes. I remember when I started my first Arduino project I had to send UDP (user datagram protocol) packets from my Arduino to an Internet of Things device. There were lots of mid level tutorials for sending UDP packets, but none that told me which ports I had to use for sending and Read Article

Why Connected Cars and Big Data Use NAND Memory As I get older I realize more and more how important memory is. I walk into a room to do something and then immediately forget my task. Repeat that process two or three times and it starts to get annoying. Memory is also important in embedded systems, particularly in connected cars with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Our vehicles are getting smarter every day, and gaining lots of gizmos and gadgets in the process. All of these systems Read Article

Inline Functions in C Language: Why and When They Are Used In ADAS Software I love watching “behind the scenes” clips of movies. It’s fascinating how the actors, cameramen, and all the other crew work together to make a film. It’s great to see the hilarious outtakes too. Seeing the little mistakes and unglamorous side of movies helps me to better appreciate them on the big screen. While compilers are not as entertaining as films, they also have a lot going on behind the scenes. It’s easy to use compiler optimizations Read Article

Automotive Functional Safety: What It Is and Why You Should Care Historically, functional safety has been measured by reliability as determined by various statistical methods including Markov analysis and fault tree analysis. But as the automotive industry accelerates into an era marked by increasingly complex embedded software solutions associated with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD), it is clear that such a general definition is not sufficient. Therefore, the Read Article

Pros and Cons of Loop Unrolling Optimization in ADAS Vehicle Code When you were a child, did you imagine what the future would be like? Of course, I knew we would have flying cars by now. Unless teleportation had already made vehicles obsolete. I’m still waiting for those things to happen, but in the meantime, cars with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are revolutionizing the transportation industry. While ADAS features make driving simple for people, the code running those innovations is a bit more Read Article

Using LAPACK Can Improve Efficiency of Embedded Software Do terms like eigenvector, eigenvalue, matrix multiplication, and simultaneous linear equations make your hands sweat, your heart race, and spark a sudden wish for a little Valium®? Or do they make your eyes gleam with anticipation as you ponder the endless possibilities of matrix factorization, condition numbers, and determinants and permanents? Either way, if you are developing embedded software solutions for advanced driver assistance systems Read Article

How to Deal With Cybersecurity for Self-Driving Cars I remember watching lots of bank robbery and heist movies when I was a kid. I still see a few commercials for them now and again, but it seems society is now enthralled by other crimes. Today’s audiences are captivated by things like hacking and cybercrime. These misdeeds have become much more common, and are far more public than bank robberies. Even nations fall victim to cyber attacks and keep an arsenal of digital “weapons” on hand. As Read Article

Which ADAS Features Are Most Likely to Lower Premiums and Increase Public Safety? In the near future, we could see fewer traffic jams, lowered emissions, and better overall road safety. But these benefits won’t necessarily come from any new laws or regulations. Instead, these dramatic changes might come from our own automotive industries, and the exciting new technologies being developed by the best minds in the field. ADAS functions have the power to transform the way we drive and could influence our entire transportation Read Article

Augmented Reality in Cars: Pros and Cons of ADAS Heads up Displays Do you ever feel a little distracted by all the technology surrounding you? I know I do. When I’m at home I have my desktop computer, tablet, and smartphone all vying for my attention. On the road, I have fewer things to distract me, but the consequences of my mind wandering are more severe. In the space it takes to send a quick text, swipe to the next turn on my maps, or change to a song on a different album, disaster can strike. Advanced driver Read Article

Risk Management for Embedded Software Development What do successful downhill skiers, Formula One racers, and mountain climbers have in common? They learn as much as they can about their sport and they use the very best equipment available. By taking this approach, they transform pure risk into calculated risk with tangible payback. But developing embedded software isn’t a dangerous sport, you say… In truth, embedded software development for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and Read Article

The Benefits of Tesla Autopilot and How ADAS Will Save Lives Editorial Credit: Nadezda Murmakova / Shutterstock.com What’s the first thing you think about when buying a car? I want wheels that are sexy, speedy, but most importantly, safe. Car wrecks kill around 40,000 people per year in the US, and those numbers may be rising. Low gas prices have more people out on the roads, while bigger and better smartphones have them more distracted. Companies like Tesla are looking to reduce driving deaths with Read Article

How Autonomous Cars and Big Data Will Help First Responders It’s a bit strange what things people are afraid of. After watching Shark Week each year I become more and more afraid of sharks, even though I’ve never seen one at the beach. In fact, it’s much more likely that I’d be injured in a car wreck, though I don’t feel any fear each time I get behind the wheel. Whether or not I’m afraid, the risk is still there, though new advances in technology are minimizing that risk. Advanced driver assistance Read Article