The SDF (Sensor Data Fusion) platform is a heterogeneous system suited for intensive and safe tasks. It is based on two processors, one is a state-of-the-art safety microcontroller from the automotive domain, ensuring the highest safety grade that is ASIL D. The other one is a powerful multi-core i.MX8 Quad Max System-on-Chip with embedded GPUs that can be used for acceleration, for instance for AI-based applications using TensorFlow Lite. The concept is that the i.MX8 runs a rich OS like Linux and optionally a hypervisor and is responsible for the AI or Sensor fusion tasks. The safe microcontroller, an Aurix from Infineon, is responsible for safety-critical tasks and health monitoring of the system, including the i.MX8. Both processors also have encryption/hashing accelerators for improved performance in security tasks.
The interfaces of the board are diverse and include wireless communication, CAN bus, Gigabit Ethernet, and others. The two processors can communicate by means of an Ethernet switch complying with many Time Sensitive Networking standards, ensuring predictable routing of data. The system has been designed in a modular manner, that is the i.MX8 can be replaced with other processors by swapping the module on which it is mounted, giving the possibility to explore other architectures and processors. The system comes in a ruggedized aluminum case that protects and also ensures passive heat dissipation of the processor.
Innovation capacity: The platform has a diverse set of interfaces that make it suitable for development and prototypes. But it also includes automotive interfaces for vehicle integration. Moreover, being designed in a modular manner, it allows to swap the module hosting the i.MX8 with other ones. Finally, having two different processors on board allows to have a separation of tasks based on the criticality and the computation power required.
