Requirements for more processing power and for redundancy, especially in safety critical applications, is beginning to drive automotive industry demand for multi-core processors, according to Dr. Kay Stepper, director of marketing and product planning for Chassis Systems Control at Robert Bosch LLC.

Stepper said multi-core processors are not yet widely used in automotive applications, but he added, “That is soon about to change.” Applications like collision avoidance require significant processing power to analyze large amounts of data and make decisions quickly, and in a multi-core architecture, if one system element fails or is overloaded, a second or third can take over, Stepper noted.

Bosch uses multi-core processors in its domain control units (DCU), which are designed to provide a central, scalable platform for hardware and software integration. It can also reduce the number of electronic control units deployed in a vehicle, according to Stepper. Bosch has partnered with Infineon Technologies to develop the DCU based on Infineon TriCore processors. The firms are working on other applications planned for rollout within the next three years.