Automotive actuator and sensor control MCUs for evolving edge applications

Renesas Electronics Corporation offers two new MCUs designed for automotive actuator and sensor control applications supporting edge evolution in next-generation electronic and electrical architecture (E/E). With the new RL78/F24 and RL78/F23, the company extends its RL78 family of low-power 16-bit MCUs and strengthens its wider automotive portfolio, providing customers extremely reliable, high-performance solutions for systems ranging from actuators to zone control.

With E/E architecture expanding to include zone and domain control applications, control mechanisms develop to accommodate body control for automotive systems including lights, windows, mirrors; motor control for engine pumps and fans; and multiple sensor control. Going forward, high-speed and secure connectivity with zone and domain controllers will be mission-critical for edge ECUs. These next-generation MCUs meet changing technology requirements for actuator and sensor control with improved security, rich connectivity, and functional safety capabilities. The new devices support the CAN FD high-speed communication protocol (RL78/F24) and EVITA-Light security and are optimised for systems aimed at ASIL-B levels under the ISO 26262 functional safety standard.

“Advances in E/E architecture add stress to the already heavy development burden, and there is high demand among our customers to efficiently develop actuators,” said Naoki Yoshida, vice president, Automotive Digital Products Marketing Division at Renesas. “Our new actuator and sensor control MCUs build on our highly popular RL78/F14 and RL78/F13 devices and enable developers to reuse most of their existing software assets, reducing costs while continuing to accelerate the advancement of E/E architecture.”

The future of automotive systems design lies in a vehicle-centralised, zone-oriented E/E architecture. That shift sparks higher demand for more advanced functionality and better performance in actuator controller applications. The new MCUs deliver up to approximately 70% faster-operating frequencies than the previous generation, which can double the performance in BLDC applications. Renesas also enhanced the hardware accelerator and timer functions for motor control and added a 12-bit A/D converter, providing customers the improved functionality and performance levels they demand.