Autonomous peripheral operation explained

In computing, autonomous peripheral operation is a hardware feature found in some microcontroller architectures to off-load certain tasks into embedded autonomous peripherals in order to minimize latencies and improve throughput in hard real-time applications as well as to save energy in ultra-low-power designs.

Overview

Forms of autonomous peripherals in microcontrollers were first introduced in the 1990s. Allowing embedded peripherals to work independently of the CPU and even interact with each other in certain pre-configurable ways off-loads event-driven communication into the peripherals to help improve the real-time performance due to lower latency and allows for potentially higher data throughput due to the added parallelism. Since 2009, the scheme has been improved in newer implementations to continue functioning in sleep modes as well, thereby allowing the CPU (and other unaffected peripheral blocks) to remain dormant for longer periods of time in order to save energy. This is partially driven by the emerging IoT market.

Conceptually, autonomous peripheral operation can be seen as a generalization of and mixture between direct memory access (DMA) and hardware interrupts. Peripherals that issue event signals are called event generators or producers whereas target peripherals are called event users or consumers. In some implementations, peripherals can be configured to pre-process the incoming data and perform various peripheral-specific functions like comparing, windowing, filtering or averaging in hardware without having to pass the data through the CPU for processing.

Implementations

Known implementations include:

See also

References

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ,http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2014/EECS-2014-162.html --> System Design Trade-Offs in a Next-Generation Embedded Wireless Platform . Michael P. . Andersen . David Ethan . Culler . David Ethan Culler . . Technical Report . No. UCB/EECS-2014-162 . 2014-08-25 . 2018-04-30 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430190100/http://sdb.cs.berkeley.edu/sdb/files/publications/sdb/system_design_tradeoff.pdf . 2018-04-30.
  2. Web site: Improve Cortex M4 MCU interrupt responses with an intelligent Peripheral Event System . Andreas . Eieland . Espen . Krangnes . . 2012-10-28 . 2018-04-30 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430190530/https://www.edn.com/print/4399539 . 2018-04-30.
  3. Event System Implementations for Microcontroller Circuits . Bjørnerud . Rune André . NTNU Open . Institutt for elektronikk og telekommunikasjon . 2009 . thesis . 11250/2370969 . 2018-04-29 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430190802/https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/handle/11250/2370969 . 2018-04-30.
  4. Web site: Energy Micro details its ARM Cortex M3-based EFM32G range . Steve . Bush . 2009-10-21 . . 2018-04-29 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430190844/https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/micros/energy-micro-details-its-arm-cortex-m3-based-efm32g-range-2009-10/ . 2018-04-30.
  5. Web site: Programmable peripheral interconnect . 2018-04-29 . US patent US9087051B2 . Junaid . Elahi . Joar Olai . Rusten . Lasse . Olsen . Lars . Sundell . . 2011-12-12.
  6. Web site: Mikrocontroller: Neue Cortex-M0+-Familie von Atmel . Frank . Riemenschneider .

    de:Frank Riemenschneider

    . de . elektroniknet.de . 2013-06-18 . 2018-04-29 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430191422/http://www.elektroniknet.de/preview/neue-cortex-m0-familie-von-atmel-98530.html . 2018-04-30.
  7. Web site: 8-bit Fights Back with Autonomous Peripherals . Rich . Quinnell . 2015-07-28 . Santa Clara, USA . . 2018-04-30 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430191856/https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1327261 . 2018-04-30.
  8. Web site: Autonomous peripherals for PIC18F MCUs . Steve . Bush . 2016-10-31 . . 2018-04-29 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430192223/https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/micros/autonomous-peripherals-pic18f-mcus-2016-10/ . 2018-04-30.
  9. Web site: Microchip Technology: 8-Bit-Offensive: AVR . de . Iris . Stroh . 2016-11-10 . elektroniknet.de . 2018-04-29 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430192937/http://www.elektroniknet.de/markt-technik/halbleiter/8-bit-offensive-avr-135724.html . 2018-04-30.
  10. Web site: Atmel Introduces AVR32 Microcontroller Which Lowers Industry's Best Power Consumption by 63% . Helen . Perlegos . . Press announcement . 2009-06-22 . 2018-04-30 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430194909/https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTE_20090622_OTE0006/atmel-introduces-avr32-microcontroller-which-lowers-industrys-best-power-consumption-by-63 . 2018-04-30.
  11. Web site: Energy Micro reveals more details on power efficient ARM MCU . Steve . Bush . 2009-07-08 . . 2018-04-30 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180430211044/https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/micros/energy-micro-reveals-more-details-on-power-efficient-arm-mcu-2009-07/ . 2018-04-30.
  12. Web site: Atmel's AVR XMEGA Redefines System Performance for 8/16-bit Microcontrollers . Philippe . Faure . Press announcement . . 2008-02-26 . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180501091828/https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTE_20080226_OTE0012/atmels-avr-xmega-redefines-system-performance-for-816-bit-microcontrollers . 2018-05-01.
  13. Web site: There is nothing left to be invented in embedded control, Part 1 . Lucio . Di Jasio . 2015-05-05 . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180501094834/https://www.embedded.com/design/mcus-processors-and-socs/4439357/There-is-nothing-left-to-be-invented-in-embedded-control--Part-1 . 2018-05-01.
  14. Web site: There is nothing left to be invented in embedded control, Part 2 . Lucio . Di Jasio . 2015-05-12 . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180501094342/https://www.embedded.com/print/4439430 . 2018-05-01.
  15. Web site: Lowest power 32-bit MCUs from Si Labs . David . Manners . 2012-10-03 . . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180502014706/https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/micros/lowest-power-32-bit-mcus-from-si-labs-2012-10/ . 2018-05-02.
  16. Web site: Peripherals interconnections on ST M32F405/7xx, STM32F415/7xx, STM32F42xxx, STM32F43xxx, STM32F446xx and STM32F469/479xx . . Application note . AN4640 . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180501101225/http://www.st.com/content/ccc/resource/technical/document/application_note/59/ed/30/07/55/76/4e/82/DM00154959.pdf/files/DM00154959.pdf/jcr:content/translations/en.DM00154959.pdf . 2018-05-01.
  17. Web site: Raising Performance Without Breaking the Power Budget . 2013-07-10 . . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180502020243/https://www.digikey.lv/en/articles/techzone/2013/jul/raising-performance-without-breaking-the-power-budget . 2018-05-02.
  18. Web site: A closer look at Atmel's Peripheral Event System . 5 July 2013 . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180501101029/https://atmelcorporation.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/a-closer-look-at-atmels-peripheral-event-system/ . 2018-05-01.
  19. Web site: Low Power Technology: Microcontroller Peripherals Push the Boundaries of Ultra-Low-Power . . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180501101748/https://www.mouser.de/applications/low-power-microcontroller-peripherals/ . 2018-05-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20220629175854/https://www.silabs.com/documents/public/white-papers/low-power-32-bit-microcontroller-dtm.pdf
  20. Web site: Redefining the Power Benchmark . White Paper . Espen . Kragnes . Andreas . Eieland . 2012 . . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180501100502/https://www.newark.com/wcsstore/ExtendedSitesCatalogAssetStore/cms/asset/images/americas/common/storefront/atmel/Redefining_the_Power_Benchmark.pdf . 2018-05-01.
  21. Web site: ZILOG Releases New 16-Bit MCU System On A Chip For Motor Control Applications . 2011-01-06 . . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180502023301/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110106005359/en/ZILOG-Releases-New-16-Bit-MCU-System-Chip . 2018-05-02.
  22. Web site: The Need for Autonomous Peripheral Interoperation in Sensorless BLDC Applications . Dave . Coulson . Convergence Promotions LLC . 2011-10-12 . WP002003-0111 . 2018-05-01 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180501101851/https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/techzone/2011/oct/the-need-for-autonomous-peripheral-interoperation-in-sensorless-bldc-applications . 2018-05-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20220629175336/http://www.zilog.com/force_download.php?filepath=YUhSMGNEb3ZMM2QzZHk1NmFXeHZaeTVqYjIwdlpHOWpjeTkzY0RBd01qQXVjR1Jthttps://web.archive.org/web/20220629175641/https://www.eeweb.com/the-need-for-autonomous-peripheral-interoperation/
  23. Web site: Freescale Energy-Efficient Solutions: Kinetis L Series MCUs . White paper . . 2012 . 2018-05-03 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180503215034/https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/white-paper/ENEFFSOLKINLSWP.pdf . 2018-05-03.
  24. Web site: XC800 Product Presentation - Capture Compare Unit CC6 . May 2006 . . XC886 CC6 V1 . 2018-05-10 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180510112911/https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/XC8xx_CC6_v10.pdf?fileId=db3a304412b407950112b40c64690b15 . 2018-05-10 . […] Drives need realtime performance – control loop must run faster than 2-4 PWM periods (e.g. 100-200us) – CPU performance is valuable and must be saved for key tasks – Question: How to offload the CPU? –Answer: Build intelligent and autonomous peripherals! […] CC6 in a Drive application: – generate PWM patterns for all kind of motors – operate always in a safe state – even in an error condition – interact with ADC for sensorless control of motors […] CC6 is used intensively – the more it works autonomous the more CPU load can be saved for control algorithms […].
  25. Web site: One microcontroller platform. Countless solutions. XMC4000. . Presentation . International Press Conference, Am Campeon, Munich, Germany . Peter . Bauer . Peter . Schäfer . Stephan . Zizala . 2012-01-23 . . 2018-05-10 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180510125327/https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/XMC4000_PressConference_23-01-2012.pdf?fileId=db3a304334fac4c601350a01d8f011d4 . 2018-05-10.
  26. Web site: Things worthy of consideration - The Internet of Things is pushing microcontroller developers to move in unexpected directions . Graham . Pitcher . 2014-01-28 . . 2018-05-10 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180510135037/http://www.newelectronics.co.uk/electronics-technology/the-internet-of-things-is-pushing-microcontroller-developers-to-move-in-unexpected-directions/59112/ . 2018-05-10 . 22–23. https://web.archive.org/web/20180510135538/http://www.newelectronics.co.uk/article-images/59112/P22-23.pdf -->
  27. Connecting the C166 architecture to CAN (I) . Axel . Wolf . March 1994 . Applications Microcontrollers . Components . . XXIX . 4 . 42–44 . 2021-12-02 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211202014605/http://ep.etc.tuiasi.ro/site/DIVERSE/placi/CAN/34/pdf/can1.pdf . 2021-12-02. (3 pages) (NB. Mentions the term "autonomous peripherals" in conjunction with the Siemens/Infineon SAB 80C166 in 1994 already. Part II of the article: https://web.archive.org/web/20211202020242/http://datasheet.datasheetarchive.com/originals/library/Datasheet-055/DSA0030475.pdf)
  28. Book: CAN Connecting C166 and C500 Microcontroller to CAN . Application Note AP29000 . Microcontrollers . 1.0 . February 2004 . . 2021-12-02 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201022012619/https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Ap2900010_C166_C500_CAN.pdf?fileId=db3a304412b407950112b41975592877 . 2020-10-22.
  29. Book: User's Manual - C167CR Derivatives - 16-Bit Single-Chip Microcontroller . 16bit Microcontrollers . 3.1 . 2000-03 . Munich, Germany . March 2000 . 2000-02, 1999-03, 1996-03, 1994-08, 1992-07 . . 2021-12-02 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027044509/https://www.keil.com/dd/docs/datashts/infineon/c167cr_um.pdf . 2020-10-27. (NB. Discusses an autonomously operating built-in CAN controller and a "Peripheral Event Controller" (PEC).)
  30. Book: Embedded Systems SS2018 . de . Alfred . Irber . Summer 2018 . 2016-02-25, 2009-09-25 . FH München - Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften, Fakultät für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik . Munich, Germany . 2.0 . ES . 1, 17, 28, 37–40 . 2021-12-02 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211202165940/https://pc01-lsw.ee.hm.edu/~irber/EmbeddedSystems/powerpoint_deutsch/EmbeddedSystemsSS18_skript_irber.pdf . 2021-12-02.
  31. Web site: Introducing STM32U5, the flagship of ultra-low-power MCUs . 2021 . . 2024-01-29 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221217215445/https://www.st.com/content/ccc/resource/sales_and_marketing/presentation/product_presentation/group1/99/af/38/36/04/39/4c/4b/microcontrollers_stm32u5_series_product_overview/files/Microcontrollers_STM32U5_Series_product_overview.pdf/jcr:content/translations/en.Microcontrollers_STM32U5_Series_product_overview.pdf . 2022-12-17.

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