The design enables development and prototyping of automotive gateways and domain controllers, offering processing, security, and network interfaces.
Automotive gateways are crucial components in modern vehicles, serving as the central communication hubs that connect and manage data flow between various electronic control units (ECUs) and systems. These gateways are essential for ensuring efficient network management, robust security, and seamless integration of new technologies. They support advanced functionalities such as real-time diagnostics, over-the-air updates, and enhanced connectivity features, which are integral to the evolving landscape of intelligent and connected vehicles. The Smart Gateway Platform (SGP-TC-EVK) evaluation kit from STMicroelectronics offers a user-friendly development and prototyping platform for sophisticated automotive gateway and domain controller applications.
Designed with ST’s secure automotive systems on chips, including the SPC58NHx microcontroller and STA1385 microprocessor, the SGP-TC-EVK delivers robust processing power and security features. It supports essential functions for various use cases like Over-The-Air (OTA) management, ethernet packet inspection, rapid wake-up responses, secure data routing between CAN networks and Ethernet, low-power body control management, intrusion detection, and predictive maintenance.
The platform includes a comprehensive range of in-vehicle network interfaces, providing a full environment for prototyping different automotive gateway and domain controller scenarios. It also features M.2 and Mini PCIe expansion connectors for Wi-Fi and LTE modules, enhancing cloud connectivity.
Application areas for the design include Automotive OTA Gateways, Automotive Smart Gateways and Body Control Modules (BCM), Automotive Domain Controllers, and Predictive Maintenance Solutions. These applications highlight the versatility and essential role of the technology in enhancing vehicle connectivity, control, and maintenance strategies.
The featured technology includes a robust and secure automotive microcontroller, the SPC58NH92C5, which is designed for high reliability up to ISO26262 ASIL-D standards. This microcontroller incorporates triple e200z4d cores that operate up to 200 MHz, 10 MB of embedded Flash with hardware A/B context swap capabilities, and 1.28 MB of embedded RAM. It supports various interfaces like eMMC and OctalBus for memory expansion, and includes connectivity options such as Gigabit Ethernet and 100 M Ethernet, multiple CAN FD, LIN, and FlexRay ports, along with advanced PWM timer capabilities for BCM. Additionally, it comes equipped with an embedded hardware security module that reaches up to the EVITA Full class for enhanced protection.
The secure automotive microprocessor supports multiple memory and connectivity options, including two Ethernet AVB MAC interfaces, eMMC for storage, and various types of RAM. Security features are robust, with an embedded hardware security module for cryptographic operations, a secure element for data and key storage, and a certified Trusted Platform Module. Additionally, this microprocessor facilitates communication with an NFC router through a single wire protocol interface and provides capabilities for industrialized key provisioning and personalization.
The reference design comes with a Starter Package that contains all necessary tools to begin quickly, including hardware design files, comprehensive hardware and software documentation, software utilities, and sample application software. The company’s website has additional data about the reference design. To read more about this reference design, click here.
