SOC Register Integrity Verification for Automotive Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
During the start-up of a system on chip (SOC), changes in the microcontroller state, particularly in control and status registers, can negatively impact later-executed application software, and existing verification methods do not adequately address the integrity of special function registers (SFRs) which are crucial for peripheral device configuration.
Innovation Solution
The SOC includes a controller that performs integrity verification operations by checking pre-execution and post-execution register values, comparing them to determine state changes, and taking actions such as restoring default values or generating warnings to mitigate potential issues, thereby ensuring the integrity of SFRs and supporting applications like automotive safety integrity level (ASIL) requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If start-up software is executed during SOC start-up, then the SOC can be initialized and application software can be loaded, but the microcontroller state changes (particularly in control and status registers) can negatively impact later-executed application software
Solution Approach 1:
The patent captures the state of control and status registers before start-up software execution (pre-execution state) and preserves it for later comparison. This preliminary action enables verification of whether start-up operations have inadvertently modified critical register values that application software depends upon, thereby preventing reliability issues before they occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism by comparing the pre-execution register state with the post-execution state after start-up software runs. This feedback loop identifies any unintended state changes in control and status registers, allowing the system to detect and correct potential issues that could impact application software execution.
2Measurement precision
If existing verification methods are used, then some level of integrity checking is performed, but they do not adequately address the integrity of special function registers (SFRs) which are crucial for peripheral device configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by specifically targeting control and status registers (SFRs) for integrity verification rather than treating all registers uniformly. This focused approach recognizes that SFRs have critical importance for peripheral device configuration and require specialized verification to ensure their integrity is maintained during start-up operations.
3Device complexity
If no integrity verification is performed, then the system operates without additional verification overhead, but state changes in microcontroller can negatively impact application software
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a copy of the pre-execution register state and stores it for later comparison with the post-execution state. This copying mechanism enables integrity verification without requiring complex real-time monitoring during execution, thus maintaining low device complexity while ensuring reliability through straightforward state comparison.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for checking the integrity of a system on chip (SOC) are described. The SOC can include a controller and one or more registers. Register value(s) from the register(s) can be obtained at a first time to generate a first set of register values. Process(es) of the SOC are executed at a second time after the first time. Register values can again be obtained from the registers at a third time after the second time to generate a second set of register values. The first set of register values can be compared with the second set of register values. Based on the comparison, an operating mode of the SOC can be adjusted. The SOC integrity verification system and method can be used in safety and/or monitoring application(s), such as ASIL applications. For example, the system and method can be used in partial or fully autonomous (self-driving) automotive systems.