Tile-Based Graphics Processing With Selective Redundancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing redundancy mechanisms in safety-critical systems, such as those in road vehicles, incur significant processing overhead due to the need for redundant hardware and software computations, consuming additional resources and power.
Innovation Solution
A tile-based graphics processor implements redundancy per tile, allowing selective duplication and comparison of processing units through an Application Programming Interface (API), reducing the need for full hardware duplication and enabling temporal or spatial redundancy control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If redundant hardware and software are used to achieve safety compliance, then reliability is improved, but processing overhead and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the graphics output into discrete tiles, allowing redundancy to be applied selectively to specific tile regions rather than the entire output. This segmentation enables safety-critical areas to receive redundant processing while non-critical areas process normally, reducing overall computational overhead while maintaining required safety compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the graphics output are assigned different processing qualities based on their criticality. Critical areas receive redundant processing (higher quality/safety), while non-critical areas process without redundancy (lower quality). This local differentiation optimizes the balance between safety compliance and processing efficiency.
2Reliability
If the same workload is executed multiple times on symmetrical or asymmetrical processors, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and hardware resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of duplicating entire hardware processors, the patent creates virtual copies of specific tile processing operations. The same physical hardware executes the same workload multiple times for different tiles or for redundancy comparison, eliminating the need for additional physical hardware components while maintaining reliability through redundant computation.
3Reliability
If redundant software is executed multiple times in parallel or with time redundancy, then reliability is improved, but processing time and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies redundancy only to the extent necessary for safety compliance - specifically to critical tile regions - rather than applying it universally to all processing. This partial application of redundant processing reduces unnecessary energy consumption while maintaining safety compliance for the most critical areas.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of operation of a tile-based graphics processor, including: receiving an instruction to process data to produce an output; detecting an indicator that a portion of the output is to be processed with redundancy; associating the indicator with at least one tile associated with the portion of the output; duplicating the processing of the data associated with the at least one tile by one or more execution units of the graphics processor to produce output data for each of a first and a second instance of the at least one tile; comparing output data for the first and the second instances of the at least one tile generated by the one or more execution units of the graphics processor; and responsive to detection of a mismatch between the output data of the first and the second instances, communicating a signal.