Speaker
Description
The FreNox RISC-V microcontroller IP has its heritage in numerous products for high-assurance and high-reliable security applications for data line encryption and network domain separation (i.e. NLD/EU/NATO-restricted). As a founding member of the RISC-V Foundation, Technolution has designed and implemented the FreNox RISC-V processor family. The FreNox RISC-V microcontroller IP has been integrated in numerous FPGA devices. We also ported the full AXI-4-based FreNox RISC-V system-on-chip into the radiation-hardened NanoXplore NG-Medium device, and have created a full interactive demonstration; through the SpW-interface we upload software in the RISC-V SoC, allowing the user to play the "Space Invaders" game on the NG-Medium board.
We keep improving our RISC-V platform; for instance with processor-agnostic simple gdb remote interface, implemented and demonstrated in the FreNox RISC-V processor. We have designed and implemented a simple gdb remote interface for multiple platforms to make gdb over a serial link a practical proposition for embedded microcontroller use. The implementation comes with limited hardware overhead, and has been included in our full interactive "Space Invaders" demonstration.
Under the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking (KDT JU) TRISTAN project the RISC-V microcontroller design is being iterated for increased security and robustness for space application, such as implementing error and security checkers, lock-step operation, FDIR control and radiation testing.
For SmallSat payload control and data processing, we foresee wide use of reconfigurable FPGA technology. So, we have started the development of a novel payload control and data processing unit that is able to serve the evolving SmallSat market and is a perfect-fit solution for compact instrument developers. The proposed modular payload control and data processing architecture provides a good separation of concerns between instrument developers and platform provider allowing short time-to-orbit of payloads and missions. It offers a combination of FPGA-based instrument control functions, interface flexibility and powerful data processing capabilities. Telemetry and telecommand handling and most instrument control functions will be covered by our RISC-V softcore microcontroller.
