Infineon & BMW in M series co-development

The engine in the new BMW M series will reduce fuel consumption and meet an entire range of current worldwide automotive emissions standards, including EURO5 and US-LEV2. This calls for highly innovative engine control and BMW M GmbH will be using 32-bit flash microcontrollers from the Infineon AUDO FUTURE product family. The TriCore processor architecture unites the capabilities of a microprocessor, a microcontroller and a digital signal processor (DSP) on a single chip. The microprocessor operates at high clock speeds to deliver the computing power needed to process instructions fast. It is supported by the microcontroller and its intelligent peripherals. The DSP, optimized to perform mathematical functions, helps additionally to ensure that instructions are executed quickly. Besides this processor architecture, which is optimized for real-time processing, the AUDO FUTURE product family includes intelligent peripherals, like the MultiLink Interface (MLI). Designed specifically to meet the advanced requirements of highly sophisticated engine control systems, the interface can connect multiple AUDO microcontrollers to one another and enables them to share data at rates of up to 37.5 Mbit/s. It plays a crucial role in high-performance powertrain systems where the system “intelligence” is spread across multiple microcontrollers. These capabilities make Infineon’s senior vice president and head of the Microcontrollers unit at Infineon’s Automotive, Industrial and Multimarket business group. “This is thanks not just to the AUDO products’ higher clock speeds, but also to the architecture with its high-performance bus systems and intelligent peripherals.”