Side Channel Analysis at RTL. Innovation in Verification

Side Channel Analysis at RTL. Innovation in Verification
by Bernard Murphy on 08-26-2021 at 6:00 am

Innovation New

Roots of trust can’t prevent attacks through side-channels which monitor total power consumption or execution timing. Correcting weakness to such attacks requires pre-silicon vulnerability analysis. Paul Cunningham (GM, Verification at Cadence), Raúl Camposano (Silicon Catalyst, entrepreneur, former Synopsys CTO)… Read More


Ultra-Wide Band Finds New Relevance

Ultra-Wide Band Finds New Relevance
by Bernard Murphy on 08-24-2021 at 6:00 am

smart keyless entry min

Do you use Tile or other Bluetooth tracking devices? If so, you know that such devices, attached to your car keys or wallet, created a small stir. A way to track down something you can’t find. Very neat but hardly revolutionary. One of those consumer tchotchkes as likely to be handed out as trade-show swag as purchased.

So why did Apple… Read More


Controlling the Automotive Network – CAN and TSN Update

Controlling the Automotive Network – CAN and TSN Update
by Bernard Murphy on 08-18-2021 at 6:00 am

automotive networks

Cars are hotbeds of systems innovation. I’ve been fortunate to be asked to write about many of these areas, from the MEMS underlying sensors to ISPs and radars, intelligent imaging and sensor fusion. And many aspects of design for safety within the SoCs around a car. But I haven’t written much about the networks connecting these … Read More


Debugging Embedded Software on Veloce

Debugging Embedded Software on Veloce
by Bernard Murphy on 08-11-2021 at 6:00 am

Debugging Embedded Software on Veloce min

Arm provides great support for debugging embedded software in its CoreSight tools, but what support do you have if you’re debugging hardware and software together in a pre-implementation design? In a hardware debugger you have lots of support for hardware views like waveforms and register states. But these aren’t well connected… Read More


Security Hot Again in the Venture World

Security Hot Again in the Venture World
by Bernard Murphy on 08-04-2021 at 6:00 am

money min

From a lowly perspective in the hardware world, VCs can seem like magpies. Overly fascinated with bright, shiny ideas of questionable value. Stratospheric  valuations and a quick exit that have the rest of us scratching our heads. What difference is this going to make beyond minting a few new billionaires? Why not, say, have security… Read More


Instrumenting Post-Silicon Validation. Innovation in Verification

Instrumenting Post-Silicon Validation. Innovation in Verification
by Bernard Murphy on 07-28-2021 at 6:00 am

Instrumenting Post-Silicon Validation

Instrumenting post-silicon validation is not a new idea but here’s a twist. Using (pre-silicon) emulation to choose debug observation structures to instrument in-silicon. Paul Cunningham (GM, Verification at Cadence), Raúl Camposano (Silicon Catalyst, entrepreneur, former Synopsys CTO) and I continue our series on research… Read More


A Hardware Security Standard Advances

A Hardware Security Standard Advances
by Bernard Murphy on 07-21-2021 at 6:00 am

security min

Security is a slippery topic. We all agree that “something should be done”, but most of us are waiting for someone else to lead the way. There’s no shortage of proprietary solutions, though given the distributed nature of the problem it’s difficult to see how those separately or collectively can rise to the occasion. What we really… Read More


The Zen of Auto Safety – a Path to Enlightenment

The Zen of Auto Safety – a Path to Enlightenment
by Bernard Murphy on 07-07-2021 at 6:00 am

zen of safety min

Safety is a complex topic, but we’re busy. We take the course, get the certificate. Check, along with a million other things we need to do. But maybe it’s not quite that simple. I talked recently with Kurt Shuler (VP of marketing) and Stefano Lorenzini (functional safety manager) at Arteris IP and concluded that finding enlightenment… Read More


Neural Nets and CR Testing. Innovation in Verification

Neural Nets and CR Testing. Innovation in Verification
by Bernard Murphy on 06-29-2021 at 10:00 am

Instrumenting Post-Silicon Validation

Leveraging neural nets and CR testing isn’t as simple as we first thought. But is that the last word in combining these two techniques? Paul Cunningham (GM, Verification at Cadence), Raúl Camposano (Silicon Catalyst, entrepreneur, former Synopsys CTO) and I continue our series on research ideas. As always, feedback welcome.… Read More


Low Power Positioning for Logistics – Ultimate Tracking

Low Power Positioning for Logistics – Ultimate Tracking
by Bernard Murphy on 06-23-2021 at 6:00 am

logistics min

When thinking about positioning you probably first think of navigation. The device in your car that helps get from where you are to where you want to be. Or navigating while hiking in the backcountry. But those applications are not the where the big unit growth will come. The biggest demand will be in asset tracking, expected to reach… Read More