Flexible and affordable platform for STM32 dramatically reduces time and cost to build systems certified to IEC 61508 functional-safety standard
New Delhi ,February 11, 2015 – STMicroelectronics , a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, and YOGITECH, a leader in providing functional safety solutions, have completed development of a flexible software-design support package that streamlines certification of safety-critical systems featuring STM32 microcontrollers.
Begun in November 2013, the joint project has produced a set of STM32 safety manuals to assist application design, as well as Software Test Libraries (fRSTL) certified according to the IEC61508:2010 functional-safety standard. YOGITECH used its patented fRMethodology white-box approach for safety analysis and verification to create the fRSTLand the related tools suite (fRTools) that ensures superior and proven diagnostic coverage compared to conventional black-box testing.
Customers can choose to develop their own STL, referring to the STM32 safety manuals. These can be downloaded free of charge from st.com. On the other hand, using the YOGITECH fRSTL_stm32 libraries provides a turnkey STL that accelerates certification to IEC 61508 Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 2/3 while also minimizing test costs and development risks. Either approach allows a certified safety-critical system using a standard STM32 microcontroller, rather than a specialized safety microcontroller with dedicated on-chip diagnostic circuitry.
“With our safety design package now ready for customers to use, the STM32 microcontroller family offers the best solution for an even wider range of safety-critical industrial applications targeting the IEC 61508 standard,” said Michel Buffa, General Manager, Microcontroller Division, STMicroelectronics. “While the safety manuals provide the necessary guidelines and examples of how to use STM32 in a safety context, the YOGITECH libraries,available under affordable license terms, will speed up and secure the SIL certification process.”
“Thanks to the partnership with STMicroelectronics, we are offering to STM32 users a standard product simply unmatched in terms of quality and convenience,” said Silvano Motto, CEO of YOGITECH. “The fRSTL_stm32 Software Libraries are extending our IP portfolio for safety-critical systems, confirming YOGITECH in a lead position as a supplier of solutions in accordance with the IEC61508 standard and related derivatives applied to integrated circuits.”
The manuals and libraries cover STM32 F0, F1, F2, F3, F4, and L1 series, giving engineers a choice of over 500 devices offering high performance and rich features for safety-critical applications. Support for other STM32 series will be added in the near future. The fRSTLsoftware libraries are certified by TÜV Rheinland according to the IEC61508:2010 functional safety standard for systematic capability (SC3) and a Diagnostic Coverage according to the direct-current fault model that can be used in applications up to and including SIL2 (HW Fault Tolerance-HFT of 0) and SIL3 (HFT of 1). The Safety Manuals also give indications about how to use the results in the framework of other functional-safety standards like ISO 13849, IEC 62061, IEC 61800, IEC 60730, and ISO 26262.
Further Information: STM32 Functional-Safety Package in Action
Safety-critical industrial applications subject to IEC 61508 include systems for controlling access to hazardous areas, systems controlling machine-operator protection, and robot controllers. The robotics market, in particular, is growing strongly with global shipments predicted to exceed 280,000 systems by 2017 according to the International Federation of Robotics.
ST is already working with several customers who are using the safety manuals and YOGITECH self-test libraries to help certify functional safety of STM32-based equipment.
“We have chosen the STM32 and fRSTL for a safety project of our customer,” said Wolfgang Pietsch,project manager atBrunel, an international business service provider. “With the safety manual, we have a complete understanding of how the hugely popular STM32 devices should be used in a safety context, while the use of the fRSTL library for software diagnostics saved us a substantial amount of time and eased the system integration.”
Hans Gustavsson of Atlas Copco, a world-leading provider of drill rigs, said: “As we are about to release anISO13849-compliant system, we have decided to shortcut development time by using the fRSTL libraries. The combination of the STM32, STM32 safety manual, and fRSTL enables us to use the same platform for almost all of our embedded projects, safety related or not, reusing code and tools. Another benefit of a software test library is that we are better able to design low-power systems compared with solutions only relying upon hardware.”
