Heterogeneous compute architecture hardware/software co-design for autonomous driving

Abstract

Methods and apparatus relating to heterogeneous compute architecture hardware/software co-design for autonomous driving are described. In one embodiment, a heterogeneous compute architecture for autonomous driving systems (also interchangeably referred to herein as Heterogeneous Compute Architecture or “HCA” for short) integrates scalable heterogeneous processors, flexible networking, benchmarking tools, etc. to enable (e.g., system-level) designers to perform hardware and software co-design. With HCA system engineers can rapidly architect, benchmark, and/or evolve vehicle system architectures for autonomous driving. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A vehicle comprising:
 a plurality of regions, wherein each of the plurality of regions includes one or more components of the vehicle;   a plurality of region controllers, wherein each of the plurality of regions includes one of the plurality of region controllers, wherein each of the plurality of regions is coupled to other regions of the plurality of regions via a single region controller from the plurality of region controllers; and   communication logic circuitry to communicatively couple the plurality of region controllers via a plurality of communication interfaces,   wherein each pair of the plurality of region controllers are to communicate via at least one of the plurality of communication interfaces, wherein the one or more components of the vehicle are capable to communicate via a Controller Area Network (CAN) Bus.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , further comprising a master controller, coupled to the plurality of region controllers, to manage operations of the one or more components of the vehicle. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of communication interfaces comprise a plurality of point-to-point interconnects. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the point-to-point interconnect comprises an Ethernet interconnect, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter (UART) interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), or an Interface to Communicate (I2C) interconnect. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the communication logic circuitry is to provide a communication channel with the one or more components of the vehicle in each of the plurality of regions via a corresponding region controller from the plurality of region controllers. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more vehicle components comprise one or more of: a camera, a Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) sensor, a radar, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), or an ultrasonic device. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of communication interfaces are to provide faster data communication than the CAN Bus. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of region controllers is coupled to a Chassis Management Module (CMM), wherein the CMM is to:
 control power consumption of the one or more components of the vehicle;   monitor power consumption of the one or more components of the vehicle; or   monitor temperature values for the one or more components of the vehicle.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the communication logic circuitry comprises a Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) switch, coupled to each of the plurality of region controllers, to facilitate communication between the plurality of regions and one or more PCIe connectors 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more PCIe connectors are coupled to one or more of: a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Graphics Processor Unit (GPU), a hardware accelerator or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) device, or a processor. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein an Internet of Things (IoT) device or the vehicle comprises a System On Chip (SOC) device, wherein the SOC device comprises one or more of: the plurality of region controllers, the communication logic circuitry, and memory. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of communication interfaces comprise at least one Ethernet interface. 
     
     
         14 . An apparatus comprising:
 a plurality of region controllers, wherein each of a plurality of regions in a vehicle includes one of the plurality of region controllers, wherein each of the plurality of regions includes one or more components of the vehicle, wherein each of the plurality of regions is coupled to other regions of the plurality of regions via a single region controller from the plurality of region controllers; and   communication logic circuitry to communicatively couple the plurality of region controllers via a plurality of communication interfaces,   wherein each pair of the plurality of region controllers are to communicate via at least one of the plurality of communication interfaces, wherein the one or more components of the vehicle are capable to communicate via a Controller Area Network (CAN) Bus.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , further comprising a master controller, coupled to the plurality of region controllers, to manage operations of the one or more components of the vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of communication interfaces comprise a plurality of point-to-point interconnects. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the point-to-point interconnect comprises an Ethernet interconnect, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter (UART) interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), or an Interface to Communicate (I2C) interconnect. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the communication logic circuitry is to provide a communication channel with the one or more components of the vehicle in each of the plurality of regions via a corresponding region controller from the plurality of region controllers. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more vehicle components comprise one or more of: a camera, a Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) sensor, a radar, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), or an ultrasonic device. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of communication interfaces are to provide faster data communication than the CAN Bus. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein each of the plurality of region controllers is coupled to a Chassis Management Module (CMM), wherein the CMM is to:
 control power consumption of the one or more components of the vehicle;   monitor power consumption of the one or more components of the vehicle; or   monitor temperature values for the one or more components of the vehicle.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the communication logic circuitry comprises a Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) switch, coupled to each of the plurality of region controllers, to facilitate communication between the plurality of regions and one or more PCIe connectors 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the one or more PCIe connectors are coupled to one or more of: a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Graphics Processor Unit (GPU), a hardware accelerator or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) device, or a processor. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein an Internet of Things (IoT) device or the vehicle comprises a System On Chip (SOC) device, wherein the SOC device comprises one or more of: the plurality of region controllers, the communication logic circuitry, and memory. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of communication interfaces comprise at least one Ethernet interface. 
     
     
         26 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising one or more instructions that when executed on a processor configure the processor to perform one or more operations to cause:
 a plurality of region controllers to communicate with each other and/or one or more components of a vehicle, wherein each of a plurality of regions in the vehicle includes one of the plurality of region controllers, wherein each of the plurality of regions is coupled to other regions of the plurality of regions via a single region controller from the plurality of region controllers; and   communication logic circuitry to communicatively couple the plurality of region controllers via a plurality of communication interfaces,   wherein each pair of the plurality of region controllers are to communicate via at least one of the plurality of communication interfaces, wherein the one or more components of the vehicle are capable to communicate via a Controller Area Network (CAN) Bus.   
     
     
         27 . The one or more computer-readable media of  claim 26 , further comprising one or more instructions that when executed on the one processor configure the processor to perform one or more operations to cause a master controller, coupled to the plurality of region controllers, to manage operations of the one or more components of the vehicle. 
     
     
         28 . The one or more computer-readable media of  claim 26 , wherein the plurality of communication interfaces are to provide faster data communication than the CAN Bus.