PLS Programmierbare Logik & Systeme in Germany has added support for the RISC-V open instruction set architecture to test and debug Infineon’s latest automotive processor design.
The latest PLS Universal Debug Engine (UDE) 2025 is being used to simplify trace-based system analysis and debugging a prototype of the next generation Aurix microcontroller.
This Automotive RISC-V Prototype consists of a RISC-V Core Virtual Prototype (VP) based on the Synopsys Virtual Development Kit (VDK). It is bundled with software drivers and a template project for rapid prototyping to form a Software Development Kit (SDK) that enables pre-silicon software development. The VDK models the complete MCU including the RISC-V-based multi-core cluster, the interrupt controller, the interprocessor communication and the proven automotive peripherals.
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From the perspective of UDE’s internal core debuggers, the RISC-V prototype is regarded as a virtual target. UDE provides users of the RISC-V simulator platform with a front end that offers the same debugging functions that are available for real microcontrollers. This includes the debugging of C and C++ source code compiled with the RISC-V GCC compiler or the RISC-V LLVM compiler from HighTec, as well as the debugging of assembly code for the RISC-V instruction set (ISA).
For multi-core applications, UDE provides dedicated core synchronization support for run-control and multi-core breakpoints. UDE’s detailed register database provides access to all MCU submodule and peripheral registers. For a detailed run-time observation of the executed code on the Automotive RISC-V Prototype, UDE’s trace functions are connected to the trace interface of the VDK. Based on the recorded trace data, the UDE enables, among other things, the visualization of the sequence of executed functions, the measurement of execution times to calculate profiling information, and the reconstruction of the call graph of executed functions.
As the use of UDE is completely identical for both the virtual target and real microcontrollers, the transition to RISC-V based silicon is greatly simplified and rhere is no need to change tools for this step.
“In view of the increasing competitive pressure among automobile manufacturers, it is becoming more and more important to provide system developers with development tools in the pre-silicon phase of new high-end microcontroller generations, enabling them to start application development at an early stage. It is especially important that the subsequent transition to real silicon is consistent and seamless in terms of productivity, functionality, and ease of use. As a long-standing tool partner of Infineon, the UDE 2025 enables us to offer both existing Aurix users and future newcomers a product that fully meets these requirements, including with regard to the Automotive RISC-V Prototype,” says Jens Braunes, Product Marketing Manager at PLS.
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