Freescale intros powerful MCU for automotive powertrain systems

Electronic Systems for Motor Vehicles 2011, BADEN-BADEN, GERMANY: Automakers continue to raise the bar with their new vehicle designs, delivering improved fuel economy and lower emissions to address consumer expectations and government regulations. High-performance microcontrollers (MCUs) play a key role in green automotive design, and Freescale Semiconductor announced the first of several powerful multicore automotive MCUs that help make it easier for automotive designers to improve engine efficiency and reduce exhaust pollution.

Freescale’s new multicore Qorivva 32-bit MPC5676R MCU, built on Power Architecture technology, provides four times the performance, double the memory space and more functionality than the previous-generation, single-core MPC5566 MCU. The combined benefits of the MPC5676R allow global automakers to incorporate state-of-the art technology, such as direct injection, turbo-charging and full drive by wire systems into a single controller.

“Freescale understands the key role technology plays in helping automakers produce greener, more fuel-efficient vehicles, and we have a long history of working with the automotive industry to develop the solutions they need for their latest-generation designs,” said Ray Cornyn, vice president of Freescale’s Automotive MCU business. “For powertrain, our goal is to produce the most powerful and flexible MCUs that can simultaneously manage all the complex control of a modern engine, while giving designers the tools and software platforms they need to reduce system complexity.”