OREANDA-NEWS. Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced the availability of the Altera® Functional Safety Lockstep solution for the Nios® II embedded processor, a solution that reduces risk in design cycles and helps system designers simplify certification for industrial and automotive safety applications. The joint Altera and YOGITECH lockstep solution is built using Altera FPGAs, SoCs, and certified tool flows, along with intellectual property (IP) cores from YOGITECH, a functional safety leader based in Pisa, Italy. This solution enables customers to easily implement SIL3 safety designs in Altera FPGAs, including the low-cost Cyclone® V FPGA and MAX® 10 FPGA families. The solution is being demonstrated at the SPS IPC Drives conference in Nuremberg, Germany, from November 24 to 26 at the Altera stand (Hall 3, Stand #270).

The lockstep solution leverages YOGITECH’s industry-leading fRSmartComp technology to provide high diagnostic coverage, self-checking and advanced diagnostic features for safety-related integrated circuits, in full compliance with functional safety standards IEC 61508 and ISO 26262. The fRSmartComp technology, which is used in conjunction with Altera’s flexible Nios II embedded processors, provides diagnostic coverage greater than 99 percent without the need for difficult-to-develop ad hoc tests, speeding time-to-market.

“Developing systems based on products that already comply with the stringent safety requirements and standards required for industrial applications makes our customers’ design challenges easier,” said Roger May, system architect and functional safety lead at Altera. “This lockstep solution enables designers to take advantage of the flexibility of the already-certified Nios II processor to quickly bring their solution to market while meeting strict safety requirements, reducing risk in design cycles.”

“Thanks to the detection, self-checking and diagnostic features provided by our proven fRSmartComp technology, system developers can meet safety standards and increase availability,” said Silvano Motto, CEO of YOGITECH. “The IP is delivered with the documentation required to comply with functional safety standards, speeding time-to-market for designers and consequently reducing costs. I am very proud to announce our fRSmartComp solution is now available to Altera FPGA users.”

About the Nios II Processor
The Altera Nios II processor delivers unprecedented flexibility for system designers’ cost-sensitive, real-time, safety-critical (DO-254), ASIC-optimized and applications processing needs. The Nios II processor supports all Altera SoC and FPGA families.

About YOGITECH
YOGITECH, founded in 2000, is a leading provider of services and solutions to silicon vendors and system integrators to help them meet their functional safety challenges. The company’s faultRobust technology includes different product lines—fRMethodology, fRTools, fRTraining, fRIPs and fRSTL—supporting its mission to be the one-stop shop for functional safety. YOGITECH is a member of the ISO 26262 Working Group, taking the lead role for Part 10—Annex A ISO26262 and Microcontrollers, and the new Part 11—Application of ISO26262 to Semiconductors.

About Altera
Altera® programmable solutions enable designers of electronic systems to rapidly and cost effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Altera offers FPGA, SoC, CPLD, and complementary technologies, such as power solutions to provide high-value solutions to customers worldwide.