Companies collaborate for safer software-defined vehicles

STMicroelectronics and HighTec EDV-Systeme GmbH are advancing automotive functional safety with a total solution that will accelerate the development of safety-critical systems to make software-defined vehicles safer and more affordable.

The solution supports the Rust programming language and combines HighTec's Rust compiler, qualified to ISO 26262 ASIL D, with ST's Stellar, the first 28nm MCUs certified to the same safety standard. Rust is gaining significant momentum in the automotive industry for its strong safety and reliability features.

"Software-defined principles are transforming vehicle design and ownership experiences, replacing traditional hardwired electronic control units (ECUs) with programmable systems," explained Davide Santo, Automotive MCU Business Unit Director, STMicroelectronics. "This is the future for vehicles with any type of powertrain, letting automakers easily differentiate their product ranges and dynamically update vehicle features. The collaboration with our longstanding partner, HighTec, ensures that automotive manufacturers can leverage the power of Rust while meeting the highest safety standards in the industry."

"Here at HighTec, our engineers created the industry's first software compiler to support Rust, the modern safety-ready programming language, and achieve qualification to the highest level of the automotive functional-safety standard, ISO 26262 ASIL D," said Mario Cupelli, CTO at HighTec EDV-Systeme. "On the other hand, ST's Stellar automotive microcontrollers are the first 28nm components certified according to ISO 26262 ASIL D. This makes them a natural fit with our compiler, enabling customers to have a complete solution where safety is assured seamlessly across compiler, hardware, and software."

As automakers face intense pressure to shorten development cycles and satisfy evolving safety standards, this collaboration delivers a robust, powerful, safety-compliant solution for automotive software development. The integration of the ASIL D-qualified Rust compiler into the Stellar MCU family speeds up the development of safety-critical systems, decreasing time-to-market while maintaining strict compliance with automotive safety requirements.

Rust's safety, performance, and reliability have made it an emerging option for automotive mission-critical systems, poised to shape the future of the automotive industry. With HighTec's Rust compiler support for Stellar products, ST provides its automotive customers with an integrated, richly featured, and efficient toolchain that accelerates development cycles while ensuring compliance with ISO 26262.

ST and HighTec share a vision of creating innovative solutions that fulfil the highest safety standards in the automotive industry. The close cooperation ensures that developers can now integrate Rust and their valuable C/C++ code base into their safety-critical projects with Stellar and speed up the development of safety-critical systems, lowering time-to-market while maintaining strict compliance with automotive safety and security requirements.