Standard being developed for ULP microcontrollers

The Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC) has announced its intent to create a standardised, industry-endorsed method to evaluate the energy efficiency of ultralow-power (ULP) microcontrollers. To date, the industry has lacked a common method to test, validate and compare the real-world energy consumption of these microcontrollers that target applications such as portable medical devices, security systems, building automation, smart metering and also applications using energy-harvesting devices.

EEMBC was formed in 1997 to develop performance benchmarks for the hardware and software used in embedded systems. EEMBC benchmarks help predict the performance and energy consumption of embedded processors and systems in a range of applications (ie, automotive/industrial, digital imaging and entertainment, networking, office automation, telecommunications and connected devices) and disciplines (processor core functionality, floating-point, Java, multicore and energy consumption). The consortium’s CoreMark benchmark was recognised by Jack Ganssle in Embedded.com as one of the top 10 milestones in embedded 2012.

Unlike other EEMBC benchmarks that endeavour to measure the top performance of processors and systems, the ULP benchmark will focus on measuring the energy consumed by microcontrollers running various computational workloads over an extended time period. The benchmarking methodology will allow the microcontrollers to enter into their idle or sleep modes during the majority of time when they are not executing code, thereby simulating a real-world environment where products must support battery life measured in months, years and even decades.

Horst Diewald, chief architect of MSP430 microcontrollers at Texas Instruments (TI), has accepted the role as chair of the EEMBC ULP working group. “We have seen a significant need for a well-constructed, industry-accepted benchmark to equitably evaluate the energy efficiency of microcontrollers,” commented Diewald. “Unfortunately, the application developer cannot rely on datasheet parameters alone to compare total microcontroller power consumption and select an appropriate microcontroller. This is the reason I am honoured to chair this important working group.”

“EEMBC’s primary goal is to develop fair and unbiased benchmarks for the embedded industry. In support of this goal, I am very excited that the EEMBC members are so motivated to develop this much-needed ULP benchmark,” said EEMBC president Markus Levy. “In the system developer’s interest, we encourage all relevant companies, including the system manufacturers, microcontroller vendors and tool providers, to join us in this effort.”

Initial participation in the EEMBC ULP working group has come from microcontroller vendors such as Analog Devices, ARM, Atmel, Cypress, Energy Micro, Freescale, Fujitsu, Microchip, Renesas, Silicon Labs, STMicro and TI. All companies in the industry are invited to participate in this working group.

Preliminary details of the EEMBC ULP benchmark will be revealed on 27 February 2013, during the Ultra-low Power System Design Workshop at the Embedded World Conference in Nuremberg, Germany.