SoC design kit speeds development of secure IoT devices
Arm has introduced a system design kit, the Arm SDK-700 for IoT nodes and gateways that use Arm’s Platform Security Architecture (PSA).
It is Arm’s first heterogeneous SoC solution, combining the real-time response of the Cortex-M with the performance of the Cortex-A to enable complex processing and machine learning at the edge, says the company.
PSA is based on four key principles (device identity, trusted boot sequence, secure over-the-air (OTA) updates and certificate-based authentication). To accelerate the development of secure SoCs, the Arm SDK-700 system design kit supplies a secure SoC framework foundation for Microsoft Azure Sphere, announced at RSA this week and meet the security requirements designated by Azure Sphere. This allows SoC designers to use SDK-700 to bring Azure Sphere SoCs to market quickly, leaving them to focus on differentiation, says Arm.
Complex SoCs are used in IoT end nodes, with growth in voice activated assistants, connected cameras and computer vision, which require the ability to integrate media processing abilities and manage demanding workloads. The Cortex-A processor enables a rich development environment such as Azure Sphere OS or Linux OS.
The SDK-700 incorporates a sub-system, based on PSA principles, designed to save time-to-security and reduce risk for SoC developers.
One benefit of a common development environment is that there is little to no fragmentation risks, and access to an ecosystem of software, OS and tools, including Trusted Firmware.
The SDK-700 provides a standardised programming interface for inter-processor communication and pre-built security IP including firewalls, secure enclave and Arm TrustZone technology. The sub-system can be configured in many ways, allowing a trusted connection to any cloud, says Arm.
Arm technology provides energy-efficient processor designs which are enabling the intelligence in more than 125 billion silicon chips and securely powering products from the sensor to the smartphone to the supercomputer. With more than 1,000 technology partners, including the world’s largest consumer brands, Arm innovation inside the chip, the network and the cloud.
