Lattice Expands Capabilities of mVision and Sentry Solutions Stacks
Posted 03/01/2021 by Mark Hoopes and Eric Sivertson
In 2018, Lattice introduced the Lattice sensAI™ solutions stack to accelerate and simplify development of low power Edge AI co-processing solutions for use in a range of markets. This concept of providing everything developers need (modular hardware platforms, example demonstrations, reference designs, neural network IP cores, software tools for development, and custom design services) to evaluate, develop and deploy FPGA-based ML and AI solutions struck a chord in the industry. The stack has won multiple awards (five and counting!) and is enabling some pretty interesting applications.
In 2019, we announced a new roadmap for our solution stacks that applied the stack model to other applications and markets where Lattice’s low-power FPGAs have traditionally had a strong presence. Not too long after we released sensAI v2.0, we also announced two new stacks: Lattice mVision™ for embedded vision and Lattice Sentry™ for system control and securing system firmware against unauthorized access.
The timing of these releases was ideal, as support for embedded vision and firmware security are becoming increasingly important to Lattice customers. But we weren’t the only ones to notice; experts involved with both of these technologies (embedded vision and firmware security) have said the same.
- Allied Market Research has said “the global machine vision system market size was valued at $29.7 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $74.9 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 11.3% from 2020 to 2027.” 1
- The National Vulnerability Database reported that between 2016 and 2019 the number of firmware vulnerabilities grew over 700 percent.2
Which is why we’re so excited today to be announcing significant new updates to both the mVision and Sentry solutions stacks. Key updates to the Lattice mVision solutions stack include:
- Expanded support for automotive, industrial, and medical embedded vision applications – Lattice added new development boards supporting popular image sensors for industrial, medical, and automotive applications to the mVision stack. Image sensors supported include the Sony IMX464 and IMX568 and the AR0344CS from ON Semiconductor.
- New Lattice ISP Reference Design - expands Lattice’s mVision solution options for customers, enabling increased adoption while demonstrating our commitment to our customers.
- Support for Lattice Propel™ Design Environment – Propel is a design environment for accelerating embedded processor-based development on low power, small form factor Lattice FPGAs. The tool includes a complete set of graphical and command-line tools to create, analyze, compile, and debug both the hardware design of an FPGA-based processor system, and the software design for that processor system.
The Lattice mVision solutions stack v2.0 supports popular new image sensors and a new image signal processing IP core and reference design to help developers quickly and easily design smart vision applications at the Edge.
Key features for Sentry 2.0 include:
- Heightened security – The Sentry solutions stack supports the Lattice Mach™-NX secure control FPGA and a secure enclave IP block that enable 384-bit cryptography (ECC-256/384 and HMAC-SHA-384) to better secure Sentry-protected firmware against unauthorized access. Support for 384-bit crypto is a requirement for many next-generation server platforms.
- 4x faster pre-boot authentication – Sentry 2.0 supports faster ECDSA (40 ms), SHA (up to 70 Mbps), and QSPI performance (64 MHz). These features enable Sentry 2.0 to deliver faster boot times that help minimize system down time and reduce exposure to attempted attacks on firmware during the boot process.
- Ability to monitor up to five firmware images in real-time – to further extend the Platform Firmware Resilient (PFR)-compliant Hardware Root of Trust enabled by Lattice Sentry, the stack is capable of real-time monitoring of up to five mainboard components in a system at boot and during ongoing operation. Competing security solutions (those based on MCUs, for example) lack the processing performance to properly monitor that many components simultaneously in real-time.
Lattice Sentry v2.0 provides developers with an efficient and secure way to quickly implement enhanced system and cryptographic applications, including support for 384-bit encryption (a requirement of next-generation server platforms)
To learn how each of these stacks can potentially revolutionize your next embedded vision or secure system design, please visit the mVision and Sentry product pages for more information.
1. https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/machine-vision-system-market#:~:text=Machine%20Vision%20System%20Market%20Outlook,11.3%25%20from%202020%20to%202027.
2. Source: National Vulnerability Database (2016 and 2019)