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2025-01-16

Arm Launches Custom Instructions for Embedded CPUs

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Arm Launches Custom Instructions for Embedded CPUs

Source: Arm China
Arm CEO Simon Segars today at the Arm TechCon 2019 conference announced the launch of Arm Custom Instructions, a new feature for the Armv8-M architecture.
Seeing Arm’s new move reminds me of the previous RISC-V, here is an article about RISC-V:
How much do you know about the fifth generation RISC-V?
RISC-V is developing rapidly, ARM is a bit restless
Will RISC-V take off next year?

  • Arm Custom Instruction allows partners designing System on Chip (SoC) to achieve market differentiation through optimization for specific embedded and IoT applications.

  • It supports fully integrated custom CPU instructions architecture for intelligent and rapid development while avoiding software fragmentation.

  • Built on the key advantages of Armv8-M architecture, including a strong software ecosystem, security, and faster processing acceleration, without incurring additional costs.

Starting in the first half of 2020, Arm Custom Instructions will initially be implemented on the Arm Cortex®-M33 CPU, and there will be no additional fees for new or existing licensees, allowing SoC designers to add their own instructions for specific embedded and IoT applications without the risk of software fragmentation.
Arm Launches Custom Instructions for Embedded CPUs
Dipti Vachani, Arm’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Automotive and IoT Division stated: “A world with a trillion secure intelligent devices will be built on the diversity of complex application scenarios, while requiring enhanced synergy between hardware and software design.” She pointed out: “We have developed Arm Custom Instructions to drive closer collaborative design efforts between hardware and software to accelerate specific applications and unlock greater device differentiation.”
CPU: A framework for innovation for Arm semiconductor partners
The evolving Armv8-M architecture is configured with Arm TrustZone™ security technology, as part of it, Arm Custom Instructions are based on a simple guiding principle: the CPU is a framework for innovation for Arm semiconductor partners. This concept allows chip designers to push performance and efficiency further by adding their unique application-specific features to the Cortex-M33 CPU.
Arm Custom Instructions are achieved through modifications to the CPU while preserving encoding space, helping designers easily add customized data path extensions while maintaining the integrity of the existing software ecosystem. This feature, combined with existing coprocessor interfaces, allows the Cortex-M33 CPU to leverage various accelerators optimized for edge computing application scenarios such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI).
Greater ecosystem flexibility and differentiation
Arm Custom Instructions combined with the recently launched Arm Flexible Access highlight Arm’s commitment to enhancing flexibility and differentiation for its semiconductor partners, supporting them to embrace new edge computing opportunities such as ML, AI, autonomous driving, 5G, and IoT. To further reinforce this commitment, Custom Instructions will become a standard feature in future Arm Cortex-M CPUs. The Arm Cortex-M CPU is one of Arm’s most successful CPUs, with Arm’s semiconductor partners having shipped over 50 billion Cortex-M-based chips to date.
Arm Launches Custom Instructions for Embedded CPUs
Partner Quotes
Stefan Skarin, President and CEO of IAR Systems stated: “SoC vendors often need optimized tools to extend their design capabilities without compromising security and protection, or jeopardizing their investment in existing development tools like IAR Embedded Workbench. Arm Custom Instructions provide them with a simple yet powerful mechanism to address their unique needs while maintaining the integrity and efficiency of existing processes.”
Geoff Lees, Senior Vice President and General Manager of NXP Semiconductors Microcontroller Division stated: “Arm’s new Custom Instructions feature allows chip suppliers like NXP Semiconductors to offer their customers a new level of application-specific instruction set optimization to enhance performance, power dissipation, and static code size for new and emerging embedded applications. Moreover, all these improvements can be achieved within the extensive Cortex-M ecosystem, allowing customers to maximize their existing software investments.”
Alessandro Piovaccari, CTO of Silicon Labs stated: “In a world with a trillion secure connected devices, the increasing number of devices with extremely high power efficiency requirements poses many challenges for semiconductor designers. The introduction of Arm Custom Instructions on the Cortex-M product line will enable Silicon Labs to design systems specifically optimized for specific tasks for various connected devices.”
Ricardo De Sa Earp, General Manager of STMicroelectronics Microcontroller Division stated: “STMicroelectronics’ STM32 microcontrollers based on Arm architecture have become the core of millions of smart objects in industrial, consumer, and medical markets. In response to the ongoing demand for higher performance, efficiency, and security, our design approach needs to evolve to allow hardware to be designed alongside software from the outset. With the Arm Custom Instructions, the future Armv8-M cores will enable hardware/software co-design. As our customers design the next generation of IoT devices using STM32 hardware, software, and tool ecosystems, STMicroelectronics will also bring more differentiation and value, including optimized security and core-level signal processing capabilities.”
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Arm Launches Custom Instructions for Embedded CPUs

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