Cadence announced that its Tensilica IP Group and Analog Devices, worked together to develop the latest generation of SHARC automotive audio processors. The collaboration integrates Cadence’s Tensilica DSP architecture into the next-generation ADSP product family from ADI.
ADI’s ADSP family has been used in infotainment and premium audio systems. These processors support applications including automated driving alerts and Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS), road noise and engine order cancellation (RNC and EOC), personal sound zones (PSZ) and immersive 3D audio rendering, as well as voice processing, AI assistance, and hands-free communication.
Andrew Lanfear, head of Automotive Audio & Networking at ADI, said: “As the complexity of automotive audio, acoustic and voice applications continues to grow, it became clear that we needed a DSP architecture capable of delivering significantly higher performance and on-chip AI capability while maintaining the deterministic real-time behavior our customers depend on. Given their leadership in DSP IP, working with Cadence was the natural choice for ADI. The ability to create custom instructions using Tensilica Instruction Extension (TIE) technology allows us to accelerate proprietary audio and voice algorithms while providing dedicated DSP resources for real-time voice offload and next-generation automotive workloads.”
Amol Borkar, group director of product management for Tensilica DSPs at Cadence, said: “ADI’s selection of Cadence’s Tensilica DSP technology for the next generation of ADSP processors underscores its focus on high-performance automotive audio and AI. The advanced architecture in the SHARC-FX core is optimized for on-chip AI/ML and signal-processing workloads, enabling applications such as music genre identification, music source separation (MSS), and real-time vocal removal to run efficiently on the DSP, while the host CPU remains dedicated to vehicle-domain and operating system functions.”
Chin Beckmann, CEO of DSP Concepts, said: “DSP Concepts has been a long-time trusted partner of both Cadence Tensilica DSPs and ADI, enabling rich audio applications on both platforms. Through the integration of their technologies in our Audio Weaver (AWE) framework, we were able to witness and validate the winning, best-in-class results of this amazing collaboration between these industry pioneers.”
Building on the ADSP-SC59x/2159x family, ADI is introducing the ADSP-SC84x/2184x platform. It features a next-generation architecture and a transition from 28nm to 16nm process technology. This provides improved energy efficiency, higher operating frequencies, and increased integration for software-defined vehicles (SDV). Additional elements include an LPDDR4 memory interface, increased on-chip L2 memory, a dedicated hardware security module (HSM) for cybersecurity, and two optional connectivity cores offering enhanced communication and mainline Linux support.
A key element of the ADSP-SC84x family is the SHARC-FX processor core, designed through a joint engagement with Cadence. The SHARC-FX uses a custom DSP architecture based on the technology platform for Tensilica DSPs in audio, vision, and radar segments. It supports a broader range of data types, an enhanced VLIW SIMD architecture, efficient cache operations, and an expanded instruction set optimized for signal processing and AI workloads. Combined with the higher operating frequency of the SHARC-FX core, these changes deliver 5X higher performance compared to the previous-generation SHARC+ processor used in the ADSP-SC59x family.
The performance increase supports applications such as seat-specific in-cabin audio experiences, AI-enhanced noise cancellation, intelligent voice assistants, and generative AI audio. Workloads in automotive audio and voice-enabled systems are transitioning from traditional signal-processing algorithms to AI-driven approaches. The SHARC-FX core’s expanded instruction set enables implementation of emerging AI models alongside conventional DSP workloads for real-time neural-network-based audio inference at the edge. It supports optimized NN kernel routines for AI/ML frameworks such as Google’s LiteRT, allowing models to be offloaded to the SHARC-FX core.
ADI provides a toolset and ecosystem that includes Cadence’s compiler and tools, ADI’s EZ-KIT evaluation system, CrossCore Embedded Studio, SigmaStudio+TM, and frameworks including DSP Concepts’ Audio Weaver.
The Cadence Tensilica IP Group provides DSP IP across its product families and offers automotive-ready DSP IP certified up to ISO 26262 ASIL-B for ADAS and other safety-critical applications.
