Microchip Partners with LDRA for Functional Safety


LDRA safety-critical expertise chosen to verify and support PIC® MCU-based automotive, industrial safety, and rail applications



Wirral, U.K. - LDRA, the leader in standards compliance, automated software verification, source code analysis and test tools, has become a partner and trusted adviser to Microchip Technology Inc., enabling customers to meet functional-safety requirements. Microchip, a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog, and Flash-IP solutions, recommends LDRA tools for applications that must comply with functional-safety standards, including ISO 26262 for road vehicles, IEC 61508 for industrial safety systems, and EN 50128 for rail transportation systems.



Partnership Provides Support for PIC® MCUs and dsPIC® Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs)



The partnership offers seamless integration of the LDRA tool suite with Microchip's award-winning MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment and MPLAB XC compilers. The LDRA tools focus on compliance while leveraging the MPLAB tools for comprehensive support of Microchip's line of more than 1000 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit microcontrollers and DSCs.



Microchip's customers now have easy access, directly from the Microchip store, to the LDRA tools that enable coding standards compliance. For instance, LDRArules® with an integration plug-in for the MPLAB X IDE (part #SW500320) is available now on microchipDIRECT.com. Other software quality tools for dynamic coverage analysis, as well as unit/integration testing, are available directly from LDRA at www.ldra.com.



"LDRA's ability to analyze embedded applications developed for our PIC MCUs and dsPIC DSCs enables customers to fully verify that their software meets rigorous safety standards," said Steven Vernier, Microchip's Functional Safety Manager. "With more than 40 years' experience in functional-safety compliance and certification, LDRA brings gold-standard expertise to our customers. Their tools step designers through functional-safety compliance, streamlining the process."



Delivering a Rigorous Low-Cost Functional Safety Platform



In its role as trusted advisor, LDRA has delivered a series of educational seminars and training for Microchip's field application engineering team. These seminars cover compliant application-development processes and identify the steps developers must take to enforce programming guidelines, measure code coverage and complexity, perform unit test, and verify a software application. Because the LDRA tool suite is fully integrated with Microchip's MPLAB development software, customers can easily learn how to apply coding standards and automated software verification on their Microchip devices in order to achieve safety-critical compliance.



"Microchip delivers innovative platforms that significantly reduce the development efforts and BOM costs for manufacturers," noted Ian Hennell, LDRA's Operations Director. "The LDRA tool suite provides full verification and our hallmark rigorous level of functional safety for applications developed on Microchip's extensive and cost-effective PIC microcontroller portfolio. This is particularly essential for automotive and medical applications."



About LDRA



For more than 40 years, LDRA has developed and driven the market for software that automates code analysis and software testing for safety-, mission-, security-, and business-critical markets. Working with clients to achieve early error identification and full compliance with industry standards, LDRA traces requirements through static and dynamic analysis to unit testing and verification for a wide variety of hardware and software platforms. Boasting a worldwide presence, LDRA is headquartered in the United Kingdom with subsidiaries in the United States and India, coupled with an extensive distributor network. For more information on the LDRA tool suite, please visit www.ldra.com.



About Microchip Technology



Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com.



PIC, dsPIC, and MPLAB are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries.  All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.



Media contact:



Mark James, LDRA, Marketing Manager

Tel: +44 (0)151 649 9300, Email: mark.james@ldra.com




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