Detecting error in safety-critical GPU by monitoring for response to an instruction
AssigneeImagination Technologies Limited
InventorsMario Sopena Novales, Philip Morris
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of detecting an error at a graphics processing unit causes an instruction including a request for a response from a graphics processing unit to be provided to the graphics processing unit. A timer being configured to expire after a time period is initialised, and during the time period the graphics processing unit is monitored for the response from the graphics processing unit. An error is determined to have occurred in response to determining that no response was received from the graphics processing unit before the timer expired.
Claims20
A method of detecting an error at a graphics processing unit, the method comprising:
- causing an instruction to be provided to the graphics processing unit, said instruction comprising a request for a response to be sent from the graphics processing unit to a safety controller;
- initialising a timer, said timer being configured to expire after a time period;
- monitoring, during said time period, for the response from the graphics processing unit;
- and
- determining that an error has occurred in response to determining that the response is not received from the graphics processing unit before the timer expires.
A graphics processing system comprising a graphics processing unit and a safety controller, in which the safety controller is configured to:
- cause an instruction to be provided to the graphics processing unit, said instruction comprising a request for a response to be sent from the graphics processing unit to the safety controller;
- initialise a timer, said timer being configured to expire after a time period;
- monitor, during said time period, for the response from the graphics processing unit;
- and
- determine that an error has occurred if the response is not received from the graphics processing unit before the timer expires.
A graphics processing system comprising a graphics processing unit and a safety controller, in which the safety controller is configured to:
- generate configuration data for the graphics processing unit;
- cause an instruction to be provided to the graphics processing unit, said instruction comprising the configuration data and a request for a response to be sent from the graphics processing unit to the safety controller;
- initialise a timer, said timer being configured to expire after a time period;
- monitor, during the time period, for the response from the graphics processing unit;
- configure the graphics processing unit in accordance with the configuration data;
- determine whether the graphics processing unit is correctly configured in accordance with the configuration data;
- and
- determine that an error has occurred in response to determining that:
- (i) the graphics processing unit is not correctly configured in accordance with the configuration data;
- or
- (ii) the response is not received from the graphics processing unit before the timer expires.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.