Arm首次发布用于连接设备的新Cortex-M85芯片

Arm Ltd. today introduced a new processor, the Cortex-M85, that can carry out certain computations four times faster than previous-generation silicon.

Arm公司今天宣布推出新处理器Cortex-M85。Cortex-M85在进行某些计算时比上一代芯片快4倍。

Cambridge, U.K.-based Arm makes semiconductor blueprints that companies use to design chips such as central processing units. Chips based on the firm’s blueprints power billions of devices ranging from smartphones to servers and industrial robots.

总部位于英国剑桥的Arm公司主打半导体蓝图，其他公司则用Arm的蓝图设计中央处理器等芯片。基于该公司蓝图的芯片配置在数十亿台的设备上，包括智能手机、服务器和工业机器人。

Arm’s newly debuted Cortex-M85 processor joins its popular Cortex-M series of chip designs. The Cortex-M series is optimized for “internet of things” devices that prioritize power efficiency and require a limited amount of processing capacity. Processors from the series can also be integrated into another chip, such as a field-programmable gate array, to carry out supporting tasks such as distributing electricity to a device’s subcomponents.

Arm公司新登场的Cortex-M85处理器加入了旗下流行的Cortex-M系列芯片设计。Cortex-M系列针对物联网设备进行了优化，物联网设备需要优先考虑功率效率但只需要有限的处理能力。该系列的处理器还可以集成到另一个芯片（例如现场可编程门阵列）中，执行支持性任务，例如将电力分配给设备的子组件。

Arm says that the new Cortex-M85 is the fastest processor to have been added to the Cortex-M chip design portfolio. It can manage more than 3 DMIPS/MHz, a measure of processor speed equivalent to 3 million operations per clock cycle. When running machine learning and digital signal processing software, the Cortex-M85 can provide several times more performance than the previous fastest processor in the Cortex-M series.

Arm公司表示，新的Cortex-M85是加到Cortex-M芯片设计组合里最快的处理器。Cortex-M85可以管理超过3 DMIPS/MHz相当于每时钟周期300万次操作。DMIPS/MHz是个衡量处理器速度的标准。Cortex-M85在运行机器学习和数字信号处理软件时可以提供比之前Cortex-M系列中最快的处理器高几倍的性能。

The speed improvements are the result of several factors. One is that the chip features improved branch prediction, a mechanism that allows a processor to anticipate certain computations and carry them out in advance to save time. Arm also enhanced the Cortex-M85’s memory subsystem to optimize how the chip manages the data that it processes.

速度的提高是几个因素的结果。其中之一是该芯片的分支预测功能有改进，分支预测机制使得处理器能够预测某些计算并提前进行，因而可以节省时间。Arm公司还增强了Cortex-M85的内存子系统，进而优化了芯片处理数据的管理方式。

Another contributor to the increased performance of the Cortex-M85 is a technology called Helium. It’s an extension to the chip’s instruction set, the machine language in which computations are expressed, that is optimized for artificial intelligence and digital signal processing tasks.

另一个提高Cortex-M85性能的因素是名为Helium的技术。Helium是个芯片指令集扩展，是一种专为人工智能和数字信号处理任务优化过的表达计算的机器语言。

“By integrating Arm Helium technology, Cortex-M85 delivers multiple folds (x4) of DSP and ML processing uplift compared to its predecessor, the Cortex-M7,” Tim Menasveta, director of product management at Arm, detailed in a blog post. “It also brings approximately 20% vector processing performance uplift compared to the other Helium-enabled processor.”

Arm公司产品管理总监Tim Menasveta在一篇博文中做了详细介绍，“通过整合Arm Helium技术，Cortex-M85与其之前同系列的Cortex-M7相比提升了几倍（x4）的DSP和ML处理能力。而与其他支持Helium的处理器相比，Cortex-M85则提高了大约20%的矢量处理性能。”

Alongside the Cortex-M85, Arm today debuted two new additions to its Arm Total Solutions product portfolio. The portfolio includes reference designs for building systems-on-chip, a type of chip that integrates multiple types of processors in a single package. Arm also provides complementary development tools to ease chip designers’ work.

除了Cortex-M85之外，Arm今天还首次为旗下的Arm整体解决方案产品系列增加了两个新产品。该产品组合包括用于构建片上系统的参考设计，片上系统是一种在单一封装中集成多种类型处理器的芯片。Arm公司还提供配套开发工具，可以减轻芯片设计人员的工作量。

Companies can use the new Arm Total Solutions for Voice Recognition to build chips for smart speakers, thermostats and other smart home appliances, as well as industrial equipment. The design is joined by Arm Total Solutions for Cloud-native Edge Platform, which focuses on devices such as wearables. The latter offering features compatibility with the Linux operating system.

业界的企业可以利用新的Arm声音识别整体方案（Arm Total Solutions for Voice Recognition）构建智能音箱、恒温器和其他智能家电以及工业设备的芯片。而Arm云原生边缘平台整体方案（Arm Total Solutions for Cloud-native Edge Platform）则专注与诸如可穿戴设备等设备。Arm云原生边缘平台整体方案的特点是兼容Linux操作系统。

On the occasion, Arm also updated its Arm Virtual Hardware tool, which makes it possible to create chip simulations that software engineers can use to test new software. The tool now enables developers to simulate seven additional Cortex-M processors, as well as certain third-party chips from a number of Arm partners.

Arm公司同时还更新了旗下的Arm虚拟硬件工具，该工具可以创建芯片模拟，软件工程师可用其测试新软件。开发者现在可以利用该工具模拟其他七种Cortex-M处理器以及一些Arm合作伙伴的某些第三方芯片。