ARM launches new safety chip for self-driving cars and robots

London

ARM Holdings Plc, the UK company that designs the semiconductors found in most of the world's smartphones, has introduced a chip engi-neered to move the company into new markets including self-driving cars and surgical robots.

ARM, acquired by Softbank Group Corp for US$32 billion in a deal that concluded earlier this month, on Tuesday debuted its Cortex R-52 processor design. The chip is targeted for use in devices where safety is critical such as automated cars and healthcare devices. "You would want this anywhere there was a danger of loss of life or limb due to machine-human interaction," John Ronco, ARM's vice-president of product marketing, said.