Consumer demand for high-performance, smart connectivity is revolutionizing consumer in-car experiences and creating growth opportunities for silicon providers that offer automotive-grade products capable of meeting the rigorous demands of the automotive industry.
Vehicle manufacturers are increasing working on providing sophisticated digital systems addressing vehicle safety, infotainment, and telematics. Computing functions in various forms is becoming an integral part of a car. On-board motor digital content such as rear seat entertainment systems, navigation systems, and driver assistance applications are no more add-ons in a car model as they are considered mainstream products in automobile industry.
Car communication is one such future technology to be adopted by more and more manufacturers. This technology enables cars to communicate and enabling a warning system for the driver. This technology is a real lifesaver, especially when visibility is low, due to fog etc. or roads with sharp turns.
Do you think future generations of vehicles will require increased on-board computing power?
Today, automotive market is witnessing a swift electronic control evolution. New auto technologies offer consumers cars that are safer, more fuel efficient and more pleasant to drive than any previous generation cars. Much of this has to do with the unprecedented expansion of global market encompassing all aspects of the industry, from government environmental mandates to vehicle manufacturing to semiconductor solutions design.
The researchers are coming up with innovative technologies to improve the driving experience for the car occupant. Some of the technologies may simply not work in a varied environment if implemented without taking into consideration the environmental challenges.
On- board computers is the technology which our cars need today, offer features both for efficiency and infotainment and comfort. For example, information about a car's current or average fuel consumption on a display in the instrument cluster can be really beneficial, both to the owner and environment. With this information the technology can compute how far one can drive with the fuel left in the tank. The data also helps the driver to drive in an efficient and economical way. With increased demand for the fuel efficiency and concerns for environmental challenges, the technology is much sought after and will be available in future generation vehicles.
This is just the beginning of the era when we will see advanced automated cars. Automotive electronic systems built on innovative, zero-defect technology will enable this vision, and Freescale is continually investing in new designs that will help our partners redefine the vehicle.
What are some of the most compelling solutions for the auto industry?
Ever since we began designing and manufacturing automotive semiconductors in the 1950s, we have partnered with nearly every automaker and tier one supplier in the world. Freescale is actively developing market-ready solutions for powertrain control and hybrid technologies to improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions, advanced safety and chassis applications to reduce and even prevent accidents, body electronics and driver information systems to improve driving experience.
Freescale has expanded its portfolio of Qorivva 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) built on Power Architecture technology to power the next wave of automotive instrument cluster applications. Freescale's Qorivva MPC5645S MCU family builds on the MPC5606S family with additional advanced features such as high-quality digital graphics, dual displays and video input capabilities (for applications such as backup camera feeds), while supplying enough processing performance to efficiently display data from a variety of internal systems.
Freescale in association with Broadcom Corporate and OmniVision Technologie announced a jointly developed 360-degree surround view parking assistance system – Ethernet-based parking assistance solution. The collaboration is an important step in the migration from a closed application to an open and scalable Ethernet-based driver assistance network in which several systems can easily access information
Freescale Qorivva MPC567xK family of 32-bit MCUs, built on Power Architecture technology, provides designers of automotive safety systems the ability to engineer advanced safety features, such as blind-spot detection, lane-departure warning systems, side view assistance and adaptive headlights. These and similar advanced automotive safety systems are part of the rapidly growing market known as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Freescale, i.MX 6 series processors have been selected to power a variety of automotive infotainment/telematics platforms, from entry-level systems to highly advanced offerings. Freescale MM912J637 intelligent battery sensor (IBS) accurately measures the voltage, current and temperature of lead-acid batteries and calculates the battery state, all while operating in harsh automotive conditions.
Via PCQuest
