In office buildings, factory floors and automobiles, software is replacing mechanical components and fixed electric circuits. For example, replacing a mechanical lock with a smart lock gives users operational control through an app, while the manufacturer can improve or correct lock functionality through software updates. One often-forgotten challenge with this trend, however…
Front camera units are an essential component of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), especially now that New Car Assessment Program requirements include automatic emergency braking and front collision avoidance as standard features. Front cameras help with other ADAS features such as adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assistance and traffic sign recognition…
Republished with permission from EETimes
A zone architecture and Ethernet represent the future of networking in vehicles. New features in vehicles, as well as the shift to aggregating sensors and actuators into zonal modules, require a high-bandwidth and low-latency in-vehicle communication network. A zone architecture implementing Ethernet enables the growing trend of the software-defined vehicle.
Most vehicles today…
Today’s parking systems primarily use ultrasonic sensors, a low-cost solution that can detect objects nearby. Although this technology is well-established, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must meet evolving requirements for parking assistance and autonomous parking applications in a cost-sensitive market, while tier-1 manufacturers see diminishing returns on their efforts…
Traditional power liftgates and trunks require users to press and hold a button on their key fob to activate the hatch. This can be a major inconvenience, especially when you’re trying to open the trunk while your hands are holding grocery bags. Hands-free systems such as kick-to-open tailgates enable you to open the trunk of your vehicle with a simple kick.
Many cars equipped…
Co-authored with Hyunggi Cho, CEO, Phantom AI
As we drive through our neighborhoods and towns and see children walking and riding bikes, we’re reminded of the importance of safety on our roads. A 2021 study by the NHTSA revealed that in the United States, on average, 20 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents each day – one every 71 minutes. In a 2022 study, the…
Authored by Keegan Garcia, Kishore Ramaiah and Snehaprabha Narnakaje
Over the past decade, radar-based sensors became an established sensing modality for automotive and industrial applications. Radar helps realize designs that require long range, environment resiliency and higher sensing resolution, making them a good fit for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such…
In electric vehicles, solar panels and energy storage systems, high-voltage power achieves faster charge times, minimizes power losses, and improves design reliability. High-voltage currents have the potential to be dangerous or even deadly, however, so designers use insulation monitoring systems to send an alert or disconnect the power supply to prevent harm to the…
Traction inverters are the main consumer of battery power in electric vehicles (EVs), with power levels reaching 150 kW or higher. The efficiency and performance of traction inverters directly impact an EV’s driving range on a single charge. Therefore, to build the next generation of these systems, the industry has widely adopted silicon carbide (SiC) field-effect transistors…
Think of a passenger car as a collection of electronic control units (ECUs) that are distributed across the length and breadth of the car and that talk to each other using different networks. When adding more advanced automotive electronics for vehicle-to-everything (V2X), automated driving and vehicle electrification, the number of ECUs increases and the amount of data exchanged grows.
The domain architecture explained…
Co-authored by Kevin Stauder.
With the continued worldwide growth of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs), now more than ever, automotive developers are innovating to stay ahead of the game. While differentiating HEV/EV powertrain systems has traditionally been a key focus area, market leaders now cannot afford to neglect differentiating their HEV…
Previously published on Electronic Products. Co-authored by Kishore Ramaiah.
When shopping for new cars, safety-minded consumers can review New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) ratings to see how cars compare NCAP ratings vary by region, but Euro NCAP has been driving the initiative for child presence detection inside cars as part of its roadmap.
Going into 2025 and beyond, only direct…
As electric vehicles (EVs) become more popular, the challenge for automakers is to reflect true range while making the vehicle more affordable. This translates into making the battery packs lower cost with higher energy densities. Every single watt-hour stored and retrieved from the cells is critical to extend the driving range.
The main function of a battery…
This article originally published in Electronic Products.
Electric-vehicle designers can increase the safety and reliability of traction inverter systems by monitoring the gate voltage threshold.
When a consumer purchases a vehicle, they assume that the design engineers did their due diligence to create a safe product. In order to achieve a necessary level of safety, especially in regard to International Organization…
As the demand for smart, automated and eco-friendly end-equipment continues to grow, industrial and automotive technologies are becoming increasingly electrified. With this trend also comes an increased emphasis on ensuring electronic systems not only meet standards of EV performance but safety standards as well. In the automotive space specifically,…
With increasing competition between electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers to develop models with lower cost and longer drive range, power system engineers are under pressure to reduce power losses and improve traction inverter system efficiency, which can improve driving ranges and provide a competitive advantage. Efficiency relates to lower power losses,…
As electric vehicles (EVs) become more popular, the challenge for car manufacturers is to remove drivers’ “mileage anxiety” while making the car more affordable. This translates into making the battery packs lower cost with higher energy densities. Every single watt-hour stored and retrieved from the cells is critical to extend the driving range.
Having accurate measurements of voltage, temperature and…
Unless you ride in a spacecraft, automotive power seats are probably the most complex chair in which you will ever sit. More adjustable than airplane seats – and much more comfortable than a dentist’s chair – automotive power seats provide a luxurious level of comfort, convenience and safety.
Whether you are moving the seat up and down, forward or…
Technology companies are looking to expand into more intelligent and advanced sensing in vehicle interiors. Consumers want to see applications such as child presence detection, occupant detection, vital-sign monitoring and gesture recognition. The in-cabin space currently has various camera-based and time-of-flight solutions; however, most of these are limited to only one application…
As automobile gas mileage standards continue to increase (according to the Environmental Protection Agency, up to 40 miles per gallon by 2026), the challenge for automotive audio designers is how to provide an immersive audio experience while simultaneously reducing vehicle weight and improving overall efficiency.
If you design automotive external amplifiers, you can refresh your…
If your first car was anything like mine, it probably lacked sensor modules such as cameras, radar and lidar, which make the safety features of modern advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) like blind-spot detection, park assistance and collision avoidance possible. Because the data collected by these sensor modules directly correlates with passenger safety, it’s important that they work properly over time. Unfortunately…
The Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) recently updated their standards for radar to improve driver assistance features in new cars.
NCAP standards vary by region; in the U.S., our NCAP is governed by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration a.k.a. NHTSA and the Global NCAP is a centralized organization. However, all organizations have the same goal: to set standards…
As automotive original equipment manufacturers develop vehicles with increasing autonomy, automating the act of parking continues to evolve. These parking systems include park assistance (where a driver’s participation is still necessary) and automated parking (where hands-free operation is possible).
Today’s automotive parking systems use ultrasonic and camera sensors.…
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