The core function of the body control module (BCM) is to monitor inputs such as the state of the high-beam switch and enable or disable power to the corresponding loads such as the high-beam lamp. The BCM also includes circuits that monitor different functions for faults. When a fault is detected, the driver could be notified, in some cases additional circuits in the BCM drive…
Co-authored by Kevin Stauder, systems engineer, automotive body electronics and lighting
For decades, the internal combustion engine (ICE) has run the car as well as the heating and cooling systems. As the automotive industry electrifies and transitions to hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) with small combustion engines or fully electric vehicles (EVs) with no engine at all, how will the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning…
Technology availability, market and environmental regulations, and infrastructure buildout are aligning to turn a long-forecasted future of full-electric vehicles (EVs) into reality. According to the International Energy Agency’s Global EV Outlook 2020, sales of EVs, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), reached a global peak of 2.1 million in 2019, increasing the total number of such vehicles on the…
This article was originally published on eeworldonline.com.
A local dimming backlight technology individually adjusts LEDs in an LCD panel to save power and improve contrast ratios in automotive displays. Compared to globally dimmed displays and organic LEDs (OLEDs), local dimming with LEDs is a more practical design choice because it can withstand the extreme temperatures and vibration common in automotive applications…
The U.K., Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and France have already proposed plans to outlaw internal combustion engines (ICE), with China also studying when to ban ICE vehicles. So the writing is on the wall that powerful electric motors, also known as traction motors, will play a significant and increasing role as the engine propelling the vehicle. But electric motors are already dominant in many other automotive applications…
This article was originally published on eeworldonline.com.
Automotive specifications and environmental conditions have caused the automotive display market to lag behind the consumer display industry in contrast ratio, black levels, resolution, curvature and form factor. Automakers are trying to differentiate their infotainment human-machine interface (HMI) displays and catch up to the technological advances now common…
Somewhere in the world today, an automotive engineer is envisioning an infotainment system for a car that won’t be realized for another five years or more. This includes factoring in the power requirements for applications that exist only as concepts today. As infotainment systems evolve in sophistication and electronic functionality, the number of integrated circuits (ICs…
Functional safety standards like International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 615081 and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 262622 require that semiconductor device manufacturers address both systematic and random hardware failures. Systematic failures are managed and mitigated by following rigorous development processes. Random hardware failures must adhere to specified quantitative metrics to meet…
Functional safety design takes rigor, documentation and time to get it right. Whether you’re designing for the factory floor or cars on the highway, this white paper explains how TI is making it easier for you to find and use its integrated circuits (ICs) in your functional safety designs.
Read the white paper Streamlining functional safety in automotive and industrial.
The need for electrical energy inside the car is growing with the proliferation of automated driving functions and the popularity of comfort, convenience and infotainment features. Today’s vehicles have a growing number of sensors, actuators and electronic control modules (ECUs) that read sensors and control actuators. Simultaneously, the growing demand for hybrid and electric vehicles makes power efficiency an important…
As automotive camera technology advances with higher resolutions, dynamic ranges and frame rates, power-supply architectures need tailoring to the specific use-case requirements. In this article, I’ll review three strategies you can use to power your automotive camera module:
The focus in this article is on small-form…
This article was co-authored by Sam Jaffe.
As automotive systems continue to evolve, the number of applications requiring additional power continues to increase. Engineers designing higher-power systems often switch from low-dropout (LDO) regulators to DC/DC buck converters, given the latter’s improved efficiency and thermal performance. Unfortunately, making this switch comes…
This article was co-authored by Zach Imm.
Driver and pedestrian safety is a top priority for engineers working on vehicles today and in the future, both partially and fully autonomous. According to recent statistics, more than 73% of traffic accidents, especially for commercial vehicles, are caused by visual blind spots, cellphone use, driver fatigue and driver negligence. Studies show that equipping vehicles with advanced…
Exterior lighting, primarily used to illuminate ground areas near the door, can now be transformed into a projection system used for both vehicle communication and unique styling features.
A small lighting module utilizing the automotive grade digital micromirror devices (DMDs), such as the DLP2021-Q1 or DLP3021-Q1, can display an endless number of patterns in any…
By Krunal Maniar
The automotive industry is focused on creating a comfortable driving experience – but without compromising fuel efficiency or manufacturing costs. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are refreshing their audio system architectures frequently to enhance the user experience and ensure safety by incorporating new audio technologies…
An internal combustion engine (ICE) is a mechanical system that has been around since the 19th century (Figure 1). It’s amazing how it works, considering that it only takes fuel to generate thousands of horsepower and make a car go from 0 to 60 mph in under 3 seconds. But all good things must come to an end; stricter government standards such as Tier 3, Euro 6 and China 6a are…
Although today’s vehicles automate several aspects of the driving experience, the true forces behind moving from partially autonomous to fully autonomous cars are not car manufacturers but rather mobility service providers such as taxi companies, rental car companies, delivery service companies and cities that need to provide safe, efficient, accessible and affordable…
According to a study from the U.S. Department of Transportation1, the average American spends the equivalent of just under 2 1/2 weeks behind the wheel every year. The longer drivers and passengers spend in cars, the greater their need for real-time data transmission and in-vehicle entertainment.
Consequently, premium audio is becoming one of the biggest growth areas for automotive…
Radar sensors are not only changing the way that vehicles sense the environment around them, but also how they sense what and who is occupying them. Imagine a car that is capable of detecting a forgotten child in the backseat or a driver with a medical issue and a system designed to take action to mitigate the situation.
Radar’s ability to sense through solid materials makes it possible…
This article appeared in Electronic Design and has been published here with permission
Designing for today’s automobiles is a balancing act.
Between meeting increasingly strict emissions standards and powering the growing number of on-board systems and gadgets, today’s vehicles need to be as efficient as they are high powered. To achieve this convergence of efficiency…
For the last several years, two powerful forces have driven the use of active safety measures in advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs): The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) 2025’s Pursuit of Vision Zero traffic safety project and consumer five-star safety ratings.
Pursuit of Vision Zero will challenge vehicle manufacturers to offer the best…
Today’s vehicles have more intelligence and more connectivity than our mobile phones did 20 years ago. They are in near-constant communication with the world, whether through subscription-based communications services or built-in cellular functionality. In the future, this will include vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The core controlling communication to the outside…
Connectivity’s ubiquity in the world is certainly gaining momentum in the automotive industry. Many car owners think of automotive wireless connectivity as a simple interaction with an in-car infotainment system, but new applications are emerging, whether it’s personalizing an owner’s interaction with the vehicle, creating a path for lower-power connectivity operation when in…
(Dan Torres co-authored this technical article.)
Updated 1/7/21
Lithium battery cells are continuously getting more affordable and energy dense, and can drive hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) farther, longer. With these advancements, automotive design engineers can now turn their attention to further enhancing efficiency by reducing the size and weight of the battery management system (BMS…
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