Connected Car News: Subaru, AMD, Infineon, Elecktrobit, Untether AI, Arm, Argus, Mobileye, Infosys, Renesas, Faraday Tech & Audi

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In connected car news are Subaru, AMD, Infineon, Elecktrobit, Untether AI, Arm, Argus, Mobileye, Infosys, Renesas, Faraday Tech and Audi.

Subaru & AMD

Subaru Corporation (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and CEO: Atsushi Osaki; “Subaru”)  announced a collaboration with AMD (Headquarters: Santa Clara, California; Chair and CEO: Dr. Lisa T. Su; “AMD”) to design circuits for a system-on-chip (SoC) that integrates stereo camera recognition processing with AI inference, enabling the generation of optimal decisions. Through this collaboration, Subaru aims to further enhance its safety performance toward the goal of “zero fatal road accidents in 2030*.”
(*Zero fatal road accidents among occupants of Subaru vehicles and people involved in collisions with Subaru vehicles, including pedestrians and cyclists)

Subaru has partnered with AMD to design circuits for an optimized SoC based on the recently launched AMD Versal™ AI Edge Series Gen 2 adaptive SoC, with the goal of achieving cutting-edge AI inference performance and ultra-low latency processing at a low cost. With this optimized SoC, Subaru will further enhance the recognition processing capabilities of stereo cameras it has cultivated over the years, and aims to incorporate this new technology into its next-generation EyeSight system in the second half of the 2020s.

Subaru is committed to developing vehicles based on its comprehensive “all-around” safety philosophy, which includes “preventive safety,” exemplified by its EyeSight driver assist technology, as well as “primary safety,” “active safety,” “passive safety,” and “connected safety.” Subaru will continue to enhance safety in each of these areas to achieve its goal of “zero fatal road accidents in 2030.”

Infineon 24/48 Gate Driver

Infineon Technologies AG introduces the MOTIX™ TLE9140EQW gate driver IC for brushless DC motors targeting the demanding 24/48 V market. The TLE9140 is tailored for automotive motor control applications featuring higher voltage requirements from 24 V up to a maximum of 72 V, where higher system reliability and faster switching behavior are necessary. The IC is the ideal complement to Infineon’s MOTIX MCU TLE987x and TLE989x 32-bit motor control SoC solutions but also suitable as 48 V BLDC driver with common MCUs on the market. Typical applications include pumps and fans, windshield wipers, the HVAC module, or e-compressors. In addition, the TLE9140 is applied as 3-phase motor gate driver for applications in commercial, construction, and agricultural vehicles as well as in light electric vehicles such as eBikes, eScooters or eMotorcycles.

“Our new motor gate driver IC allows customers to easily scale their existing 12 V MOTIX TLE987x and TLE989x motor control designs to 24 V or 48 V systems”, says Andreas Doll, Senior Vice President, and General Manager Smart Power at Infineon. “The TLE9140EQW enables the reuse of hardware and software designs, allowing our customers to shorten their time-to-market and optimize their development costs when moving to 24/48 V systems.”

The gate driver IC offers functional safety according to ISO 26262 ASIL B. It is housed in a small TS-DSO-32 package. The IC offers a high voltage capability up to 110 V, a gate driver capability of ~230 nC/MOSFET up to 20 kHz as well as SPI communication. It has an active low-side (LS) freewheeling function during V SM overvoltage (OV) and a wide range of important diagnostic and protection functions such as timeout-watchdog, drain-source monitoring, overvoltage, undervoltage, cross-current and over-temperature protection as well as off-state diagnostics.

In addition, the TLE9140 includes Infineon’s patented gate shaping function, an adaptive MOSFET control that can compensate for fluctuations in the MOSFET parameters in the system. It automatically adjusts the gate current to achieve the desired switching behavior. This allows the system to be optimized in terms of electromagnetic emissions (EMI) by slower slew rates, while minimizing power dissipation through shorter dead times and shorter rise/fall times.

To accelerate the evaluation and design-in process, Infineon’s MOTIX motor control ICs are accompanied by a wide range of software and tools. The TLE9140 evaluation board is user-friendly and enables rapid evaluation and prototyping. In addition, Infineon provides a configuration wizard and a device driver for the TLE9140 that provides a simple API for generating the control frames for the external bridge driver via SPI. Both are available free of charge.

Elecktrobit EB zoneo

Elektrobit  announced EB zoneo GatewayCore, the first software product to enable, configure and integrate the new generation of hardware accelerators of modern microcontrollers for use in advanced automotive electrical/electronic architectures based on the widely adopted Classic AUTOSAR standard. Available today on Infineon’s AURIX™ TC4x, the new software simplifies configuration of complex netwoking gateway use cases, reducing time, integration efforts and costs for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers.

EB zoneo GatewayCore effectively bridges the gap that currently exists between hardware-dependent accelerators and Classic AUTOSAR. The tool provides flexible support for the most complex routing scenarios. This integrated hardware-software approach significantly improves the processing latency of information and simultaneously reduces the CPU load and power consumption for network-related tasks.

The new software was developed in close collaboration with leading hardware vendors, including Infineon. As an example of possible performance gains, on the Infineon AURIX™ TC4x, EB zoneo GatewayCore is capable of significantly accelerating controller-area network (CAN)-to-CAN or CAN-to-IEEE1722 routing on TC4x in terms of latency with zero CPU load. This was achieved by using an optimum combination of hardware blocks from Infineon and Elektrobit’s EB zoneo.

“EB zoneo GatewayCore combined with Infineon’s AURIX™ TC4x delivers the powerful one-two punch OEMs need to develop next-generation in-vehicle networks,” said Lars Wemme, vice president ADAS, Chassis & EE-Architecture at Infineon. “Together with Elektrobit, we are saving carmakers and Tier 1s time and money so they can focus their resources on other aspects of vehicle development while benefitting from a faster, more efficient network. Our routing engines completely offload the MCU cores from data routing and keep resources for application code to our customers.”

Infineon AURIX TC4x Micorcontrollers

Infineon’s AURIX™ TC4x family of microcontrollers push the boundaries in automotive microcontroller usage for safe and secured processing and are designed for next generation eMobility, ADAS, E/E architectures and affordable artificial intelligence applications. The first AURIX™ TC4x engineering samples have already been shipped to lead customers for their design-in activities.

“Traditionally, a variety of different tools must be used to configure the hardware-related and basic software-related parts in the AUTOSAR environment,” said Mike Robertson, managing director at Elektrobit. “With EB zoneo GatewayCore and Infineon’s AURIX™ TC4x we’re streamlining the process and making it easier for carmakers to introduce new vehicle functions that require high-speed, reliable, and secure in-vehicle networks.”

///The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) today announced the appointment of Micron Technology to its board of directors to provide electric vehicle (EV) subject matter expertise and guidance. Representing a cross-section of member companies, AIAG’s board is comprised of executives from mobility OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and supplier organizations who provide future direction for the association and oversee collaborative efforts to enhance supply chain efficiency.

With over 30 years dedicated to advancing automotive memory and storage solutions, Micron maintains strong relationships within the automotive and mobility ecosystem. The steadfast collaboration with its partners has positioned Micron as a key driver influencing the shift from ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) to ACE (Autonomous, Connected, and Electric) vehicles.

“Micron joining the AIAG Board of Directors was a logical step to deepen our engagement with the mobility community and help develop the collaborative standards, guidelines, and training that advance the entire ACE supply chain,” said Bill Lechten, senior director, Quality Management Office at Micron Technology. “Semiconductor manufacturing, software, and the embedded systems ecosystem all require a deep understanding of what requirements are truly important for the supply chain. Memory and storage solutions are fundamental to all mobility systems, and AIAG’s engagement with Micron will bring critical expertise to the discussion.”

“As the AIAG Board of Directors continues to evolve along with our organization and industry, we’re extremely pleased to welcome Micron Technology and Bill Lechten to the team,” AIAG CEO Matt Pohlman concluded. “Micron’s considerable expertise in the semiconductor space will undoubtedly support a broader understanding of semiconductor devices and systems within AIAG and the mobility industry overall, facilitating the development of common standards, training, events, and other key offerings that benefit us all.”

Untether AI partners with Arm

Untether AI, the leader in energy-centric AI inference acceleration, announced a collaboration with Arm to develop best-in-class solutions optimized for next-generation automotive applications. As part of this collaboration, Untether AI will enable its inference acceleration technology to be implemented alongside the latest-generation Automotive Enhanced (AE) technology from Arm, to create solutions that address performance, power, safety, and security requirements for advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle (AV) applications.

Compute workloads radically changed in the past several years with the deployment of AI and the increasing complexity of AI and conventional software algorithms has elevated the demand for heterogeneous computing platforms employing domain-specific architectures. This trend, which is especially true in the automotive sector, results in an ideal computing platform that combines a mix of CPUs, AI accelerators, memory, and networking technologies that have been optimized for neural network acceleration and software-defined vehicles (SDV).

“The increase in advanced user experiences, ADAS, and AV applications means more heterogeneous compute is needed in the vehicle,” said Suraj Gajendra, vice president of products and solutions, Automotive Line of Business, Arm. “By collaborating with Untether AI to ensure our leading-edge AE technology can work well alongside Untether AI’s acceleration capability, we are enabling our partners to power cutting edge AI workloads across the vehicle.”

Untether AI’s innovative at-memory architecture for neural network inference delivers the high performance and energy efficiency needed to support next generation SDV technology. High AI compute performance with low latency in a small form factor and low-power envelope have become the cornerstone requirements for leading ADAS platforms at L2+ levels and above. This need for high levels of AI compute performance in a small footprint has been further accelerated by the general trend toward an underlying centralized architecture as the automotive industry embraces software-defined vehicles (SDV).

Through close collaboration with leading OEMs, automotive suppliers, and membership in the SOAFEE consortium, Untether AI has developed an in-depth understanding of the unique requirements associated with emerging SDV architectures. SOAFEE, an industry-wide consortium, is focused on developing a common SDV platform enabling lower cost, and faster time-to-market deployment.

“Designed expressly for the automotive market, Untether AI’s chiplet-based solution delivers unsurpassed energy efficiency without compromising performance and meeting stringent safety requirements,” said Robert Beachler, vice president of product, Untether AI. “This capability, combined with Arm’s AE IP portfolio enables the flexibility, scale and choice OEMs need to create differentiating next generation intelligent automotive applications.”

Argus Cyber Security for Ford F-MAX

Argus Cyber Security, a world leader in automotive cyber security,  announced that it has completed a vehicle-level penetration testing project on the new Ford Trucks F-MAX heavy-duty truck. Aligned with the UNR 155 cyber security regulation, the vehicle-level pentesting was a critical milestone for Ford Trucks in achieving type approval certification for the F-MAX model.

To meet its go-to-market plan for the F-MAX, Ford Trucks sought a partner that could conduct a comprehensive vehicle-level pentest per UNR 155 requirements within the shortest possible time frame. UNR 155 has established a mandatory cyber security framework for vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) to follow in order to receive type approval for all new vehicles (i.e., cars, trucks, and buses). Vehicle-level pentesting is one of the methods used to validate that the vehicle E/E architecture and software are protected against the various threats detailed in the regulation.

“We chose Argus to conduct the vehicle-level pentest based on its proven experience, knowledge, methodology and expertise,” said Emrah Duman, Ford Trucks Leader.

Argus’s ability to complete the testing and submit the required documentation to the auditors in an extremely short time frame with top quality results was critical for enabling us to meet our business goals.”

The vehicle-level pentest conducted by the Argus Consulting Services team covered all of the UNR 155 requirements for identifying potential threats that could be exploited to compromise critical components. The scope consisted of in-vehicle testing of components (e.g. ECUs) and network interfaces, as well as bidirectional communications with backend servers.

Argus’ unique testing approach enabled it to execute multiple testing activities in parallel and to complete the full scope of testing expeditiously. Following the test execution, Argus prepared a detailed report and mitigation plan which Ford Trucks submitted to the auditors for type approval.

Mobileye New EyeQ 6

Mobileye announced it has delivered the first production-candidate hardware and software of its new EyeQ™6 Lite system-on-chip to its customers, which will power advanced driver-assistance systems in multiple models launching this year. This milestone marks the beginning of the EyeQ6 family, with the EyeQ6L already set to be installed in 46 million vehicles over the next few years – becoming the global auto industry’s ADAS solution of choice from the start. It will be followed by the EyeQ6 High advanced system-on-chip, on track to launch in early 2025.

The EyeQ6L builds on Mobileye’s 25 years of pioneering work in automotive safety, computer vision, chip design and machine learning, which enabled the widespread adoption of automatic forward collision warning and emergency braking across the automotive industry. To date, more than 170 million vehicles worldwide have been built with Mobileye technology inside.

“With the EyeQ6L, the team has once again delivered a system-on-chip that enables sizable gains in performance, safety, and comfort features to our customers, without a material increase in price, as has been our pledge for many years,” said Prof. Amnon Shashua, founder and CEO of Mobileye. “We know the power of ADAS to save lives and reduce traffic accidents globally, and with the EyeQ6L, automakers can meet regulatory requirements while delivering meaningful technology improvements to end users.”

Many studies have found notable safety benefits from key ADAS technologies. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has said technologies available today could prevent 37 million crashes, 14 million injuries and nearly 250,000 deaths in the United States over the next 30 years if made standard on all vehicles.i Other research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has found that automatic emergency braking reduces front to rear crashes by 50 percent, and injury crashes by 57 percent, while pedestrian AEB cuts crashes by 27 percent and lane-departure warning reduces injury crashes by 21 percent.ii While about 7 out of 10 new vehicles worldwide are sold with some level of ADAS technology today, that share is lower in many high-volume markets, including China and India, where the full benefit of ADAS remains untapped.

Automotive safety advocates and regulators around the world have recognized the power of ADAS to save lives and reduce crashes, and the EyeQ6L was designed to meet not only current standards but future ones as well, from the European Union’s General Safety Regulation and new car assessment programs (NCAPs) in dozens of countries, to U.S. regulations and insurance industry assessments, as well as ASIL-B level safety.

Benefits and Features for Drivers Worldwide

The EyeQ6L combines Mobileye’s experience in designing automotive-grade processors and artificial intelligence/machine learning algorithms with its expertise in custom integrated software that optimizes performance and energy efficiency. Designed with two CPU cores and five high-compute density accelerators, the EyeQ6L provides 4.5 times more computing power than the EyeQ4M, at roughly half the physical space, with similar levels of power consumption – key elements for automotive use. The chip also improves pixel segmentation capabilities through a dynamic neural network with more than double the point density of EyeQ4M.

The EyeQ6L enables systems that can capture much more detailed data of the world around them with an 8-megapixel camera and 120-degree lateral field of vision, a 20-degree increase over the camera available with the EyeQ4M. The increased vision data also powers new environmental sensing and range capabilities; with EyeQ6L, vehicles can sense when roads are dry, wet or snowy and adjust emergency stopping distances accordingly, as well as detecting many types of objects at greater distances. The camera and processor updates enable several advancements to automatic emergency braking systems, such as an increased ability to monitor and react to other vehicles, pedestrians, or random road objects in complex situations – like a piece of furniture falling off a truck in an adjacent lane, or a cow sitting in the vehicle’s path.

Mobileye has been an industry leader in pedestrian and cyclist detection, and the EyeQ6 builds on that record through new sensing and software capabilities, improving vehicle response. The hardware and software power of EyeQ6L also enables upgrades to functions such as lane-keeping assist and automated lane change systems that can find not only the center of the current lane, but the next two lanes on either side of travel. Automated cruise control systems using EyeQ6 can now sense an upcoming curve and slow the vehicle as needed for passenger comfort.

Last year, Mobileye rolled out Intelligent Speed Assist upgrades for its EyeQ4M that could meet European standards for automatically reading and understanding speed limit signs – whether permanent or temporary signs. The EyeQ6L goes a step further by reading key text phrases on signage, like a speed limit that’s only active on weekday mornings, or a city entrance sign that implies a lower speed limit. All this uses only computer vision and on-board software – not GPS or other external data sources.

“This is only the start of our journey with the EyeQ6L,” said Nimrod Nehushtan, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Mobileye. “Through continuous development, tools like EyeQ Kit™ and the ability to use over-the-air software updates, the EyeQ6 family has the ability to serve the industry for many years to come, making driving safer and more convenient for millions.”

The other member of the EyeQ6 family, the EyeQ6 High, is set to enter series production early next year and power all of Mobileye’s advanced automated driving technologies – from Mobileye SuperVision™ for hands-off, eyes-on driving, through Mobileye Chauffeur™ for hands-off, eyes-off driving, and Mobileye Drive™ autonomous driving in specified domains.

Infosys Acquires in-tech

Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY) a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, announced a definitive agreement to acquire in-tech, a leading Engineering R&D services provider focused on German automotive industry. This strategic investment further strengthens Infosys’ Engineering R&D capabilities and reaffirms its continued commitment to global clients to navigate their digital engineering journey.

Headquartered in Germany, in-tech, is one of the fastest growing Engineering R&D services providers that shapes digitization in the automotive, rail transport and smart industry sectors. in-tech develops solutions in e-mobility, connected and autonomous driving, electric vehicles (EV’s), off-road vehicles and railroad. in-tech offerings include system design, methodical consulting, advanced electronics platform development and validation of automotive specific software and hardware systems, infotainment, and experience validation.

in-tech brings to Infosys, marquee German original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) deep client relationships, and an extensive industry expertise with a multidisciplinary team of 2200 people across locations in Germany, Austria, China, UK, and nearshore locations in Czech Republic, Romania, Spain, and India.

Renesas FemtoClock

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions,  expanded its timing solutions portfolio with a new ultra-low 25fs-rms clock solution for wireline infrastructure, data center and industrial applications. The new FemtoClock™ 3 family includes ultra-low jitter clock generators and jitter attenuators with 8 and 12 outputs, enabling high-performance, easy-to-use, and cost-effective clock tree designs for next-generation, high-speed interconnect systems. Target applications for the new devices include telecom switches and routers, top-of-rack data center switches, medical imaging, broadcast audio & video and more.

FemtoClock 3 devices provide industry leading phase noise and jitter required to meet the needs of 112Gbps SerDes rates, as well as next generation 224Gbps SerDes designs using commonly available 48MHz to 73MHz crystals. The highly integrated devices can generate up to four frequency domains and offer integrated LDOs (Low Drop Out regulators) with superior PSRR, reducing board complexity and cost.

“Renesas leads the industry with best-in-class timing solutions built from decades of experience and patented technology,” said Zaher Baidas, Vice President of the Timing Division for Renesas. “FemtoClock 3 devices extend that leadership by providing multiple clock and synchronization functions in a single device with ultra-low jitter, simplifying printed circuit board design and reducing solution area and cost.”

“FemtoClock 3 was the only timing solution that offered us the ultra-low jitter performance while maintaining low power dissipation and simplifying the PCB design and lowering solution area on our next-generation switches,” said Vincent Ho, CEO at UfiSpace. “We count on Renesas to deliver the timing solutions that enable us to deliver leading-edge products quickly and cost-effectively.”

Key Features of the FemtoClock 3 Family

  • Industry-leading 25fs-rms jitter exceeds next-generation 112Gbps and 224Gbps SerDes reference clock requirements
  • Up to 4 frequency domains allow all system clocks to be generated from a single device
  • Device variants with jitter attenuation, synchronization and clock generation capabilities and with 8 or 12 outputs
  • Low power dissipation of 1.2W and operating a single 1.8V supply
  • Integrated non-volatile memory allows for device customization in factory at no additional cost to customer
  • Small 7 x 7mm 48-pin VFQFPN and 9 x 9mm 64-pin VFQFPN packages
  • Compliant with ITU-T G.8262 and G.8262.1 for enhanced synchronous Ethernet
  • Single chip with multiple operating modes simplifies overall clock tree

FemtoClock 3 supports multiple operating modes, including synchronization, jitter attenuation, and clock generation. Customers can combine the new FemtoClock 3 solution with the broader ClockMatrix™, VersaClock, buffer and oscillator portfolio of timing solutions to address challenging timing needs for their high-performance wireline infrastructure and data center designs.

FemtoClock 3 functions seamlessly in conjunction with the state-of-the-art Renesas IC Toolbox (RICBox) application, empowering users to configure and program devices on the evaluation board. Additionally, RICBox interfaces with the Renesas Lab on the Cloud platform, providing users with the capability to connect virtually to an actual laboratory setting.

Winning Combinations

Renesas has combined FemtoClock 3 with numerous compatible devices from its portfolio to offer Winning Combinations, including the 1600G Fixed Form Factor Switch. Winning Combinations are technically vetted system architectures from mutually compatible devices that work together seamlessly to bring an optimized, low-risk design for faster time to market. Renesas offers more than 400 Winning Combinations with a wide range of products from the Renesas portfolio to enable customers to speed up the design process and bring their products to market more quickly. They can be found at renesas.com/win.

Availability

The FemtoClock 3 devices and evaluation boards are available today from Renesas and its distribution partners. For more information, including ordering samples and factory customization, please visit www.renesas.com/femtoclock3.

Faraday Tech Arm AE

Faraday Technology Corporation (TWSE: 3035), a leading provider of ASIC design services and IP solutions, announced it is leveraging the latest Arm® Automotive Enhanced (AE) technology, licensing the Cortex®-A720AE IP to drive the development of AI-enabled vehicles ASICs, with a focus on safety, efficiency, and quality.

Since 2002, Faraday has been a global Arm licensee and has now become a key design partner of the Arm automotive ecosystem in addition to being a key partner in the Arm Total Design ecosystem. With over 20 years of expertise in Arm-based SoC design and subsystem integration, Faraday has built a portfolio of hundreds of successful projects, demonstrating proficiency in hardening and performance optimization of Arm-based SoCs.

Furthermore, Faraday not only has its own IP portfolio but also possesses extensive expertise in IP integration, enabling the swift utilization of third-party IPs for SoC design. The company also provides robust design implementation services across major foundries, covering mature processes to the most advanced FinFET process nodes. With flexible business models, Faraday is committed to providing tailor-made, high-standard, and high-quality ASIC chips to meet diverse customer needs.

“We are excited to be part of the Arm automotive ecosystem,” said Flash Lin, COO of Faraday. “As the first ASIC design service provider certified for ISO26262 and offering ultra-low DPPM quality in mass production for automotive chips, Faraday now utilizes Arm’s AE technology to meet the demanding requirements of next-generation automotive ICs in advanced nodes, catering to the specific needs of our customers.”

“Keeping up with the automotive industry’s profound transformation requires balancing the need for higher compute performance with leading-edge safety and efficiency,” said Dipti Vachani, senior vice president and general manager, Automotive Line of Business, Arm. “By joining the Arm automotive ecosystem, Faraday continues to drive innovation by leveraging the first high performance Armv9 A-class CPU for automotive, the Cortex-A720AE, to address the demands of software-defined vehicles.”

Shelly Smart Control for Audi

Shelly Group AD (Ticker: SLYG / ISIN: BG1100003166) (“Shelly Group”), a provider of IoT and smart building solutions based in Sofia, Bulgaria, brings a native version of its Shelly Smart Control App to select Audi models. To this end, the popular Shelly Smart Control app based on the Android Automotive OS will be available in the Audi Application Store. Customers can thus use the user-friendly range of functions for intelligent home automation intuitively via the familiar user interface of their vehicle’s infotainment system. This includes, for example, automatically opening and closing the garage door, and switching on the lights in the garage, in other rooms or throughout the house when coming home or leaving the house.

The integration of the Shelly Smart Control app into the Audi Application Store is carried out in cooperation with CARIAD, Volkswagen Group’s software company, and Harman Ignite. It gives customers access to a wide variety of popular third-party apps, which are seamlessly integrated into the infotainment system of the car. Regular online updates keep the apps in the infotainment system up to date.