There were several announcements and news stories around embedded chips and connected cars this week from Intel, Wind River, TomTom, MicroChip, Volvo, DENSO, BMW, HTC and Synopsys.
Intel Buys YOGITECH
Intel is acquiring YOGITECH S.p.A., an expert in semiconductor functional safety and related standards. The talented YOGITECH team, based in Italy, will soon join Intel’s Internet of Things Group. This acquisition furthers Intel’s efforts to win in ADAS, robotics and autonomous machines for market segments like automotive, industrial and other IoT systems that require functional safety and high performance.
Wind River OTA with Arynga
Wind River is accelerating Arynga’s OTA technologies and integrating them into its automotive and cloud offerings. The ability to perform OTA updates and avoid time-consuming individual vehicle updates can deliver a significant cost and time advantage to carmakers.As a mechanism to update embedded devices and deliver content, OTA capabilities will also apply to updating IoT applications well beyond the automotive industry.
TomTom City
TomTom announced the launch of TomTom City – a new traffic portal that provides live traffic and travel information for consumers and traffic management experts. This new service showcases the extensive range of traffic information available on a city by city basis and will provide a platform to connect traffic authorities, businesses and citizens to jointly manage sustainable and efficient mobility.
TomTom City, is accessible from any internet enabled computer, tablet or smartphone and provides freely accessible content showing live traffic status and incidents and other driver-based information in cities. This will enable consumers to check their journey routes first and plan the best route. Furthermore by also being accessible to traffic management experts, traffic issues can now be dealt with even more quickly. The initial launch of 25 cities in 18 countries will expand to include more cities and products throughout the year.
Microchips Volvo V90
Microchip Technology Inc. announced that MOST150 technology has been implemented in the new Volvo V90. Volvo Cars has been utilizing Microchip’s technology for many years and recently began utilizing MOST150, the latest MOST® technology from Microchip. MOST150 is the first standard to provide a proven, automotive-ready physical layer for Ethernet packet transport inside vehicles in accordance with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet specifications. This is the third Volvo model where its infotainment system includes MOST150 technology.
DENSO Invests in TriLumina
DENSO International America, Inc. has invested in TriLumina Corp., an innovative semiconductor laser technology company that focuses on providing light sources for LiDAR and interior illumination products. DENSO is looking to speed up the adoption of LiDAR and driver monitoring technologies in Advanced Driver Assistance systems, which are key technologies used in autonomous vehicles. This strategic investment enables TriLumina to gain broader access to the automotive market.
Embbed Software Summit Discount
Automotive and embedded software experts with intimate knowledge of the industry’s challenges will discuss how to properly develop and test embedded software at the Embedded Software Integrity for Automotive Summit this May 23-25 in Detroit. Leaders from companies such as Delphi, Bosch, GE, Kia, Continental, and more, will work to mitigate the unintended behaviors and failure rates from automotive software and hardware bugs. Use promo/coupon code ESRA_ACC to receive 20% off standard rates.
Hyster-Yale Buys Speedshield
Hyster-Yale Group Inc., Cleveland, OH, has acquired Speedshield Technologies’ telematics installation and distribution businesses in the U.S. and the UK. Terms were not disclosed.
BMW Vives Production with HTC Vive VR
BMW uses the HTC Vive VR headsets and mixed reality for development of new vehicle models. This headset’s core components consist of two high-resolution screens and a laser-based tracking system that covers an area of 5 x 5 metres in the BMW application. The graphics are computed by software that normally serves to produce the very best computer gaming graphics. BMW uses Unreal Engine 4 from Epic Games for this task. This enables stable rendering of 90 frames per second while achieving photo-realistic quality too. The computation is performed using high-end gaming computers with water-cooled, overclocked components (including Intel Core i7 and two Nvidia Titan X graphic cards). Further advances are expected in terms of both the headset hardware and software, and these will be evaluated at regular intervals.
The HTC Vive Lighthouse tracking system that is used floods the room with an invisible light field that is tracked by sensors on the VR headset and the controllers.
Synopsys Verified
Synopsys, Inc. announced the expansion of its VC Verification IP (VIP) portfolio with CAN 2.0/FD/TT (ISO 16845 compliant), LIN, FlexRay, and Ethernet Audio Video Bridging (AVB) protocols for the verification of automotive applications. These verification IP titles include test suites and spec-linking technology required to verify compliance to automotive standards. With the increase in demand for state-of-the-art integrated electronics in automobiles, Synopsys’ comprehensive VIP portfolio enables system-on-chip (SoC) teams to design next-generation electronic systems for safe, secure, smart, and connected automobiles.
Synopsys VC VIP enables SoC teams to design next-generation automotive chips with ease of use, fast integration and optimum performance. Synopsys source code test suites for protocol features, spec-linking and coverage enable SoC teams to accelerate verification closure of automotive designs with critical requirements of compliance, quality and time to market. Synopsys VIP is natively integrated with the Verdi® Protocol Analyzer debug solution and features advanced debug ports. The VIP also features error injection capabilities, built-in-protocol checks, built-in coverage and verification plans.
Discount Code for TU-Automotive Detroit
The TU-Automotive Detroit 2016 (June 8-9, Novi Michigan), conference and exhibition for automotive technology and connected cars is offering a vast program of speakers, topics and trends. AUTO Connected Car readers can get a $100 discount using the code 4312ACCAR.
You are welcome to subscribe to receive email notification of publication of Embedded Chips & Tips, you can also get weekly news summaries or email ASAP (As Soon As Published) for everything.