Connected Car News

In connected car news are Hyundai, Kardome, Aptiv, Rohm, Aptiv, ClipperCreek, Toyota, Panasonic, Molex, Airlinq, Goodyear and TransPower.

Hyundai Invests in Kardome

Israeli startup Kardome announced the completion of a seed round, led by Korean car giant Hyundai Motor Company. Kardome was founded in January 2019 by serial entrepreneurs Dani Cherkassky and Alon Slapak, with the goal of meeting the growing demand for reliable voice control technology from automakers and electronics manufacturers. Kardome’s technology gives the machine better “ears” through algorithms that manage to isolate the user’s voice, even in a noisy environment with multiple speakers and background noises that are active at the same time.

Kardome’s technology combines dedicated software with the use of microphones that exist in various products. Kardome software enables the implementation of a new generation of voice user interface, operating reliably even in noisy and multi-speaker environments, such as vehicles, public buildings, restaurants and even at home.

AL Coating Makes Light Cables

Aptiv’s PACE Award-winning Selective Metal Coating (SMC) technology, now being piloted on several vehicle models worldwide. OEMs have long sought to replace heavy copper wiring harnesses with aluminum ones, but galvanic corrosion between the aluminum wiring and copper connectors has always been a deal-breaker. SMC changes all that by creating a highly engineered, lightweight coating that prevents this corrosion, allowing OEMs to swap out copper wiring with aluminum and reduce their cabling mass by as much as 50%

ROHM High Voltage

ROHM recently announced the availability of the BV2Hx045EFU-C, a family of high voltage (41V) dual channel output high side switch (Intelligent Power Devices, IPD) optimized for automotive ECUs in transmission control, engine control, and other vehicle systems. IPDs are semiconductor devices that protect electronic circuits from breakdown (i.e. due to overcurrent during abnormalities). Unlike conventional fuses, IPD as semiconductor fuses can protect circuits without degrading or breaking down, making it possible to achieve maintenance-free systems.

The new BV2Hx045EFU-C are the industry’s first high-side IPDs capable of providing standalone protection against overcurrent by incorporating an original overcurrent protection function. Conventional IPDs only protect against inrush current at startup, so MCUs and overcurrent detection ICs are needed for protection of steady-state currents, and there is still the possibility of an out of control situation due to compatibility issues with subsequent circuits connected to the IPD output. In contrast, this new series can protect the system against both inrush and steady state overcurrent, ensuring greater system safety by providing a high reliability solution with fewer parts compared to conventional products. In addition, the overcurrent protection range can be adjusted with external components to enable broad compatibility.

ON Semiconcutor New LED Drivers & Controllers

ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ON), driving energy efficient innovations, has launched a new family of four devices that facilitate the high levels of performance and innovative functionality that vehicle manufacturers and consumers now expect from automotive exterior and interior lighting. Aimed specifically at low power solid state lighting, the new family comprises two LED drivers (NCV7683 and NCV7685) and two current controllers (NCV7691 and NCV7692).

In the pursuit of improved road safety, automakers are moving away from the simple ‘on/off’ operation to sophisticated systems that incorporate movement and variable intensity within rear combination lamps (RCLs), turn signals, fog lamps, and other externally modulated LED clusters to give clearer and highly visible warnings to other road users.

The NCV7685 and NCV7683 integrate twelve and eight linear programmable current sources, respectively, enabling multiple strings of LEDs to be driven with up to 100 mA per channel. The devices provide an array of configurability options, including daisy-chaining, illumination level control, current regulation, sequencing functionality, and channel combination. The NCV7685 incorporates an 8-bit I²C interface with CRC8 error detection for individual output current adjustment via pulse width modulation (PWM), and for advanced diagnostics – including detection of an open LED string or under voltage condition – a dedicated diagnostic pin is also available. The NCV7685 may be powered with a DC-DC controller and/or LDO voltage regulator, depending upon specific design requirements.

The NCV7691 provides a regulated wide current range for driving LEDs in one or multiple strings, with only an external NPN bipolar transistor and a feedback resistor. The driver provides design flexibility to add additional single channels to multichannel systems, and supports a dimming function via its PWM input. The NCV7691 includes open string, short circuit, and thermal shutdown, ensuring safe and reliable operation of essential lighting. The derivative NCV7692 offers a faster response time and a reduced threshold for open load detection.

ClipperCreek Reaches 90K

ClipperCreek recently celebrated the sale of their 90,000^th electric vehicle charging station produced and sold at their Auburn, CA manufacturing facility. The unit was an HCS-D40P, a recently released plug-in Dual EV Charging Station.

Toyota & Panasonic Joint Venture 4 Batteries

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic) announced that they have decided to establish Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc., a joint venture specializing in automotive prismatic batteries. This decision comes just over a year since the two companies announced on January 22, 2019 that they had concluded a business integration contract and a joint-venture contract toward the establishment of a new company. Toyota and Panasonic have also decided the outline of the joint venture.

Batteries―as solutions for providing energy for automobiles and various other forms of mobility, and as solutions for various kinds of environmental issues―are expected to fulfill a central role in society going forward―a role that supports people’s lives.

The joint venture announced by Toyota and Panasonic will develop highly competitive, cost-effective batteries that are safe and feature excellent quality and performance (in terms of capacity, output, durability, etc.), enabling use with peace of mind by all customers. Furthermore, the joint venture will supply batteries not only to Toyota but also, broadly and stably, to all customers.

The joint venture’s name embraces Toyota’s and Panasonic’s strong determination to provide their customers―while working in unison with many friends to keep our irreplaceable earth abundant and clean―broad-ranging, added-value solutions including and beyond the supply of energy in the form of batteries.

Molex Showcases at AEC

Molex will showcase next-generation Ethernet capabilities for the connected and autonomous car at the sixth annual Automotive Ethernet Congress (AEC) being held February 12 and 13, 2020 at The Westin Grand, Munich, Germany. Molex will also present on the impact of merging in-vehicle communications and how networks can meet future demand for adaptive applications for the connected and autonomous vehicle.

As an active participant and leader in Ethernet standards alliances including IEEE 802 TSN, Security and IEEE 802.3 Task groups, Mike was the initial developer and a key driver for the IEEE 802.1DG TSN Profile for the draft standard of the Automotive In-Vehicle Ethernet Communications Profile. At AEC 2020 he will deliver a presentation titled Meshing of the Networks which explores the impact of merging in-vehicle communications networks and strategies to design and develop next-generation adaptive applications.

Molex has developed next-generation Automotive Ethernet Network Platform delivering a complete vehicle ecosystem with seamless multi-zone integration across hardware, software and interconnect cabling system—and the scalability needed for future upgrades.

Globetouch Rebrands as Airlinq

Globetouch, the leading connected car and IoT platform provider for automakers and mobile network operators, has announced that as part of its large-scale expansion and diversification drive in 2020, it has rebranded its existing business to ‘Airlinq’. The Bay-area based company with a global presence has unveiled a new logo, brand identity and web presence along with the new brand-name.

Globetouch currently provides connected car platform that assist in the development and deployment of large scale connected applications related to the smart mobility, connectivity management and edge solutions for auto giants and telco companies like General Motors, Daimler, Volvo and Reliance Jio.

In addition to improving its existing line-up of products, Airlinq will introduce a new breed of feature packages that will power the growing trends in the automotive and telecom market. These include supporting upcoming technologies around 5G, edge computing, as well as infotainment and other personal services that will make cars more intelligent, resulting in a service-led monetization for automakers and service providers.

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