In connected car news are GlobalFoundries, Ford, Ansys, GuardKnox and Carota,
GlobalFoundries & Ford Patner for US Chip Making
GlobalFoundries Inc. (Nasdaq: GFS) (GF), a global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing, and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) announced a strategic collaboration to advance semiconductor manufacturing and technology development within the United States, aiming to boost chip supplies for Ford and the U.S. automotive industry.
The companies have signed a non-binding agreement that opens the door for GF to create further semiconductor supply for Ford’s current vehicle lineup and joint research and development to address the growing demand for feature-rich chips to support the automotive industry. These could include semiconductor solutions for ADAS, battery management systems, and in-vehicle networking for an automated, connected, and electrified future. GF and Ford also will explore expanded semiconductor manufacturing opportunities to support the automotive industry.
Ansys Samsung Foundry Certified
Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) achieved certification of its cutting-edge multiphysics signoff solutions for Samsung Foundry’s advanced 3nm and 4nm process technologies. This enables joint customer designs to meet critical power, thermal, and reliability standards for highly sophisticated artificial intelligence/machine learning, high-performance computing (HPC), and networking chips, as well as low power 5G and mobile applications.
The certification of Ansys RedHawk-SC for Samsung Foundry 3nm and 4nm process technologies includes power network extraction, power integrity and reliability, signal electromigration (EM), thermal reliability analysis for self-heat, thermal-aware EM, and statistical EM budgeting. Redhawk-SC will analyze very large 3nm network designs by using elastic compute, big-data analytics and high capacity of its underlying Ansys® SeaScape™ infrastructure. Totem is similarly certified for transistor-level custom designs. The predictive accuracy of Redhawk-SC and Totem have been verified through extensive testing by Samsung Foundry.
“Samsung Foundry has a long-standing relationship with Ansys that has carried forward through many technology nodes,” said Sangyun Kim, vice president of Foundry Design Technology Team at Samsung Electronics. “We continue to expand the areas of collaboration with Ansys to address emerging customer challenges in power and performance for digital, full-custom, mixed-signal, and 3D-IC designs.”
“Ansys and Samsung are focused on delivering technology enablement solutions that meet our customers’ needs on the leading edge of silicon technology,” said John Lee, vice president and general manager of the Electronics and Semiconductor Business Unit at Ansys. “This collaboration with Samsung Foundry makes the signoff fidelity of our Ansys multiphysics simulation platform possible and Ansys remains committed to powering the best user experience for our joint customers.
EB’s 1st Automotive Ethernet Switch Firmware
Elektrobit (EB), a visionary global supplier of embedded and connected software products for the automotive industry, announced the industry’s first Automotive Ethernet switch firmware enabling secure, high-performance communications for in-vehicle networks. It is available for switches from leading hardware vendors and already on the road in production electric vehicles (EVs), the EB zoneo SwitchCore will make it easier for car makers and their suppliers to develop the advanced, high-bandwidth communications systems required by next-generation vehicles.
Every car maker is challenged to develop electronics networks that support the high-bandwidth communications and faster data throughput required for routing data from sensors, controls and interfaces in EVs, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and self-driving vehicles. Automotive Ethernet switches are the backbone of these new systems. Switches play a key and growing role in the electronic control units of these networks, from today’s highly centralized architectures powered by a handful of high-performance computers to tomorrow’s more distributed, zonal architectures.
EB zoneo SwitchCore is a firmware that adds a layer of intelligence to Automotive Ethernet switches that enables them to handle the ever-increasing network functions required to enhance the scalability, safety and security of vehicles. EB zoneo SwitchCore provides advanced network management and network security functions such as routing, gateways, firewalls and network intrusion detection and prevention systems.
EB zoneo SwitchCore is available for switches from leading manufacturers including Marvell and other leading hardware manufacturers. Although new to the market, the Elektrobit firmware is used in the architecture for a prominent line of production vehicles, which was implemented with Marvell switches.
IAR System’s Latest MCUs
IAR Systems®, the world leader in software tools and services for embedded development, presented the latest addition to its extensive list of microcontrollers (MCUs) supported by IAR Embedded Workbench for Arm. Now available is support for NXP’s S32K3 MCU family. S32K3 MCUs are designed for evolving body electronics, battery management, and zone and domain controllers. This extended MCU support will help developers maximize application performance, maintain a high level of code quality and achieve functional safety compliance in their automotive designs.
As vehicles today are more feature-rich than ever before, automotive embedded systems continue to grow in complexity. This requires development tools that help companies maximize the capabilities of the chosen MCU without compromising on workflow efficiency. IAR Embedded Workbench for Arm delivers powerful optimizations, comprehensive debugging features and integrated code analysis tools. In addition, the toolchain is available in a functional safety edition certified by TÜV SÜD in accordance with ten standards, such as the international umbrella standard for functional safety, IEC 61508, and the automotive standard ISO 26262.
S32K3 MCUs are based on single, dual and lockstep-configured Arm Cortex®-M7 cores supporting ASIL B/D safety applications. Features include a hardware security engine with NXP firmware, support for firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updates and ISO 26262 compliant Real-Time Drivers software for AUTOSAR and non-AUTOSAR with IAR Embedded Workbench support.
“S32K3 builds on the success of our existing S32K1 family bringing new layers of safety, security and software at this critical juncture for automotive architectural design,” said Manuel Alves, general manager GPIS product line, Automotive Processing at NXP. “IAR Systems’ tool capabilities, automotive know-how and functional safety certification makes them a natural partner for NXP and its customers developing next generation ECUs.”
“IAR Embedded Workbench for Arm has a proven track record in the automotive industry and is widely used by many large automotive part suppliers,” said Kiyofumi Uemura, Global Automotive Director at IAR Systems. “Thanks to our collaboration with NXP, we have been supporting the S32K1 family since its launch in 2017. By adding support for the new S32K3 family, we are further extending our solutions for companies working in the automotive industry.”
ZF Partners with Microsoft for ZF Cloud
ZF enters the next phase of digitalization by expanding its strategic collaboration with Microsoft. The mobility technology company will create a holistic data and integration platform, the ZF Cloud, to digitalize all of ZF’s industrial and operational production and business processes on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. The new capacities will process the huge data volume generated by vehicles using ZF technologies to further optimize connectivity of ZF components and enable entirely new vehicle functionalities, including for automated driving and autonomous shuttles. By leveraging Microsoft’s comprehensive set of cloud, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and data technologies, ZF is becoming a cloud-native mobility services provider, delivering clean, safe, convenient, and affordable mobility solutions to its customers. To accelerate its digital transformation, ZF is investing billions of euros into the digital transformation of the company over the next years, thereof a significant amount in the collaboration with Microsoft.
GuardKnox & Carota Partner for OTA Updates
GuardKnox, an automotive technology company building high-performance, secure-by-design products for the next generation of mobility, and Carota, a global one-stop Over-The-Air (OTA) upgrade and remote diagnostic full solution provider, announced their collaboration to deliver seamless OTA update capabilities for car manufacturers using secure end-to-end communication. Carota’s OTA solutions, integrated with GuardKnox’s deterministic in-vehicle cybersecurity Communication Lockdown™ methodology, will empower Carota’s OEM customers and usher in the next generation of secure, connected and autonomous vehicles.
As the next generation of mobility takes shape, OTA updates serve as an efficient and seamless way for OEMs to offer vehicle software and firmware updates. With Carota OTA capabilities, OEMs can remotely deliver new functionalities, features enhancements and security patches to improve the driving experience and vehicle’s safety. Additionally, the patented Carota Delta Technology reduces the size of the update package by up to 95%, shortens the update process, and saves on communication costs.
“From mobile phones to computers and now automobiles, OTA updates are the future of mobility, and Carota is an essential partner for producing vehicles that will excite consumers,” said Moshe Shlisel Co-Founder and CEO of GuardKnox. “GuardKnox’s pioneering approach enables OEMs and Tier 1s to create vehicles that can not only be updated to avoid safety recalls, but also to provide exciting and innovative updates that will change the way drivers and passengers can interact with their vehicles.”
GuardKnox has pioneered a patented approach for vehicle networks that uses the secure SOA solution to enable any Electronic Control Unit (ECU), High Performance Computer (HPC) or Domain Controller to serve as a vehicle-wide computing platform. By integrating secure SOA capabilities into ECUs, GuardKnox can maximize the functionality, security and safety of connected and autonomous vehicles while lowering the complexity of developing software and services that will customize vehicles and generate new revenue streams for OEMs and third parties. In addition, GuardKnox expedites the development of software, enables a wider range of functionalities, and lowers both development and software maintenance costs. The Carota one-stop OTA solution will operate alongside the GuardKnox SOA platform and be a secure landing point enabling updates to be safely rolled out across the entire vehicle.
“We are delighted to partner with GuardKnox to provide our customers a secure and comprehensive OTA solution,” said Carota CEO and Founder, Mr. Paul Wu. “OTA updates are essential to keeping the vehicle’s software and firmware up-to-date and Carota aims to become a key supplier of connected car software services in the OTA and remote diagnostics fields. A majority of China automotive OEMs have already adopted and implemented our OTA capabilities.”
Brigade Electric’s New Predictive Collision Detection
Market-leading provider of vehicle safety systems Brigade Electronics has launched a new predictive collision detection system.
Sidescan®Predict is the next generation of collision avoidance systems. Supported by the Knowledge Transfer Partnership initiative with Cambridge University, the aim was to develop a cost-effective and reliable collision detection system that can intelligently discriminate potential collisions and warn the driver with sufficient time for intervention – a predictive system.
Having been in development and undergone rigorous testing for more than seven years, including 10,000 hours of research, Sidescan®Predict had its first trials in 2020 receiving excellent driver feedback. Drivers noticed a significant reduction in the risk of collision with both vulnerable road users and static objects.
Through the use of artificial intelligence, SideScan®Predict constantly gathers object detection data, such as the speed and distance of a cyclist or other vulnerable road user from the truck. Additional technology is embedded within the Sidescan®Predict system to gather information such as the speed, direction, acceleration, and the turning rate of a vehicle.
This data feeds an algorithm created by Brigade to calculate the risk of a collision with cyclists and pedestrians who are nearby the vehicle.
Additionally, the system will always remain switched on when the vehicle’s speed is below 22mph/30kph, regardless of the indicator selection, and cannot be deactivated by the driver.
Designed for most rigid body vehicles, including rigid box vehicles, tippers, mixers, coaches and buses with a minimum length of 5.2m, the system comprises six sensors which have a detection area of 2.5 metres, compared to the industry standard 1m to 1.5m. These features help to reduce the risk of fatalities by an additional 84%.
Sidescan®Predict’s features and benefits
- Sidescan®Predict is always switched on at speeds below 22mph/30kmh. Crucially, the collision protection is active with or without the indicators on. This is particularly important as it is recognized that some drivers become irritated by false alerts and therefore will avoid using their indicator so their system does not trigger alerts, potentially putting vulnerable road users at risk
- An auto brightness feature adapts Sidescan®Predict to lighting conditions in the cabin, so the visual alert is not lost among the numerous lights present in a modern cab
- Sidescan®Predict can be retrofitted to existing vehicles and the configuration software (a key USP) provides multiple system tests to ensure the sensors are appropriately positioned and correctly fitted for additional peace of mind
- An in-cab visual alert indicates if the system has a failure
- The system is competitively priced and comes complete in one box with a comprehensive user manual (which is also available online) and a training video
- Installation time is approximately six hours and integrates with other Brigade systems to provide a complete solution. Additional speed and indicator switches are not required, which reduces system and installation costs
- These next generation sensors have wider detection areas therefore reduce risk