In connected car news are indie Semiconductor, Inertial Labs, Mobileye, Analog Devices, Iteris, Kyndryl, NetApp, BMW, HL Klemove, STMicroelectronics, Hyundai and Stellantis.
indie Semi & Autotech Intro Surya LiDAR SOC
indie Semiconductor, Inc. (Nasdaq: INDI), an Autotech solutions innovator, launched the Company’s breakthrough Surya™ LiDAR system-on-a-chip (SOC) which enables advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving functionality. LiDAR, or light detection and ranging, is a critical sensing technology for achieving maximum levels of safety for assisted and self-driving cars. indie’s device is designed for high performance LiDAR and integrates both high speed analog to digital converters and digital signal processing to facilitate the reliable detection of long-range targets. Surya™ consumes significantly lower power when compared to current architectures and is substantially more cost-effective than current FPGA-based designs.
“indie is at the forefront of disruptive LiDAR-based solutions, creating differentiated platforms that will help unleash next generation ADAS applications and ultimately enable true autonomous driving,” said Paul Hollingworth, executive vice president of sales and marketing. “Specifically, our initial LiDAR offering combines indie’s innovative high speed analog, mixed signal, DSP and software technologies together with TeraXion’s best-in-class laser and sensing technologies to offer unprecedented levels of hardware and software integration. Until now, LiDAR systems have not been scalable given ultra-high price points for disparate implementations. We believe Surya™ represents a major step forward in advancing architectures with significant improvements in power, performance and cost. The announcement also reflects how indie is answering pent-up customer demand for truly comprehensive and cost-effective solutions that enhance the circle of safety and accelerate the promise of tomorrow’s self-driving cars.”
indie will commence broad customer sampling of Surya™ in Q1 2022.
According to a recent MarketWatch report, the global automotive LiDAR market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 28 percent from 2020 to 2027, reaching a market value of approximately $3.2 billion by 2027.
About FMCW LiDAR
Camera, radar and LiDAR are complementary technologies in enhanced ADAS and autonomous applications. One of LiDAR’s greatest advantages over radar is improved resolution. High resolution requires a smaller wavelength and LiDAR operating at 1.55 um has a >2500x smaller wavelength than radar at 77 GHz ~ 4 mm. A second major advantage is reduced interference as there is no strong spectrum allocation problem at 200 THz. FMCW LiDAR’s advantage over traditional TOF LiDAR includes the simultaneous measurement of range, velocity and reflectivity of every target without having to revisit the same position in a subsequent frame. FMCW modulation also reduces interference from unrelated light sources including the sun and other LiDARs.
As a result, LiDAR-based 5D sensors (X, Y, Z, velocity and reflectivity) are an indispensable technology for enabling the evolution from driver assistance to fully autonomous vehicles, gathering critical data about the environment, which ADAS and autonomous vehicle systems require to ensure reliable safety.
Inertial Labs Acquires MEMSENSE
–Inertial Labs, an industry leading developer and supplier of orientation, inertial navigation, and optically enhanced sensor modules has acquired MEMSENSE, a developer of inertial measurement units that lead the market in performance and value.
Inertial Labs and MEMSENSE have an experienced and talented workforce to address the rapidly evolving needs of customers globally. The combined company of more than 100 employees and 500 customers expects to introduce breakthrough technologies at an accelerated pace across high-value areas such as autonomous vehicles, GPS-denied navigation, industrial machines, and aerospace & defense. In addition, Inertial Labs and MEMSENSE have a strong balance sheet to support critical business initiatives, deliver with short product lead times, and the ability to invest in promising integrations.
Mobileye to Go Public with IPO
With the full support of Intel’s board of directors, Intel announced its intention to take Mobileye public in the United States in mid-2022 via an initial public offering (IPO) of newly issued Mobileye stock. The move will unlock the value of Mobileye for Intel shareholders by creating a separate publicly traded company and will build on Mobileye’s successful track record and serve its expanded market.
Intel will remain the majority owner of Mobileye, and the two companies will continue as strategic partners, collaborating on projects as they pursue the growth of computing in the automotive sector. The share of semiconductors is expected to be 20% of a premium vehicle’s total bill-of-materials (BOM) by 20301. The Mobileye executive team will remain, with Prof. Amnon Shashua continuing as the company’s CEO. Recently acquired Moovit as well as Intel teams working on lidar and radar development and other Mobileye projects will be aligned as part of Mobileye.
Mobileye went public in 2014; it was acquired by Intel in 2017. Intel currently owns 100% of Mobileye shares and is expected to retain majority ownership following the completion of the IPO. Intel has no intention of spinning off or otherwise divesting its majority ownership interest.
A final decision on the IPO and its conditions and ultimate timing is pending and subject to market conditions.
Intel, as majority shareholder, will continue to fully consolidate Mobileye. The transaction is not expected to have an impact on Intel’s 2021 financial targets.
Analog Devices Intros RadioVerse SoC with 5G
Analog Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADI) announced a breakthrough RadioVerse® System-on-Chip (SoC) series providing radio unit (RU) developers with an agile and cost-effective platform to create the most energy efficient 5G RUs in the industry. The new SoC series provides advanced RF signal processing with expanded digital functionality and RF capacity that greatly improves 5G RU performance and energy efficiency. The SoCs are the newest addition to ADI’s RadioVerse ecosystem and combine its award-winning Zero IF (ZiF) architecture with significant advances in functional integration and linearization. ADI’s RadioVerse devices are the most widely used software-defined transceivers in 4G and 5G RUs worldwide.¹
“Samsung and ADI have long worked together to support the swift deployment of 5G in the global market,” said Dong Geun Lee, Vice President and Head of Hardware R&D Group, Network Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are excited for the successful launch of ADI’s new SoC, as we expect this cutting-edge technology will bring better 5G experience to consumers. We look forward to expanding our engagement with ADI.”
Demand for power efficient RUs is expanding rapidly as global network operators race to deploy 5G infrastructure. With the exponential growth of wireless demand, energy efficiency is a key metric for operators as they seek to reduce their carbon footprint while expanding network capacity. The new RadioVerse SoC series requires very low power compared to alternatives and implements advanced algorithms that deliver optimal RU system efficiency.
“RadioVerse SoCs are designed to optimize the full radio solution rather than just a single component or interface,” said Joe Barry, Vice President of Wireless Communications at Analog Devices. “Each successive generation has provided expanded capabilities, bandwidth and performance, while improving overall RU efficiency. This new RadioVerse SoC series takes a big step forward by delivering multiple advancements in signal processing to meet the demanding needs of 5G.”
The ADRV9040 is the first in the new RadioVerse SoC series. It offers eight transmit and receive channels of 400MHz bandwidth and integrates advanced digital signal processing functions, including carrier digital up-converters (CDUC), carrier digital down-converters (CDDC), crest factor reduction (CFR) and digital pre-distortion (DPD). This expanded signal processing can eliminate the need for a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), thereby reducing thermal footprint, and total system size, weight, power, and cost. The SoC’s DPD algorithms were developed using advanced machine learning techniques and are optimized in close collaboration with major power amplifier (PA) vendors to ease the design burden and deliver best-in-class wide bandwidth performance. The algorithms are fully tested and validated across 4G and 5G use cases, including various PA technology types such as gallium nitride (GaN). In addition, the ZiF radio architecture simplifies RF filtering and signal chain components, reducing RU cost and development time for band and power variants designs.
Iteris Contracted by Orange County TA
Iteris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITI), the global leader in smart mobility infrastructure management, announced that it has been awarded a $4.5 million contract from the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) for a regional smart mobility, safety and sustainability program, representing continued demand for Iteris’ specialized consulting services, cloud-enabled managed services and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions in southern California, a key geographic market.
OCTA’s three-year regional traffic signal synchronization project with Iteris supports its goals to significantly reduce countywide travel time, fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, while improving safety and mobility, and overall travel experience for all road users, including vehicles, buses, bicycles and pedestrians. By reducing delays and stops on key corridors for passenger vehicles and heavy vehicles, the project will help reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption, which in turn will contribute to sustainable environmental and air quality improvements.
Since launch, OCTA’s traffic signal synchronization program has already resulted in a 13% reduction in travel time, a 14% improvement in travel speed, a 52-million-gallon reduction in fuel consumption and a 885 million pound reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Kyndryl & NetApp for BMW
Kyndryl the world’s largest IT infrastructure provider, and NetApp announced an agreement with BMW Group, a deal that builds on a strong strategic partnership and the deep experience of both companies in the automotive sector. The agreement combines Kyndryl’s digital infrastructure services with NetApp’s cloud-led, data-centric software technology.
Kyndryl will serve as the lead integrator, applying its expertise and global reach to manage the enterprise storage infrastructure that is critical to the automaker’s production process. NetApp provides the hybrid cloud data infrastructure foundation for all of BMW Group’s data center needs, delivering best-in-industry network-attached (NAS) and scale-out storage infrastructure. The deal covers 17 countries on five continents with Germany, the US, and China as key markets.
BMW iVentures Invests in Rapid Liquid Print
BMW i Ventures announced a lead investment in the seed financing round of Rapid Liquid Print (RLP), which brings the benefits of 3D printing to elastomers with a revolutionary gel-printing technology that uses industry-standard materials, such as soft rubber, silicone and foams, to produce soft, flexible products without retooling or post-processing. Also participating in the round is MassMutual through the MM Catalyst Fund (MMCF).
RLP has an exclusive license from MIT for technology originally developed in MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab. The team has perfected a new printing process where a liquid object is “drawn” in 3D within a gel suspension. The object cures while printing and then is ready for use with minimal post processing. RLP produces large-scale objects from high-grade materials such as rubber, foams, and plastics in a matter of minutes. Traditional 3D printing is restricted by slow speeds, limited build volumes, and poor material quality, which makes it unreliable as a mainstream manufacturing process. RLP changes the game for creating large-scale, elastomeric, airtight, and high quality products in minutes.
“RLP’s breakthrough technology is disrupting the 3D-printing space by enabling the rapid printing of elastomeric structures of any size and complexity,” said Marcus Behrendt, partner and CEO at BMW i Ventures. “With BMW i Ventures’ support, the RLP team can continue demonstrating its commitment to creating high quality, low-cost elastomer products.”
RLP’s seasoned team includes Founder & CEO, Schendy Kernizan who previously co-directed and managed researchers and students at MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab to deliver projects for the likes of Google, BMW and Steelcase. Additionally, Co-Founder & CTO, Bjørn Sparrman managed the technical operations at the MIT Self-Assembly Lab and, since RLP’s 3D printing technology’s inception, led the charge for its development. The two are joined by additional co-founders Skylar Tibbits and Jared Laucks – both Directors at MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab.
RLP will use the new funds to develop their 3D-printing solutions to expand within existing customers and into new customers with additional applications and materials.
HL Klemove Autonomous Driver Launched 12/2
HL Klemove, a company specializing in autonomous driving, was officially launched on December 2, 2021. Mando Mobility Solutions (MMS) was split off from Mando Corp. and merged into HL Klemove. Under the leadership of its first CEO Paljoo Yoon, the company will open the era of full autonomous driving as a leading company in the field of autonomous driving and mobility.
HL Klemove proclaimed that it will deliver the safest full autonomous driving solution to popularize autonomous driving. It is preparing for another leap forward by focusing on developing cutting-edge autonomous driving solutions, based on its track record of more than 2,000 patents for its autonomous driving technologies and supplying more than 20 million units of ADAS to diverse customers. It announced that it will complete commercialization of core autonomous driving products, including Lidar, 4D imaging radar, high-resolution camera, in-cabin sensor, and integrated domain control unit by 2025 and ambitiously pursue business expansion to achieve sales of 1.2 trillion won in 2021, 2.4 trillion won in 2026, and as much as 4 trillion won in 2030.
HL Klemove obtained a patent for its Mechanical Lidar and completed advanced development. Currently, it is working on developing High Resolution Solid State Lidar with competitive price, packaging, and durability to lead global Lidar market going forward. The development project is being conducted in collaboration with various startups with commercialization targeted in 2025.
4D imaging radar is a high-tech, high-resolution sensor that can precisely recognize the environment surrounding a vehicle by processing four-dimensional (distance, speed, angle, height) Point Cloud space images based on sdeep learning technology. HL Klemove is accelerating its efforts to complete the development of 4D imaging radar by 2024 on the strength of ultra-range (over 300 meters) detection antenna technology and transmission/reception channel expansion technology featuring high-precision resolution. HL Klemove’s advanced sensors including Lidar, 4D imaging radars, etc. are expected to be also utilized in smart cities, robots, and other sectors in addition to autonomous driving. High-performance autonomous driving control unit (ADCU) for level 3 will be launched next year. HL Klemove is focusing on developing a scalable DCU that can cover levels 2~4 autonomous driving by 2024.
HL Klemove’s perception and decision technology for autonomous driving and Mando’s chassis control technology are creating synergy to present the safest autonomous driving solution to the market. HL Klemove’s differentiation comes from its track record of mass production for leading EVs and global automotive OEMs, and its integrated system solution design. Based on its technology and business competency, HL Klemove is expected to meet various mobility design needs of automotive OEMs with its electric vehicle-based autonomous driving solution (refer to the ‘Model K’ of Figure 1).
HL Klemove is especially having its eye on the North American market. For North American clients who are demanding above level 3 autonomous driving, the company is proposing high-performance autonomous driving solution based on strategic partnerships with global application processors/software companies and at the same time, pursuing production localization in the region. Construction of North American manufacturing footprint will start next year. As for the Chinese market, the company plans to expand its market share through joint marketing drives with cutting-edge electric control chassis products of Mando Corp., which successfully established itself in the market. In line with this, HL Klemove will expand manufacturing capacity of its Chinese plant in Suzhou and recruit more than 100 local R&D personnel. In India, it plans to preoccupy the budding market with development of customized level 2+ products for a local market by reinforcing R&D personnel in Bangalore.
STMicroelectronics Intros 3rd Gen STPOWER
The market leader in SiC power MOSFETs, ST has incorporated new and advanced design know-how to open up even more of SiC’s energy-saving potential. The effort continues to drive the transformation of the EV and industrial markets. With the acceleration of the EV market many car makers and automotive suppliers are now embracing 800V drive systems to achieve much faster charging and help reduce EV weight. These new systems allow the car makers to produce vehicles with longer driving ranges. ST’s new SiC devices are specifically optimized for these high-end automotive applications including EV traction inverters, on-board chargers, and DC/DC converters, as well as e-climate compressors. The new generation also suits industrial applications by boosting the efficiency of motor drives, renewable-energy converters and storage systems, as well as telecom and data-center power supplies.
“We continue to drive this exciting technology forward with innovations at both the device and package levels. As a fully integrated SiC products manufacturer, we are able to deliver continued improved performance to our customers,” said Edoardo Merli, Power Transistor Macro-Division General Manager and Group Vice President of STMicroelectronics’ Automotive and Discrete Group. “We are investing relentlessly to support our automotive and industrial programs expected to generate $1 billion in SiC revenue in 2024.”
Hyundai Motor American Enhances Privacy
Hyundai Motor America has enhanced its MyHyundai.com owner website to provide its owners with a one-stop resource for greater control and transparency of their connected vehicle data and personal information.
“Our customers care about privacy now more than ever, and so do we,” said Manish Mehrotra, executive director, digital business planning and connected operations, Hyundai Motor North America. “As a leader in providing next-generation connected car technologies, we are pleased to introduce user-friendly interfaces that allow owners to learn and control how connected vehicle data and personal information is collected, used, and shared.”
Through the new “My Data and Privacy” page, accessible through “My Account,” vehicle owners and lessees can easily:
- Exercise choices regarding data sharing
- Manage their telematics services
- Manage settings for communications and personalized offers
- Access an easy-to-read “Privacy at a Glance” overview of Hyundai’s privacy practices
“These enhancements were inspired by the pioneering research of the Carnegie Mellon University CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory and its effort to make privacy more usable,” said Alma Murray, assistant general counsel, privacy and cybersecurity, Hyundai Motor America. “Our goal was to make it as easy as possible for our customers to understand and control their data.”
MyHyundai.com allows Hyundai owners to manage these settings for all of the connected Hyundai vehicles they own or lease.
Stellantis Maps Out Digital Future
During a live digital event, Stellantis mapped out its software strategy to deploy next-generation tech platforms, building on existing connected vehicle capabilities to transform how customers interact with their vehicles, and to generate approximately €20 billion in incremental annual revenues by 2030.
This transformation will move Stellantis’ vehicles from today’s dedicated electronic architectures to an open software-defined platform that seamlessly integrates with customers’ digital lives. It greatly expands the options customers have to add innovative features and services via regular over-the-air (OTA) updates keeping vehicles fresh, exciting and updated years after they have been built.