Connected Car News: Renesas, BMW, Adobe, Sensata & NIRA

In connected car news are Renesas, BMW, Adobe,Sensata & NIRA.

Renesas’ Wireless Carging Ref.

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions,  released a next-generation customer reference design for automotive wireless charging stations. The new P9261-3C-CRBv2 provides industry-leading features that enable automotive manufacturers to quickly and efficiently deliver premium performance and safety features for in-cabin wireless charging.

The P9261-3C-CRBv2 solution includes the automotive-qualified wireless power controller P9261 with MP-A13 3-coils reference design as the wireless power transmitter (TX). It offers a large active charging area with high efficiency and exceptional EMC/EMI performance. The reference design offers compliance to the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) Qi 1.3 standard EPP (Extended Power Profile) for 15W charging. It also supports proprietary charging profiles and is capable of 50W power delivery.

The new P9261-3C-CRBv2 design includes a Renesas RH850 automotive MCU as a host controller. This enables the system to provide functional safety features that comply with Automotive Safety Integrity Level B (ASIL B).

The P9261-3C-CRBv2 EVK can be controlled and monitored real-time by a graphical user interface (GUI). This GUI provides numerical readouts of key parameters, such as the selected coil, transmitter status, input voltage, buck output current, Tx power, and bridge voltage. The GUI enables easy programming changes and can update firmware. The GUI also supports tuning customer-specific variables related to hardware design, such as settings for foreign object detection (FOD).

“The P9261-3C-CRBv2 reference design demonstrates why automotive customers utilize Renesas’ easy-to-use design environment to swiftly develop next-generation solutions,” said Niall Lyne, Vice President, Automotive Power and Video Business Division at Renesas. “It offers the best wireless charging performance available and supports the latest safety features required by customers.”

P9261-3C-CRBv2 Reference Design Features

  • Complies with WPC Qi 1.3 standard for 15W charging
  • Supports proprietary charging profiles, capable of 50W fast charging
  • Functional safety with ASIL B compliance
  • Large active charging area
  • Best in class EMI performance, compliant to CISPR-25 standard
  • Easy-to-use GUI-based design software includes settings for Renesas’ patented Foreign Object Detection (QFOD)
  • Proprietary and Qi-compliant bi-directional Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) and Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) communication

Wireless Charging Winning Combination

Renesas offers “Winning Combinations,” compelling product combinations that help customers accelerate designs and get to market faster. The Automotive In-Cabin Wireless Power Solution Winning Combination includes the P9261, along with PMIC, power, and microcontroller offerings from Renesas. For more information on Renesas automotive Winning Combinations, go to Winning Combinations for Automotive | Renesas.

Iteris Contracted by FDOT

Iteris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITI), the global leader in smart mobility infrastructure management, announced that it has been awarded a multi-year professional services contract of up to $5 million from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District Seven in Tampa, Florida for a regional smart mobility, safety and sustainability program, representing continued demand for Iteris’ specialized consulting services in a key geographic market.

FDOT’s multi-year regional arterial management project with Iteris supports its goals to significantly reduce countywide travel time, fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, while improving safety, mobility, reliability, 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.

Under the terms of the multi-year contract, which extends and expands an earlier program, Iteris will provide arterial management services for approximately 500 intersections across major corridors in Florida’s District Seven, which houses almost 20% of signalized intersections in the state, with significant growth planned during the term of the contract.

Iteris will provide services including performance monitoring and reporting, traffic signal timing plan updates, development and implementation of incident diversion routes, citizen comment response and resolution, and regular field inspections for maintenance, with the aim of improving traffic flow, enhancing public safety, and decreasing stops throughout Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, the five-county area surrounding Tampa Bay.

Adobe Experience Cloud for BMW Group

Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced that BMW Group (BMWYY), one of the world’s largest automobile and motorcycle manufacturers, has expanded its relationship with Adobe as part of its digital transformation of its sales and marketing division. BMW Group, which includes BMW, Rolls-Royce, MINI and BMW Motorrad, is leveraging Adobe Experience Cloud to deliver personalized digital experiences, as it advances toward the goal of selling a quarter of all its vehicles online within the next three years.

With a data-driven, personalized approach, BMW Group will provide customers with seamless online and offline experiences, including customized vehicles, doorstep delivery and personalized post-purchase services.

“Our goal is to provide our customers with the same superior service whether they interact with our businesses online or offline,” said Jens Thiemer, senior vice president Customer & Brand BMW at BMW Group. “Adobe technology gives us real-time data and insights that enable us to deliver personalized experiences to our customers that build trust and create relevance. For us, this is the optimal connection between Human Centricity and Tech Magic.”

“Customers want experiences that are tailored toward their individual interests and needs,” said Anil Chakravarthy, president, Digital Experience Business at Adobe. “The BMW Group impressively demonstrates that it serves the premium segment with a premium experience across all touchpoints. This creates trusted, loyal relationships with customers. We are delighted to support the BMW Group as a partner in its digital transformation.”

Data-Driven Approach Brings Dealerships and Digital Together

Today, customers use a variety of touchpoints to engage with an automotive brand, both online – through company websites or social media channels – and offline on the showroom floor. To unite the two, BMW Group is using the integrated capabilities of Adobe Experience Cloud to intelligently link physical retail with online shopping and deliver well-targeted and connected customer experiences across all channels. This also includes a consistent focus on the protection of personal data. For this reason, the BMW Group only uses information that customers have individually authorized.

For example, prospects can obtain detailed information about vehicles and services on the BMW Group’s website and use an online configurator to put together their dream vehicle based on their personal requirements in the future. The purchase can be completed directly online, with the vehicle delivered to the customer’s doorstep on request. Customers also have the option of paying a visit to their trusted car dealer who, using details from the buyer’s online history, will put the finishing details on a vehicle customized to the consumer’s preferences.

Using the data-driven capabilities of Adobe Experience Cloud, BMW Group can make personalized and relevant recommendations. Relevant information includes their purchase history and important data that customers provide after purchasing their vehicle. This allows BMW Group to suggest additional services or technical options tailored to customers’ individual preferences to maximize the driving experience.

Building Trust with Customers in the Digital Era

By personalizing digital experiences with Adobe Experience Cloud, the BMW Group has an opportunity to build even closer, more trusted relationships with its customers. Adobe’s innovations provide solutions for content creation, asset management, content velocity and streamlined workflows that deliver experiences at the scale and premium quality customers demand.

In addition to Adobe Experience Cloud, BMW Group uses Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise, as well as Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Sign. With the full range of creative applications at its fingertips, BMW Group is able to create high quality content at scale to engage with customers on every step on their journey.

Sensata & NIRA Partner for TDM

-Sensata Technologies announced a new collaboration with NIRA Dynamics AB to deliver an accurate and robust tire Tread Depth Monitoring (TDM) ‘virtual sensor’ system for automotive OEMs that optimizes tire health and improves vehicle safety, efficiency and uptime. The TDM solution, powered by NIRA Dynamics’ tread wear estimation software, is designed to give vehicle OEMs, drivers and fleets timely alerts when tires have worn to unsafe levels and need servicing.

Combining Sensata Technologies’ expertise in automotive sensors with NIRA Dynamics’ proficiency in developing embedded software and cloud services, the TDM solution adds new safety and maintenance capabilities to Sensata’s existing market-leading tire safety products.

The virtual sensor system is a new, innovative technology that gathers and combines data from multiple existing sensors on a vehicle, including Sensata’s tire pressure sensors, to provide accurate information about tire wear and tear.

This software-based system uses a complex algorithm that monitors the tire tread’s decreasing depth, while compensating for a wide range of real-world environmental challenges. The system tracks tires through changes and rotations and provides a more comprehensive solution than just measuring the distance travelled.

The virtual TDM can be integrated into existing Electronic Control Units (ECU) and is designed to work with many combinations of tire and vehicle designs. Vehicle manufacturers can quickly introduce and implement the solution across vehicle platforms without the need for custom software development.

Grupo Antolin, global supplier of technological solutions for car interiors, and Uniphy, the leading provider of 3D smart-surface technology, have signed an agreement to collaborate on next generation in-car user-interfaces. Thanks to this collaboration, Grupo Antolin will combine its advanced decorative and lighting technologies with Uniphy’s revolutionary Canvya™ smart-surface solutions to enable new highly functional 3D touch-control surfaces that are beautiful, intuitive, robust, safe, and economic.

The resulting HMIs (Human Machine Interface) will take advantage of the unparalleled design freedom to deliver high-performance touch, touch contours such as longitudinal or circular sliders, concave/convex touch-surface dials, touch-gesture, and proximity recognition, together with the integration of displays and advanced lighting solutions.

Grupo Antolin’s extensive expertise and state-of-the-art car interior technology, together with its integration experience of 3rd party solutions into its products, will be paired with Uniphy’s revolutionary Canvya™ 3D smart-surface technology to deliver user interfaces with great added value.

Unlike standard capacitive surfaces, Uniphy’s patented technology uses novel optical sensing with a free-form and affordable three-layer optical laminate, powered by low power electronics to improve the quality, functionality, and performance of the solution. The collaboration is set to create a completely new touch interface that takes the user experience to a whole new level.