Connected Car News: Hyundai, Renesas, Valens, onsemi, MIPI Alliance, Hyundai, DENSO, Oracle & Subaru

In connected car news are Hyundai, Renesas, Valens, onsemi, MIPI Alliance, Hyundai, DENSO, Oracle and Subaru.

 

Hyundai Offer Fix for TikToker Break-ins

Hyundai will be offering an aftermarket security kit to deal with the recent increase in size. The cop you start kit cost $170 and will take. 2 1/2 hours to install. There is no word yet if owners will be required to pay for the installation. Or how much the installation will cost.

Renesas’ Intros New Dev Environment

Renesas Electronics Corporation , a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions,  launched a new integrated development environment that allows engineers to rapidly create software for automotive ECUs (Electronic Control Units) containing multiple hardware devices. The fully integrated environment supports co-simulation, debug and trace, high-speed simulation and distributed processing software over multiple SoCs (System-on-Chips) and MCUs (Microcontrollers)—all without the need for actual hardware. This software development environment recognizes the automotive industry’s shift toward “Software First” product development, in which a vehicle’s value is increasingly defined by its software, as well as the “Shift Left” software design approach, which emphasizes software verification and validation earlier in the development cycle, before hardware is available. The first development environment tools are available now for the- R-Car S4 and RH850/U2A devices.

“Renesas is committed to providing a development environment that helps our automotive customers realize their vision for Software First, while continuing to support their evolution toward Shift Left software development,” said Hirofumi Kawaguchi, Vice President of Renesas’ Automotive Software Development Division. “We are confident that this development environment will help our customers transform their E/E architecture and facilitate the early development of ECUs and new products, and ultimately deliver more value.”

Renesas’ integrated development environment with multi-device support enables software development at the ECU level, adding additional value in vehicles and contributing to the Software First approach. By providing a simulation environment from early stages of product development, the platform enables verification and application development before production  of actual devices and ECUs, realizing the Shift Left concept.

The integrated environment offers the following development support:

1. Co-simulation environment for multi-devices facilitating optimal system design

By integrating and connecting simulators such as the R-Car Virtual Platform, which was previously provided for single-chip individual devices such as SoCs and microcontrollers, Renesas is delivering a new simulation environment for multi-device operation. Designs can now be optimized by balancing different application functions and incorporating software verification at the systems level. A development tool that automatically generates software code for devices and a simulation environment for verification from MATLAB® /Simulink® models will also be available. These tools will allow engineers to evaluate performance and start application development before hardware and ECUs are in production.

2. Debug and trace tool for multi-devices to visualize problems

To make it easy to visualize how software operates internally, Renesas is providing a debug and trace tool that allows simultaneous and synchronized execution, execution control by breakpoints and information tracing for ECUs containing multiple devices. With this tool, users can visualize processing flows, evaluate performance profiles, and anticipate problems that may arise from operating multiple devices which are intricately linked within the same ECU. Renesas plans to implement the same functionality mentioned above (1) in the multi-device co-simulation environment so that debugging and tracing can be performed on a computer without an ECU.

3. High-speed simulator for software development that achieves rapid and large-scale simulations

Typically, in ECU-level simulations, the target software tends to be large and the simulation execution takes a long time. This new high-speed simulator is based on QEMU, an open-source virtual environment that models SoCs and microcontrollers at a high level of abstraction, enabling faster ECU-level simulation of complex software.

4. Distributed Processing Software for multi-devices that enables design without considering hardware configuration

This software enables optimal distribution of application functions to CPUs and IPs inside different SoCs and microcontrollers in an ECU, maximizing hardware performance. With this software, engineers can develop applications rapidly, without being constrained by the ECU hardware configuration. For example, developers can add an AI accelerator to an existing ECU to boost system performance, without having to re-design the application to accommodate the new device.

The new development platform is designed to reduce the impact on the environment by providing a turn-key solution that accelerates time to market and saves energy.

Valens Partners with Intel for MIPI A-PHY Tech

Valens Semiconductor announced a collaboration with Intel to develop MIPI A-PHY-compliant automotive technologies for foundry customers, leveraging Valens Semiconductor’s expertise as a leading contributor to MIPI A-PHY technology. The cooperation will provide an additional boost to the growing A-PHY ecosystem by allowing third parties from across the automotive industry to accelerate time to market for A-PHY systems, from Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) to System on a Chip (SoC) solutions, based on Intel Foundry Services’ (IFS) design and fabrication.

MIPI A-PHY is quickly emerging as one of the most resilient standards for long-reach connectivity advancing ADAS, AD, IVI and other automotive applications. It majorly simplifies the integration of lidar, radar and cameras for limited and full vehicle autonomy, while also improving connectivity for high-resolution safety and infotainment displays.

onsemi SiC Modules

onsemi (Nasdaq: ON), a leader in intelligent power and sensing technologies,  announced a trio of silicon carbide (SiC) based power modules in transfer molded technology that are intended for use in on-board charging and high voltage (HV) DCDC conversion within all types of electric vehicles (xEV). The APM32 series is the first-of-its-kind that adopts SiC technology into a transfer molded package to enhance efficiency and shorten charge time of xEVs and is specifically designed for high-power 11-22kW on-board chargers (OBC).

Each of the three modules exhibits low conduction and switching losses, combining with best-in-class thermal resistance and high voltage isolation to deal with 800V bus voltage. The enhanced efficiency and lower heat generation ultimately allow for a more powerful OBC. One that can charge the xEV faster and increase its operating range – two critical factors for consumers.

“Our new modules employ the latest SiC technology to minimize losses and overall system volume, allowing designers to meet charging efficiency and space goals,” said Fabio Necco, vice president and general manager, Automotive Power Solutions at onsemi. “By adopting the pre-configured modular format, designers are able to configure their designs faster, with significantly lower time to market and design risk.”

Taking advantage of onsemi’s end-to-end SiC supply chain capability and proven SiC MOSFETs and diodes, the APM32 modules offer high levels of reliability, and each module is serialized for full traceability. The modules can operate with junction temperatures (Tj) as high as 175°C, ensuring reliability even in challenging, space-constrained automotive applications.

“APM32 provides a differentiated solution for our customers by leveraging onsemi’s best-in-class packaging to unleash the full capability of the leading-edge silicon carbide technology,” said Simon Keeton, executive vice president and general manager, Power Solutions Group at onsemi. “In addition, we know our customers value supply assurance, which our end-to-end SiC supply chain capabilities provide.”

Two modules of the APM32 series, NVXK2TR40WXT and NVXK2TR80WDT, are configured in H-bridge topology with a breakdown (V(BR)DSS) capability of 1200 V, ensuring suitability for high voltage battery stacks. They are designed to be used in the OBC and HV DCDC conversion stages. The third module, NVXK2KR80WDT, is configured in Vienna Rectifier topology and used in the power factor correction (PFC) stage of the OBC. There will be six-pack and full-bridge modules in the near future to complete the SiC OBC portfolio.

All three modules are housed in a compact and robust Dual Inline Package (DIP), which ensures low module resistance. The top cool and isolated features meet the most stringent automotive industry standards. The creepage and clearance distances meet IEC 60664-1 and IEC 60950-1. Additionally, the modules are qualified to AEC-Q101 and AQG 324 for automotive use.

MIPI Alliance Completes I3C Plugfest

The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, announces the successful completion of a MIPI I3C Interop Workshop testing event in Munich.

The June 13-14 plugfest, which coincided with MIPI’s 60th member meeting, engaged 16 MIPI I3C/I3C Basic implementers from seven companies in a range of interoperability testing (from initial to advanced) for their innovations. Interoperability between multi-vendor controller and target devices was tested in a confidential environment with a mix of electronics manufacturers, including both MIPI members and nonmembers, illustrating a broad range of applications and a commitment to the MIPI I3C interface. Binho LLC, Intel Corporation, Introspect Technology, Prodigy Technovations Pvt. Ltd., Robert Bosch S.p.A., and STMicroelectronics were among the companies to participate in the workshop.

MIPI I3C is a scalable, intelligent utility and control bus interface for connecting peripherals to an application processor, giving developers unprecedented opportunities to craft innovative designs for an array of products—smartphones, personal computers, wearables, IoT devices, systems in automobiles and other devices. Designed as the successor to I2C, I3C incorporates key attributes of the traditional I2C and SPI interfaces to provide a high-performance, very-low-power solution with backward compatibility and a robust, flexible upgrade path.

The MIPI I3C specification is available to MIPI members, while the publicly available, royalty-free MIPI I3C Basic is a subset of I3C that bundles the most commonly needed I3C features for developers and other standards organizations. MIPI I3C Basic has been adopted into JEDEC’s Sideband Bus and DDR5 standards, and in June, MIPI and ETSI Technical Committee Secure Element Technologies (TC SET) announced the adoption of I3C Basic as a physical and logical link layer for the ETSI Smart Secure Platform (SSP).

“Interoperability testing early in the design cycle is crucial to reducing time to market and ensuring seamless functionality among multi-vendor devices in deployment,” said Sanjiv Desai, chair of MIPI Alliance. “Events such as the MIPI I3C Interop Workshop are so important because they help companies optimize the manufacturability of their designs, avoid deployment issues and deliver higher-quality products upon which their customers can rely from day one.”

Additional plugfest opportunities are planned in conjunction with future in-person MIPI Alliance member meetings.

TeamViewer Partners with Hyundai for Innovation

TeamViewer, a leading global provider of remote connectivity and workplace digitalization solutions, today announced a partnership with global mobility solutions provider Hyundai Motor Company to digitalize business operations and manufacturing processes for Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in Singapore (HMGICS).

TeamViewer and Hyundai Motor Company will cooperate to maximize digitalization benefits in HMGICS’ smart factory using TeamViewer’s Augmented Reality (AR) platform, which includes Mixed Reality (MR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities. The platform will support assembly, maintenance, quality management, logistics, client experience projects and workforce training. The two companies will conduct joint research and development (R&D) activities in AR-powered smart factory operations, immersive digital experience for frontline workers and AI support for a future automotive factory. Overall, the partnership will drive increased productivity, accuracy, speed, and safety of frontline production workers. To leverage these benefits for the industry, the two parties will also pursue global joint marketing of smart factory and enterprise AR technology.

DENSO Expand Detection Angles

DENSO Corporation announced it has expanded the detection angle of its vision sensor, increasing the sensor’s ability to recognize pedestrians and bicycles around a vehicle to improve road safety. The vision sensor is used on some grades of the SUBARU Legacy Outback, announced on April 13, 2022, for the North American market, and the all-new SUBARU Crosstrek*1, unveiled on September 15, 2022, for Japanese market.

Many traffic accidents occur when bicyclists and pedestrians suddenly enter roadways from the side. In Japan, such accidents account for about 30% of all traffic accidents involving pedestrians and about 70% of traffic accidents involving children under the age of 12.*2 Drivers are likely to overlook small children and fast bicycles entering the road suddenly from the side, and even if they notice them, struggle to react in time and accidents may occur. Recognizing the importance of the issue, the new car assessment program in Europe (Euro-NCAP) has made it necessary for new vehicles to be able to detect pedestrians and bicyclists from the side of roadways.

DENSO decided to tackle this issue and succeeded in expanding the detection angle of its vision sensor to 128°*3. This has made it possible to detect bicycles crossing the road when driving at low speed and meets the assessment conditions*4 stipulated by Euro-NCAP. Thus, the sensor will help to prevent accidents at intersections and other areas where vehicles, motorcycles, bicyclists and pedestrians come and go at various speeds.

A wider detection angle can detect many more objects, which means non-hazardous objects are also detected. This makes it critical for the sensor to decipher which is a threat and which is not. For example, when the sensor detects a bicyclist about to cross the road, if the cyclist brakes and stops, the vehicle can keep driving without a collision. However, if the autonomous emergency braking is activated, the vehicle behavior is unpleasant for the driver and is likely to cause other hazards due to its unexpected behavior. The advantages of a wider angle and practical usage have been achieved by detecting objects well in advance with AI technology, determining whether such objects actually pose a risk based on time-series estimation, and minimizing unnecessary vehicle behavior.

DENSO remains committed to developing safety products that are satisfactory to users with the aim of spreading safety features to all vehicles.

*1 The all-new Subaru Crosstrek will be officially announced in autumn, 2022
*2 Source: Number of traffic accidents by violation/age bracket of pedestrians (whose negligence is serious compared other parties involved in accidents) in “2019 Traffic Statistics” published by the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis
*3 The detection angle of vision sensor is based on DENSO’s measurement.
*4 Assessment conditions for hazard detection in a situation where a bicycle crosses a road at 20 km/h when one’s own vehicle is cruising at 10 km/h. The conditions are considered to be difficult to meet in terms of the angle of view; they have been met by expanding the detection angle.

Oracle for Subaru

Oracle  announced that SUBARU Corporation has moved its simulation and 3D visualization workloads responsible for improving the quality of collision safety performance and driving performance to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). SUBARU was able to improve its development cycle, gain significant efficiencies and reduce operational costs by reducing computational timeframes by approximately 20 percent with High Performance Computing (HPC) on OCI.

With a focus on improving drivers’ “Enjoyment and Peace of Mind,” SUBARU is implementing improvements to enhance design and development efficiency, agility, and flexibility. To achieve this, SUBARU recognized it needed to increase the resources supporting its computationally intensive HPC workloads that perform vast and complex simulations to improve its vehicles’ collision safety and performance. Aware of how cloud technology is being used in the automotive industry to provide HPC resources to support computer aided engineering (CAE) simulations, SUBARU selected OCI to move its large HPC workloads of up to tens of thousands of cores to OCI from an on-premises environment.

“Our goal has always been to be a trusted partner for our customers and to provide attractive and distinctive products that bring enjoyment and peace of mind. We rely on technology to help us continuously improve and innovate so that we can offer the best experience to our customers.  Being able to quickly conduct the vast number of simulations needed to improve crash safety and driving performance is a key focus for us. We selected OCI HPC to improve the speed of computations of collision simulations and to optimize costs. OCI gives us access to the cloud tools we need so we can automate and run jobs seamlessly, enabling faster design and development,” said Mr. Yoshihiro Takekuma, IT Operation and Management Section, Engineering Information Management Department, SUBARU Corporation.

Using OCI bare metal HPC computing, coupled with fast cluster networking, which delivers less than 2 microseconds of latency and 100 Gbps of bandwidth, SUBARU now has the computing resources it needs to scale rapidly to meet demand peaks. Previously, system expansion within its on-premises environments was often restricted by lack of space, power, cost, and IT resources. Since using OCI to deliver consistent high performance and greater stability for its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, SUBARU has been able to make improvements to the internal acoustics of its vehicles to deliver a quieter drive. It has also enabled SUBARU to eliminate any variation in computation of collision analysis, by providing ideal conditions to perform structural calculations.

OCI also supports various third-party solutions through Oracle Cloud Marketplace to help customers quickly find applications and services that can help them optimize their cloud deployments, including from Altair®, a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI). SUBARU has further reduced costs by using the cloud bursting function of Altair® PBS Professional® in combination with OCI to start the nodes required for calculation and delete the nodes when the calculation is completed, bringing flexibility to the allocation of resources.

“In automotive engineering, having access to powerful and affordable HPC, is essential to run the computationally intensive and highly latency sensitive simulations and calculations needed to deliver the best outcomes when it comes to car safety and the driving experience. By providing high performance and elasticity at lower cost, OCI HPC is ideal for companies like SUBARU that require large simulation environments. We look forward to OCI fueling further technological innovations for SUBARU and contributing to their improved competitiveness,” said Karan Batta, vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

ARGO GRAPHICS Inc., one of SUBARU’s long-term IT partners, supported the migration of SUBARU’s HPC workloads to OCI, which started operations in May 2022.

SUBARU also leveraged Oracle Cloud Lift Services as part of its initial verification process to support its proof of concept to help issues relating to cloud migration with its production machine testing environment. Oracle Cloud Lift Services also provided SUBARU and ARGO GRAPHICS with the necessary OCI HPC skills training.

SUBARU selected OCI HPC in December 2021.