Connected Car News: Magna, Veoneer, Volvo, Bose & Valens Semiconductor

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In connected car news are Magna, Veoneer, Volvo, Bose, JASPAR, Continental, Renesas and Valens Semiconductor.

Magna to Acquire Veoneer’s Active Safety Biz

The automotive technology company Veoneer announced that it has entered into an agreement with Magna International Inc., a mobility technology company and one of the largest suppliers in the auto industry. Under the agreement Magna will acquire Veoneer’s Active Safety business from SSW Partners, a New York based investment partnership (“SSW”) for $1.525 billion in cash, subject to working capital and other customary purchase price adjustments.

Combining Veoneer’s Active Safety competence and product portfolio with Magna’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, ADAS, business will strengthen the combined business and provide customers in more geographical locations with a full suite of ADAS solutions.

“Magna is the right long-term home for Veoneer’s Active Safety business. The combination of both businesses creates durable value and accelerates an already exciting growth trajectory for Veoneer’s employees, products and customers. Until closing of the agreement, Veoneer continues to execute in its current structure with full focus on customer deliveries, new launches and continued innovation,” said Jacob Svanberg, Chief Executive Officer, Veoneer.

In April 2022, SSW Partners acquired Veoneer in an all-cash transaction representing a total equity value of $4.6 billion. Qualcomm Incorporated subsequently completed the acquisition of Arriver™ from SSW Partners for an undisclosed sum. With the announcement to sell the Active Safety business to Magna, Veoneer continues the process of finding the best long-term home for its Restraint Control Systems business.

The transaction with Magna is expected to close near mid-year 2023, subject to approval of applicable regulatory authorities and other customary closing conditions.

Bose Sounds Off–1st System In Volvo Cars

Bose announce its first-ever sound system for Volvo Cars, bringing the power of Bose sound to the all-new, all-electric, and recently unveiled Volvo EX90. Available by early 2024, the Volvo EX90 represents the launch of a new collaboration between Bose and Volvo Cars that will extend to additional models in the coming years.

JASPAR Validates  MIPI A-PHY

Valens Semiconductor  a premier provider of high-speed connectivity solutions for the automotive and audio-video markets,  announced that the Japan Automotive Software Platform and Architecture (JASPAR) organization has formally validated the MIPI A-PHY specification for its network of Japanese OEMs and Tier 1s, including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, and DENSO. This came after the Valens Semiconductor VA7000 A-PHY-compliant chipsets passed JASPAR’s rigorous testing for Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), marking an important milestone for the integration of these chipsets into safety-critical Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS).

JASPAR was established in 2004 to facilitate the adoption of new automotive related technologies throughout Japan. The organization helps improve development efficiency and ensures reliability through standardization and sharing of sophisticated electronic automotive software and networks. It does this by providing common specification guidelines that can be referenced by the country’s automobile OEMs and their Tier 1 partners.

JASPAR administered a comprehensive suite of EMC tests on the Valens VA7031 serializer and VA7044 deserializer chipsets for induction noise, TEM cell, antenna irradiation, BCI, antenna irradiation radar band, wireless device, conductive noise, and radiation noise. The tests were conducted according to the JASPAR Next-Generation High-Speed LAN Evaluation Standards Ver. 3.0 (ST-HN-3). The recommended circuit specification, A-PHY, has been published as JASPAR Recommended Multi-gigabit Electric Circuit Specification Ver. 1.0 (ST-HN-10).

“As car companies integrate next-generation ADAS and autonomous systems with sensors requiring ever-higher bandwidth, EMC is becoming increasingly important,” said Hideki Goto, Chairperson of the Next Generation High-Speed Network Working Group at JASPAR and Group Manager at Toyota Motor Corporation. “Our EMC testing has shown that MIPI A-PHY is one of the most resilient technologies for electromagnetic interference.”

Continental Promotes FOSS

Continental promotes the development and use of open source software. The technology company has adopted a manifesto that emphasizes its commitment to collaborative work with Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Open source software are programs whose source code is open and accessible. Corresponding software can be used, analyzed, modified and distributed by all users in compliance with the respective license provisions. The use of open source software can significantly save development costs and offers security and transparency for all users, since weaknesses and security gaps can be quickly identified and eliminated through cooperation.

Continental has been working with open source software for some time. The “Continental Automotive FOSS Manifesto” – PDF (3.95MB) now underlines the growing importance of open source software for the automotive industry. “Open source software is essential for shaping tomorrow’s mobility,” explains Gilles Mabire, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Automotive at Continental. “Future-oriented companies rely on cooperation in the development of basic software modules. Continental is an active member of the global automotive community working on critical open software projects. This is the only way we will be able to master the major technological challenges for sustainable and modern mobility together.“

In the “Continental Automotive FOSS Manifesto”, Continental commits to 1.) include all aspects of the development and use of free and open source software in its day-to-day business, 2.) contribute to open source communities as a trustworthy partner and 3.) as a reliable Software-driven company to always put the satisfaction of customers and employees at the center of any commitment. The manifesto goes hand in hand with Continental’s fundamental corporate values: trust, freedom to act, for one another and a winner mentality.

In concrete terms, this means that every employee is required to pursue the safe and responsible development and use of open source software. The employees in software development projects are active members in the relevant open source communities and are always looking for high-quality solutions for the FOSS community and for Continental. As good “open-source citizens” they act responsibly, respectfully, and of course in compliance with all legal regulations.Open source software is used today in crucial developments in the automotive industry. It usually forms the basis for extended software solutions that technology companies like Continental use to implement their individual, customer-tailored innovations and shape the future of mobility. When developing driver assistance systems, for example, open source software offers the necessary basic or middleware software into which new, exclusively programmed functionalities can be integrated according to customer requirements. As a consequence, internal know-how can be used to advance significant automotive innovations.Continental employs around 20,000 engineers worldwide with a deep understanding of software and IT. These include around 1,000 experts in artificial intelligence. Everyone is already working with open source software, contributing to IT developments themselves via corresponding data exchange platforms in the FOSS organizations or benefiting from the software packages offered there. The basic requirement is the disclosure of the source code of software, which is the key to using and further developing a software application. These source texts are available, for example, on software platforms such as GitHub, an open programming platform on which employees from different companies work together on software solutions.

Continental is already a member of key large-scale projects and organizations for the development and distribution of open-source software, such as the Eclipse Foundation, Linux Foundation, OSADL (Open Source Automation Development Lab) and GAIA-X, where it actively contributes to open source software at. The FOSS manifesto that has now been adopted represents the commitment to intensified commitment to FOSS-driven mobility developments.

Renesas Intros IGBT & SiC MOSFETs

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced a new gate driver IC that is designed to drive high-voltage power devices such as IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors) and SiC (Silicon Carbide) MOSFETs for electric vehicle (EV) inverters.

Gate driver ICs are essential components to EV inverters, providing an interface between the inverter control MCU and the IGBTs and SiC MOSFETs that deliver power to the inverter. They receive control signals from the MCU in the low-voltage domain and transfer these signals to rapidly turn power devices on and off in the high-voltage domain. To accommodate the higher voltages of EV batteries, the RAJ2930004AGM has a built-in 3.75kVrms (kV root mean square) isolator, which is higher than the 2.5kVrms isolator in the previous generation product, and can support power devices with a withstand voltage of up to 1200V. In addition, the new driver IC boasts superior CMTI (Common Mode Transient Immunity) performance at 150 V/ns (nanosecond) or higher, providing reliable communication and increased noise immunity while meeting the high voltages and fast switching speeds required in inverter systems. The new product offers the basic functions of a gate driver in a small SOIC16 package, making it ideal for cost-effective inverter systems.

The RAJ2930004AGM can be used together with Renesas IGBTs as well as with IGBTs and SiC MOSFETs from other manufacturers. In addition to traction inverters, the gate driver IC is ideal for a wide range of applications that use power semiconductors, such as on-board chargers and DC/DC converters. To help developers bring their products to market quickly, Renesas offers the xEV Inverter Kit solution that combines gate driver ICs with MCUs, IGBTs, and power management ICs, and plans to release a version incorporating the new gate driver IC in the first half of 2023.

“Renesas is pleased to offer the second-generation gate driver IC for automotive applications with high isolation voltage and superior CMTI performance,” said Akira Omichi, Vice President of Renesas’ Automotive Analog Application Specific Business Division. “We will continue to drive application development for EVs by offering solutions that minimize power loss and meet high levels of functional safety in our customers’ systems.”

Key Features of the RAJ2930004AGM Gate Driver IC

Isolation capabilities

  • Withstand Isolation voltage: 3.75kVrms
  • CMTI (Common Mode Transient Immunity): 150V/ns

Gate drive capabilities

  • Output peak current: 10A

Protection/fault detection functions

  • On-chip active Miller clamp
  • Soft turn-off
  • Overcurrent protection (DESAT protection)
  • Under voltage lockout (UVLO)
  • Fault feedback

Operating temperature range: -40 to 125°C (Tj:150°C max.)

This product will help increase the adoption of EVs by realizing cost-efficient inverters, thereby minimizing environmental impacts.