The monthly magazine for automotive electronics engineers

vehicle-electronics.biz

IN THISISSUE

Page 3: Samsungand Seat signtechnology deal

Page 4: ISO26262at VE conference

Page 7: Sensorfusion key forunmanned vehicles

Page 8: Ford appfor EV charging

Page 9: ISO26262Berlin conferencereport

Page 17: Softwaredevelopment

Page 22: Mercedes-Benz research intoautonomous driving

Page 23: Simulationand modelling

Page 27: Productnews

Page 32: Contactdetails

Issue 16April 2015

NEWS

Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 2

These students from Fachhochschule Westküste in the very northern partof Germany were celebrating at Embedded World in Nuremberg afterwinning the Renesas MCU Car Rally. Around 100 students in 17 teamstook part in the challenge to build a functioning model rally car based onsensors and other electronic components from Renesas. They then had torace the car round a specially prepared track at the show.The West Coast Racers team managed a time of 3.54.6 minutes for five

laps, nearly three seconds faster than second placed Tor Camvi from theCarlos III University in Madrid. Third was a team from the University ofGloucester in the UK.“Our first MCU Car Rally event was a great success and we had fantas-

tic feedback from the participants,” said Andy Harding, a senior managerat Renesas Electronics. “We’ll soon be sending out invitations to Euro-pean students to participate in next year’s Renesas MCU Car Rally atEmbedded World, which we’re hoping will be even bigger and moresuccessful than this year’s.”

Nuremberg rally winners celebrate

The global automotiveelectronics market is ex-pected to hit US$280bnby 2020, according to astudy by Grand View Re-search.

Growing demand foradas and premium audiosystems are some of fac-tors expected to drive theautomotive electronicsmarket through the fore-cast period.

Continuous growth inthe number of electronicscomponents used by au-tomotive manufacturershas spotlighted new op-portunities for suppliers.Emergency call systems,alcohol ignition inter-locks and accidentrecorder systems are var-ious technologies that areexpected to spur marketgrowth during the fore-cast period.

But high levels of com-plexity and lack of aware-ness about the overallunderstanding of the sub-systems may curb marketgrowth. Various complex-ities include tolerancestackup, mechatronic in-teraction and harsh oper-ating environment.

To meet the rising com-plexity issues, OEMs arefocusing on product inno-vation such as reducingweight and decreasing thenumber of modular plat-

Global automotive electronicsmarket to hit $280bn by 2020

forms. Additionally, thereis an increasing trendtowards in-vehicle info-tainment that is expectedto yield opportunitiesfor the automotive elec-

tronics market.Increased penetration of

electric and hybrid vehi-cles is expected to in-crease automotiveelectronics component

demand. This is attributedto reduced product costassociated with emissioncontrols and enhancedlithium-ion battery cool-ing capabilities.

Part of the Bang & Olufsen sound system for theAudi R8 that made its debut at last month’sGeneva Motor Show

Harman buys Bang & Olufsencar audio business for €€145mHarman has bought Bang& Olufsen’s car audiobusiness for €145m.Bang & Olufsen soundsystems are available inAudi, Aston Martin,BMW and Mercedes-Benz car models.

Terms of the agreementinclude a purchase priceof €145m for the Bang &Olufsen automotive audiobusiness, as well as pay-ments for an exclusive li-cence to the Bang &Olufsen and B&O Playbrands within the auto-motive industry.

“Bang & Olufsen is adistinctive brand that willcomplement our existing

premium branded offer-ings and strengthen Har-man’s position in thissegment,” said DineshPaliwal, Harman presi-dent. “While Bang &Olufsen branded solu-tions will continue at thetop of the high-end luxurysegment, we will rapidlygrow the B&O Playbrand in the larger massluxury market.”

Harman will assume allautomotive Bang &Olufsen customer pro-grammes, and develop-ment and productionresources will be trans-ferred to Harman. Theagreement remains sub-

ject to customary closingconditions, including reg-ulatory approvals.

“In just ten years, wehave built Bang &Olufsen automotivebased on Bang &Olufsen’s exclusive brandand unique capabilitieswithin acoustics, designand craftsmanship,” saidTue Mantoni, Bang &Olufsen president andCEO. “Harman’s positionas the market leader in caraudio and infotainmentcombined with thestrengths of the Bang &Olufsen brands will cre-ate significant benefits forautomotive customers, aswell as for both compa-nies.”

Last month, Bang &Olufsen’s surround soundsystem was featured inthe Audi R8 at theGeneva Motor Show.

“We are excited to re-alise the many synergiesand opportunities inher-ent in this new relation-ship,” said Paliwal.

NEWS NEWS

Vehicle Electronics Vehicle ElectronicsPage 3, April 2015 April 2015, Page 4

Samsung and Seat havesigned an agreement todevelop technology toprovide connectivityacross Seat’s range ofmodels. The agreementwill take shape in thecoming months with thelaunch of a model line-upequipped to keep the cus-tomer always connected,with features to be ex-tended gradually to therest of the Seat range.

Other agreement provi-sions enable Samsung tosupply Seat with the basicsoftware to develop itsown car apps, to be man-aged from Samsunghandsets.

“Samsung is delightedto be announcing thisagreement at the MobileWorld Congress, particu-larly in Barcelona –Seat’s home town,” saidRick Segal, vice-presi-dent of Samsung Elec-tronics. “The idea behindthe agreement is to worktogether, joining theknow-how of bothbrands, to develop onboard safe technologywhich simplifies our cus-tomers’ lives. The aim isto keep consumers al-ways connected. We areexpecting great thingsfrom this agreement.”

Vehicles will beequipped with Mirrorlinktechnology and the car in-

Samsung and Seat signtechnology agreement

fotainment system linkingthem to Samsung devicesthrough the apps devel-oped by Seat. With Mir-rorlink, smartphonecontent is mirrored in thevehicle display in a safeway, with no distractionfor the driver, who is af-forded access to appswhile keeping both eyeson the road.

Wearables can be addedsupporting further func-tions. This agreementcovers all 75 markets inwhich Seat vehicles aresold.

“In 2015 we fully en-tered the internet ofthings, with six billionthings now connected tointernet,” said JürgenStackmann, Seat execu-tive committee chairman.“One of Seat’s main ob-jectives is to meet emerg-ing needs and customerexpectations. To fulfil ourcommitment to our cus-tomers, we want tostrengthen the competi-tiveness of the range. Forus, Samsung is the idealpartner in this new globalchallenge.”

Making the connection: Samsung and Seat

To support the growth ofthe automotive industryin China, Bureau VeritasConsumer Products hasopened a laboratory inGuangzhou specialisingin the testing and certifi-cation of automotivecomponents and systems.

The southern China2300m2 laboratory isstaffed with technical andcustomer service special-ists. It will also be usedfor testing and certifyinghousehold electrical andelectronics equipment.

The automotive prod-

ucts testing lab providesEMC and reliability test-ing. Clients include R&Dand engineering teams ofmajor car makers andtheir supply chains in thePearl River Delta, one ofthe automotive manufac-turing hubs in China.

Bureau Veritas opens test laboratory

International Truck hasannounced a body controlmodule with enhancedDiamond Logic features.The module, designed inline with Society of Auto-motive Engineer (SAE)500kbaud standards,should expand lorryequipment manufacturerelectronics capabilities,driving more uptime.

The design is said to de-liver six times the currentprocessing speed for lorryand body electronics, add16 more input-outputslots for equipment man-ufacturers, and providethree additional data linksto expand lorry capabili-ties. It will be built in pro-duction starting inNovember 2015.

All of International’smedium-duty and voca-tional lorries are equippedwith the Diamond Logicelectrical system, whichprovides nearly 200 fac-tory available body inte-gration and driverefficiency features, plusthe ability to customisemore vehicle functions.

Lorry module

Jim Thomas from TVSwill look at requirementsdriven verification andtest for ISO 26262 at thismonth’s inaugural Vehi-cle Electronics confer-ence in Birmingham, UK.

The conference is dueto be held at the NationalExhibition Centre inBirmingham from 21 to22 April 2015. It will beheld as part of NationalElectronics Week andwill be joined by the longestablished EmbeddedMasterclass, with each ofthe two days comprisinga half day for Embedded

Masterclass and a halfday for Vehicle Electron-ics.

“The ISO26262 safetystandard sets out a num-ber of testing and verifi-cation objectives forembedded automotivesoftware developments tomeet but doesn’t mandatehow they are met,” saidThomas. “For many, em-bedded software develop-ment projects testing isthe phase that follows de-velopment – it has to bedone and, for certifica-tion, it has to be seen tohave been done.

“It’s an unwelcome butunavoidable overhead toachieve certification – anecessary evil.

“This is an all too com-mon picture and there aremany reasons why this isseen as the most practicalapproach. Having soft-ware available early forintegration with hardwareis a good thing right?How can requirements befully understood untilthere is something work-ing to assess?”

But he said this ap-proach also brought manyrisks and was very costly.

He will explains how anintegrated testing ap-proach coupled with bet-ter verification duringdesign can significantlyaccelerate software devel-opment, saving embed-ded projects time, moneyand many tedious hoursspent debugging.

There are still sponsor-ship and exhibiting op-portunities available forthe event and details ofthese can be obtained byemailing conference or-ganiser Jayne Foster atjayne@eventworkseu-rope.com.

Learn about ISO26262 requirementsat Vehicle Electronics conference

NEWS

Page 5, April 2015 Vehicle Electronics Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 6

NEWS

Automotive semiconductorsoutpace overall marketWorldwide revenue forsemiconductors used inautomotive applicationsoutpaced the overallsemiconductor marketwith nine per cent growthin 2014, according to areport from Databeans.This year, the market isexpected to continue toperform with a predictedgrowth rate of six percent.

In a separate report, itfound that the sensors andMEMs market continuesto expand as demandshifts from the automo-tive and industrial seg-ments to the consumerand communicationsmarkets. In 2015 thismarket is expected to

reach a high of close toUS$13bn, up 13 per centover 2014.

Databeans predicts theautomotive semiconduc-tor market will continueto gain share growing at acompound annual growthrate of eight per cent overthe next five years. Thismarket is expected toreach a high of $28.5bn in2015.

A decade ago, on aver-age, electronics ac-counted for less than 20per cent of total produc-tion cost of a car or lighttruck. Today it is nearly40 per cent for traditionalinternal combustion en-gine cars and jumps to 70per cent for high-end

electric vehicles. Thisphenomenon will acceler-ate as advances in semi-conductor technologycontinue to drive downthe cost of various sys-tems in the vehicle.

Electronic systems con-tinue to contribute morethan 90 per cent of the in-novation in new featuresthat are being introducedas the automotive indus-try matures and takes onsome of the characteris-tics of other consumermarkets. The industry isin the midst of transfor-mation as the large carmakers are offering prod-ucts that offer more of anexperience to the ownerversus utility.

OEMs are turning to in-fotainment and telematicsto distinguish their brandand capture consumer in-terest.

Common telematicsfeatures include semi-au-tonomous driving aidssuch as automatic parallelparking and lane-keepingassistance, as well as sen-sor-based reporting on carmaintenance and usage.These changes as well asexpanding regulatory re-quirements for safety andfuel economy and thecoming connected carwill drive the expandingmarket for semiconduc-tors from a $28.5bn in-dustry to over $40bn by2020.

The tools and techniquesthat can ensure code qual-ity in automotive systemswill be the subject ofworkshops and presenta-tions at this year’s UKDevice Developers Con-ference, due to take placein Reading, Cambridge,Warrington and Uphall inMay and June 2015.

There will be work-shops and presentationsthat explore developingsafety critical code in au-tomotive systems. Withtopics such as software

architectures for reliablesystems, toolsets for thedevelopment of softwareto ISO26262 and debugtools for in-field safetyand reliability, the confer-ence is aimed at engineersworking in vehicle devel-opment and similar mis-sion critical fields.

“Embedded systems areplaying an increasinglybig role in the develop-ment of new vehicle de-signs,” said Barry Lock,UK manager at Lauter-bach, who will be pre-

senting a joint half-dayworkshop with softwaretest company LDRA.

The workshop will dis-cuss how software certifi-cation aims to test everyline of code to ensure nosoftware errors occur dueto unexpected results orsystem failures that couldlead to death or physicalharm once the system isoperational.

“The workshop willalso explore how, withthe limited resources ofsome embedded devices,

it is important to ensuredevelopers can exercisetheir code without affect-ing performance,” saidMark James, marketingmanager at LDRA.

Chris Hills of PhaedrusSystems will give a pres-entation discussing thetechniques and familiesof tools that have beendeveloped for automotivedevelopment, startingfrom creating the systemspecification needed tovalidate the tests, throughto final verification.

Conference targets code quality

TT Electronics helped theVolkswagen-Audi Group(VAG) boost the fueleconomy and reduceemissions on its latestAudi A3, A4, A6 and sim-ilar-sized models.

Engineers at the com-pany’s Salzburg technicalcentre created an electri-cally driven 50W water-pump controller (EWPU)that has been used in arange of applications in-cluding the turbo-inter-cooler circuit of theEA288 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine.

The firm has more thanten years’ experience de-veloping electronic con-trols for items such asturbo-intercooler pumpsand main water pumps upto 600W at 12V and 1kWfor 48V on-board sup-plies. These help increasefuel efficiency by reduc-

TT helps VW-Audiboost fuel economy

ing load on the enginecrank, and reduce emis-sions by assisting fasterwarm-up.

To create the EWPU forthe EA288 turbo-inter-cooler, TT worked withVAG and the water pumpsupplier Saleri. The inte-grated control unit is op-timised for mass-marketdeployment, and meetsperformance and reliabil-ity targets using conven-tional assembly tech-nologies with a speciallydesigned frameless EMCfiltering circuit.

Motor control and diag-nostics ensure smoothrunning and increase reli-ability, while the option toconnect to the vehicle’sLin infrastructure pro-vides scope for richercommunications.

“Our expertise inEWPU development,spanning applicationsfrom high-performancecars to the latest genera-tions of clean, economi-cal vehicles, made TTElectronics the ideal tech-nical partner for theEA288 project,” said Jo-hann Maier, TT’s productline director. “This latestsuccess enhances our cre-dentials as the leading de-veloper of electronicpowertrain controls forconventional, hybrid andelectric vehicles.”

Integrated electroniccontroller from TTElectronics controlsAudi intercooler waterpump to improve fueleconomy and reduceemissions

NEWS NEWS

Page 7, April 2015 Vehicle Electronics Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 8

At Mobile World Con-gress in Barcelona, Fordlaunched an app that en-ables electric vehicledrivers to connect re-motely their smartphonewith the car to managecharging, and even set achosen cabin temperaturebefore their journey.Using MyFord Mobile,drivers will be able to usethe app and associatedweb site to manage thestatus of their car re-motely, check the rangeand plan journeys to in-clude charging.

Taking inspiration fromgaming and personal fit-ness apps, it shows CO2savings as exercise balls,or hot-air balloons; re-flects the energy effi-ciency of differentdriving styles throughZen and Zippy ratings;and offers tips on improv-ing efficiency.

Among the first vehi-cles to offer MyFord Mo-bile in Europe will be thezero emission FocusElectric that will featureSync 2 voice-activatedconnectivity, which Fordannounced would beavailable in spring thisyear.

“MyFord Mobile makesowning an electric vehi-cle even more conven-ient,” said Don Butler,

Ford app lets phonesmanage EV charging

executive director at FordMotor. “It displays CO2savings in terms of ob-jects everyone is familiarwith, and shows how fur-ther energy efficienciescan be achieved in a waythat is easily understood.Electric car drivers wantto understand the envi-ronmental benefits theirvehicle brings, and also toknow how they could im-prove their contributionto help make a better fu-ture. MyFord Mobilehelps them to do this.”

Supported by a dedi-cated web site and avail-able for iOS and Android,the app connects to thecar via an on-boardmodem that sends data di-rectly to a remote server.

As well as informingdrivers when they havemade CO2 savings equiv-alent to that required tofill an exercise ball or ahot-air balloon, badges,

pop-ups and alerts letdrivers know when theyhave reached certainzero-emission distance

Ford demonstration at Mobile World Congress

benchmarks, such as covering a distanceequivalent to one round-the-world trip.

Personalised feedbackadvises how range mightbe improved, for exam-ple, by optimising regen-erative braking. Driversalso can track drivinghabits over time, andmonitor how changes inbehaviour affect energyconsumption.

A feature lets driversprepare the car so it ischarged and ready with apre-set cabin temperature,at a specific time anddate. Plugged in, it willuse energy from the grid,rather than the battery toheat or cool the car.

Advancements in sensorfusion technologies withhigh imaging capabilitiesto enhance manoeuvrabil-ity are quickening the de-velopment of unmannedvehicles, says marketwatcher Frost & Sullivan.The resulting increase inthe use of unmanned ve-hicles will eventuallyalter the dynamics of thetransportation industry.

The analysis found thathigh-quality image andnavigation sensors suchas light detection andranging systems, radar,and advanced global po-sitioning systems werepromising technologiesthat would play a key role

in enabling unmanned ve-hicles. The integration ofsensors, signal processingand computer vision soft-ware in a form factor thatis suitable for safe andprecise usage will boostthe capabilities of un-manned systems.

“Though various driverassistance systems areavailable today, improvedobstacle and navigationtechnologies that can in-terpret unexpected behav-iour – such as cyclistsmoving in traffic – will beessential for the deploy-ment of autonomous ve-hicles,” said researchanalyst Jabez Mendelson.“Apart from sensors, ad-

vancements in light-weight materials suitablefor harsh environmentalconditions are also re-quired.”

Currently, unmannedsystems are employedpredominantly for mili-tary and research pur-poses. It is difficult forunmanned systems tofind uses in commercialapplications withoutclearing the standardisa-tion norms and stringenttests laid down by regula-tory bodies. The constantevolution of platformtechnologies needed inunmanned vehicles addsto the problems. Effectiveplatform integration,

greater scalability and en-hanced sensor accuracywill be vital for the use ofautonomous land vehi-cles, drones and marinevessels for commercialpurposes.

“Developing high-qual-ity sensors is critical togarner approval from reg-ulatory and industrialbodies,” said Mendelson.“Integration with next-generation signal process-ing systems will alsoextend application scopeto include surveillance,cargo carriers and driverassistance systems andpave the way for the massproduction of unmannedvehicles.”

F&S says sensor fusion iskey for unmanned vehicles

A 100kW automotive fuelcell architecture from In-telligent Energy isclaimed can provides ve-hicle makers with a highperformance option fortheir next generation offuel cell electric vehicles.

The architecture hasbeen developed in re-sponse to increasing mar-ket demand for nextgeneration, high powerautomotive fuel cells andis the result of research,engineering, cost reduc-tion and test activities un-dertaken by IntelligentEnergy’s Motive division.

Designed to deliver pri-mary motive powerwithin an electric drive-line, the fuel cell architec-ture and core technologywill be available to vehi-cle makers through tech-

nology licensing and jointdevelopment agreements.

The platform takes ad-vantage of the company’sstack technology, whichprovides a power densityof 3.5kW/l (volumetric)and 3.0kW/kg (gravimet-ric), while being engi-neered for low cost, highvolume series production.

The key enabler forthese high power densi-ties is the company’s proprietary, evapora-tively-cooled (EC) tech-nology. Compared withconventional liquid-

cooled fuel cell stacks,the EC design removesthe need for individualcooling channels betweeneach cell. This delivers anadvantage in terms ofstack mass and volume.

“Our capability andproven technology pro-vides a cost-effective op-portunity for any vehiclemanufacturer without apresence in this fuel cellpower-band to jumpahead of its competitors,”said James Batchelor,managing director of thefirm’s Motive division.

100kW architecture provides route to fuel cell EVs

100kW automotivefuel cell architecture

Vehicle Electronics Vehicle ElectronicsPage 9, April 2015 April 2015, Page 10

Steve Rogerson reports fromlast month’s Fifth InternationalISO26262 Conference in Berlin

PLAYING IT SAFE

Vehicle ElectronicsPage 11, April 2015 Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 12

The move towards au-tonomous vehicles is thedriving force behind theproposed second editionof ISO26262, said DaveHigham, a member of theISO26262 InternationalCommittee and Delphi’shead of functional safety.But it will also extend thescope of the standard be-yond just cars to motorcy-cles, lorries and buses.Though no formal datehas been decided for thepublication of the newedition, the plan is for thewriting to take approxi-mately three years fromwhen they started in Janu-ary this year, so expectthe publication probablysome time in 2018.There are three sub-groups working on thestandard covering motor-cycles, semiconductors,and lorries and buses, but

Autonomous vehiclesto drive second edition

Dave Higham: “Weare still on thelearning curve.”

more may be added. Themotorcycle group has al-ready submitted a draftspecification but extrawork needs to be done es-pecially in the area of thespecific risks associatedwith motorcycles.There are more than100 participants in whatHigham described as “avery active” semiconduc-tor group, which is look-

ing at dependent failureanalysis, base failure rate,analogue, programmablelogic devices, IP, multi-core and cyber security.“Cyber security maybe suitable now for someaspects of autonomousvehicles, but not com-pletely,” he said.The plan though seemsto be to keep the idea of a“safety element out ofcontext (SEooC)” withinthe standard. This coversdevices such as micro-controllers, which meansthey cannot be said tomeet the standard in iso-lation but only once theyare integrated into thecomplete system.“We should focus onwhat the project does,” hesaid. “We are still on thelearning curve but let’skeep learning from eachother.”

Misra guidelines on howto show compliance withISO26262 should be outby the end of the year, ac-cording to Ibrahim Habli,a researcher and teacherat the University of York.“In safety, there hasbeen a shift from a pre-scribed process to a prod-uct-oriented assurance,”he said. “We have to con-vince people that theproduct is safe not just theprocess. It is shifting fromticking boxes to being ar-gument based.”This was a process thathas already been adoptedin other industries such asoil and gas, rail and med-ical devices, but withISO26262 was now com-ing into automotive.“We have to focus onthings that matter,” hesaid. “It has to be morethan a list of work prod-ucts to an argument thatthe product is safe. Wehave to use the evidenceto show that the productis fit for purpose.”The Misra safety caseworking group began itswork in 2011 and, as wellas the University of York,include Conekt, Delphi,Jaguar Land Rover, Mira,Protean Electric, Ricardoand Volvo.“We are developing

Misra to publish ISO26262guidelines later this year

product guidelines thatwill deal with the require-ments,” Habli said. “Youstill have a duty as an en-gineer to show why youare meeting certain re-quirements. You have toshow not just that youhave met a requirementbut why that requirementmakes the product safe.”He said engineers hadto justify that tools theywere using were appro-priate to the problem.“The draft guidelineswill hopefully be releasedby the end of this year,”he said.Key concepts that willused in the guideline in-clude a layered argumentmodel, a generic safetyargument framework andsafety evidence tables.“There is a growing in-terest in model-based en-gineering,” said Habli.“Models are good and as

engineers we like thingsto be model based.”More advice onISO26262 came fromGerd Untermeierhofer,advisory consultant withBeone. He said one of thedangers in the way peopleimplemented the standardwas that they focussed onthe problems rather thanthe standard itself.“You need to deal withresistance,” he said. “Youshould introduce changesstep by step. You need toclarify responsibilities.You should deal withissues such as increaseduncertainty and docu-mentation.”He also pointed out thatchoosing the wrong toolsthat are poorly integratedand interrupt workflowwould increase resistanceamong engineers.“Address these issuesearly in the process and

allocate resources tothem,” he said.Darshan Konnar, headof software tools develop-ment at Robert Bosch En-gineering in India, added:“You need a confidencelevel in the tools based onhow and where the tool isbeing used. You need awell thought out approachfor the efficient handlingof them.”He said a tool confi-dence level could be iden-tified based on the effectof a particular failure andthe probability of identi-fying such a failure.“Classification is onlypossible by havingknowledge of use casesand the context in whichthey will be used,” hesaid. “The initial qualifi-cation of the softwaretools should be based onstandard common usecases by a central team.”

Gerd Untermeierhofer:“You need to deal withresistance.”

Ibrahim Habli: “Wehave to focus on thingsthat matter.”

Darshan Konnar: “Youneed a well thoughtout approach.”

The tricky problem of thecar knowing who is incontrol – the driver or thecomputer – is being ad-dressed in a project inSweden that will lead intwo years to autonomousvehicles driving roundsthe streets of Gothenburg.Among the partners in theproject are Volvo Cars

and the SP Technical Re-search Institute of Swe-den.“We don’t really knowwhat happens when wemove forth to au-tonomous driving,” saidRolf Johansson, a re-searcher at SP. “Whathappens to functionalsafety? We don’t even

know how to formulatethe questions let alone an-swer them.”ISO26262 today, hesaid, assumes there is adriver in the loop, butwith autonomous driving,sometimes the driver willbe in control and some-times it will be auto-mated.

Who is in control? “We have to understandwhat this really means,”he said. “If both the driverand the car think they arein control, there needs tobe an override. But whathappens if neither thinkthey are in control of thevehicle? This is a newproblem that we haven’taddressed so far.”Another problem is thatif the vehicle is in controlbut the driver thinks itisn’t and them tries tocompensate, the drivercould end up making asituation worse.The auto pilot also hasto be fully responsibleonce activated.“It cannot force thisback to the manualdriver,” he said. “There-fore a safe strategy isneeded for every possiblescenario. There can be noquestion about this.”The project started in2014 with the plan for itto be tested in 2017 using100 cars on 50km ofcommuting roads in andaround Gothenburg.

Rolf Johansson: “Asafe strategy is neededfor every possiblescenario.”

Vehicle ElectronicsPage 13, April 2015 Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 14

Companies need to de-velop a fundamentalsafety culture if they areto achieve target integritylevels, according to Vin-cenzo Sacco, functionalsafety manager atMelexis Technologies.He said there were threetypes of faults that neededto be addressed, the firstbeing random faultswhere silicon defectsmanifest during the de-vice lifetime. The secondwere systematic failures,such as design errors andsoftware bugs. And the

A low-speed cruise control for offroaddriving was described by JonathanWoodley, lead functional safety engi-neer at Jaguar Land Rover. He said thesystem would be available on RangeRovers and the Jaguar XE in about Maythis year.Called all-terrain progress control(ATPC), it works at between 2 and30km/hr and has what Woodley says is“a level of finesse that the averagedriver can’t do”.

Leaving the driver to focus on steer-ing, ATPC controls the accelerator andbrakes. This means it cannot operate atthe same time as park assist, which doesthe opposite.“The primary use is offroad,” saidWoodley, “but it could be used in pooronroad driving conditions such as rainand snow.”Other features include its ability to re-duce wheel slip to improve vehicleprogress in slippery conditions.

Failure could end up in courtA tighter integration isneeded between hardwareand software testing, saidJeff Hutton, Synopsyssenior director. “You can-not test them independ-ently,” he said, “becausea failure in one can causea failure in the other.”He also said a lot moremodelling was needed totie together the mechani-cal and electromechanialsystems within a vehicle.“You need fault analy-sis, but at the chip leveland the system level,” hesaid. And he warned thatfailure could end up incourt.“Legally, you have todefend your actions ofwhy you did something,and you have to docu-ment that,” he said. “Youcould be called up incourt to defend that.”Wolfgang Freese, engi-neering group manager atDelphi, added: “Youdon’t have to just look atwhat decisions you makebut at the consequencesof taking the wrong deci-sions. So do you know allthe options and all theconsequences? We needguidelines, we wantguidelines, and that iswhy we have guide-lines?”This is crucial whenyou get to the point wherean engineer needs to findout how a system re-sponds to failures.“There is a diversity of

failures,” Hutton said.“You can have systematichardware and softwarefailures as well as randomhardware failures. Allsafety critical faults mustbe identified, analysedand assessed.”One method was to in-ject random hardwarefailures into the system tosee how it reacts.“You can simulate thetime it takes for faults tobe recognised and propa-

gated through the sys-tem,” he said.Bert Dexters, accountmanager for functionalsafety at Flanders’ Make,added that the trend to-wards connected systemswas increasing complex-ity and the need for safetyand reliability.“The design process hasto take in many differentaspects,” he said, “fromelectronics to electrical,to software to mechani-

cal. You can design opti-mal systems on each ofthese but when you bringthem together, it may notbe optimal.”He called for a movefrom document-centric tomodel-based design.“Modelling gives you asingle language for engi-neers,” he said. “It en-ables traceability ofrequirements, it enhancesconsistency and it elimi-nates redundancy.”

Jeff Hutton: “Youcould be called up incourt.”

Wolfgang Freese: “Doyou know all theoptions?”

Bert Dexters: “Theprocess has to take indifferent aspects.”

Offroad cruise control

Making mistakes in being safeMany companies makebasic errors both in cul-ture and practice when itcomes to introducingsafety, believes FriedrichScheerer, safety managerat Continental.“A pitfall attitude is tothink first we design thesystem and then we makeit safe,” he said. “Thiswill not work, but I see itevery day. You will fail toshow compliance toISO26262 and it will becostly at the end.”Another pitfall, he said,was thinking the safetyengineer would make thesystem safe.“It is the function of thedeveloper to make it safenot the safety engineer,”he said. “The safety engi-neer can help the devel-

oper but it is the devel-oper’s responsibility. Re-member, if you can proveit is safe, it is safe. If youcan’t prove it is safe, thenit isn’t safe.”Functional safety, hesaid, was the absence ofunacceptable risk. Thefunctional safety of a sys-tem was achieved byproving safety goals andrequirements have beenfulfilled within a definedcontext.He said also that toomany people just fol-lowed a process andthought that would beenough.“‘Process’ is a wordwidely misused,” he said.“If I do bad work follow-ing a good process, it isstill bad work.”

He said that system en-gineering was not a highart but very basic – plan,act, control.“But this is not appliedby everyone in every situ-ation,” he said. “We alsohave to deliver systemsthat satisfy customers’need.”Another problem wasoverestimating the mean-ing of ISO26262 metrics.“Metrics are necessarybut they are supportingmaterial,” he said. “Donot base your safety argu-ment on numbers. Archi-tectures make systemssafe.”He said to do this prop-erly, companies needed tounderstand the standardand why it was written.They should plan and ex-

Friedrich Scheerer:“Safety is developer’sresponsibility.”

ecute following appliedprocesses. Requirementsneeded to be taken seri-ously.“Get involved and un-derstand the requirementsand why they were writ-ten that way,” he said.“Communicate and col-laborate. Use systemsafety analysis and vali-dation.”

Integrity culture

third were systemic faultssuch as companies nothaving all the safety com-petencies within theirstaff, functional safety

processes not available ornot being followed, andan attitude of taking shortcuts to save time and costat the expense of safety.“The most famous re-calls in the industry werelinked to systematiccauses,” he said.To control randomfaults, diagnostic mecha-nisms and fault tolerantdesigns were needed,known as product in-tegrity. Process integrityinvolved the ability of theproject team and organi-sation to avoid systematicfaults, which he said inISO26262 came down toasils (automotive safety

integrity levels).From 2005 to 2013, thefocus of the industry hasbeen on product integrity,but since 2013 that haschanged to process in-tegrity.“Process integrityspeeds time to market andreduces recalls,” he said.“The exact role played byeach individual should bereflected in the projectsafety plan. We need tofind the right balance be-tween product andprocess integrity. Wewant to develop a func-tional safety culture toachieve the target in-tegrity levels.”

Vincenzo Sacco: “Themost famous recalls inthe industry werelinked to systematiccauses.”

Vehicle ElectronicsPage 15, April 2015

To make connected carssafe and secure, designersshould focus on thethreats rather than thevulnerabilities, said PeterTröger, assistant profes-sor at TU Chemnitz,where they are workingwith Audi to test safetyand security measures ina connected car environ-ment.“Traditionally, a car hasbeen a closed system thatdoesn’t interact with theoutside world,” he said.

Focus on threats not vulnerabilities

Peter Tröger: “Addingcommunications opensthe system up.”

“Adding communicationsopens the system up.Strangers can talk to yoursystem. If it is an opensystem, it can’t be safeand it can’t be secure.”He said examples of ve-hicle systems that couldbe violated included dis-abling the airbag, chang-ing positional data andhacking navigation sys-tems. There was alsoscope for warranty fraud.When doing the tests,they considered safety

and security as distinct re-search fields.“Safety is about the reli-ability of the safety mech-anisms,” he said. “Sec-urity is resilience againstintentional attacks.”He said the need was tolook at the types of attackthat could happen as thevulnerabilities wouldchange over time.“A car can last twentyyears,” he said. “So,focus on threats ratherthan vulnerabilities.”

Cut costs with platform engineeringThe importance of prod-uct line engineering whensupplying systems formodern vehicles was il-lustrated by Rafal Doro-ciak, head of systemplatforms for Hella. Andit is a problem that startsright at the basics whenpeople buy the vehicles.“People who buy carshave lots of different re-quirements depending onwhether they are single,have families and so on,”he said. “So it would notbe sensible to have oneproduct line. Plus, if youhave the same model inthe market for too long,sales go down. You needinnovation.”This is why, he said,there had to be a productfamily rather than indi-vidual products. But tier-one suppliers want toreuse product develop-

ment across differentlines.One way would to dothis is only where the re-quirements are exactlythe same for all knownproducts. The secondwould be to try to coverall the requirements fordifferent products, butthat raises the problem ofwhat to do when the re-quirements contradicteach other.The third method, hesaid, was to cover all theknown requirements asfar as possible and definevariation points wheredifferent exchangeablevariants can be used de-pending on what waswanted.This meant, he said,there were two distinctdevelopment processes –domain engineering andapplication engineering.

In domain engineering,the commonality and thevariability of the productline is defined. In applica-tion engineering, specificapplications are definedby exploiting the variabil-ity of the product line.He proposed a four-layer model for variant-based development. Thefirst layer involves mar-ket research to try to an-ticipate what features willbe needed in the future.The second layer is thedevelopment of a founda-tion of components basedon the information fromlevel one.The third level definesthe reference architec-tures for the product vari-ants. And the fourth levelanalyses the markettrends and creates prod-ucts based on the productvariants.

Rafal Dorociak:“Platform engineeringreduces costs and timeto market.”

“This can be done on amacro level for adas,body electronics and soon,” he said, “and on amicro level for variousmodules. We do platformengineering because it re-duces costs and we canreduce time to market.”

SOFTWARE TOOLS SOFTWARE TOOLS

Vehicle ElectronicsPage 17, April 2015 Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 18

FIT FOR PURPOSE

Mark Warrendiscusses making

software developmentfit for today’s

automotive marketAn S Class Mercedes-Benzrequires millions of lines of code

SOFTWARE TOOLS SOFTWARE TOOLS

Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 20Vehicle ElectronicsPage 19, April 2015

The pace of change in theautomotive market is rapidand demanding. The ability

to be competitive in a challengingindustry means vehicle and com-ponent manufacturers are havingto innovate constantly, while atthe same time address the need tokeep costs down for their morediscerning customers. Plus, thereis the added requirement to com-ply with regulations, such as ISO26262, and bring products and up-grades to market more rapidly.

Vehicles are increasingly de-pendent on software: it has beenreported that an S class Mercedes-

Benz requires millions of lines ofcode, indeed more than an ad-vanced aircraft. In today’s digitalage, customers expect a great userexperience and frequent updatesin all aspects of their lives, includ-ing vehicles. In the commercialsector, features such as the abilityto send information from drivers’cabs back to base are all helpingto put software at the forefront ofvehicle electronics. The internetof things (IoT) is a universal de-velopment trend and automotiveis one of its leaders, with exam-ples including vehicle-to-vehiclecommunications for smart naviga-

Scania has a watch that lets lorry drivers monitor their vehicles

tion, or smart devices, such as thewatch recently introduced by Sca-nia to enable lorry drivers to mon-itor their vehicle.

Processes and toolsIn the same way that productionline equipment revolutionised thecar industry in the last century,software is doing the same for ve-hicle innovation in this one. Inline with that, many organisationswithin the industry are re-assess-ing existing tools and processes toensure they are fit for purposeand, in many cases, making sig-nificant investment to maintain ef-ficiency and increase competitiveadvantage.

The industry is looking at theachievements in reducing deliverytimes in other industries for howto modernise their own processes.Agile software development isabout being flexible and respon-sive, while always keeping theend goal in mind. It is also aboutbeing highly collaborative and re-sponsive to change. The mostwidely adopted Agile methodol-ogy, Scrum, focuses on short,time-boxed iterations at the end ofwhich there should be a workproduct that is capable of beingused by the target customer.

Lean and Kanban are othermethodologies that also have afocus on short iterations, althoughthey tend to allow features to beshipped when ready, rather thanwaiting for some arbitrary end ofsprint release date. The disciplineof short, focussed releases encour-ages incremental changes ratherthan massive big-bang releases,thereby reducing risk and allow-ing plans to react to changingmarket or customer demands.

Discuss and approve changes with audit trail; the conversation isstored in the repository, so no searching through memory or emaillogs to find out why and how a change was made

Viewing the history of changes to a file and managing binary files,in this case a graphic, not just source code

Continuous deliveryContinuous delivery (CD) couldbe considered an evolution fromAgile and Scrum, with a greaterfocus on shortening the cyclefrom development to customer,with rapid feedback and iterationbuilt in.

With CD processes, it is as-sumed that products are alwaysreleasable: in other words, at anyone time, a product is ready fordeployment, even though its de-velopment will continue toevolve. Automated systems allowall tested software to be deployed,potentially directly to customers.Of course, if physical productshave to be built there will bebreaks in the release pipelinewhile prototypes are built andtested or production systems up-dated, but having a goal of au-tomating as far through theprocess with something that is po-

tentially releasable is an importantgoal. Ultimately, the actual releaseinto production and to customersis a decision for the business.

Removing barriersAs with any new methodology,Agile and CD are only as good astheir execution; software develop-ment is littered with examples ofbad practice or failed projects.There are typically a couple ofreasons for this, notably cultureand tools. For Agile and CD to betruly effective, they need to cas-cade down throughout the organi-sation, with the buy-in from theboard downwards.

They can represent a very differ-ent way of working for some peo-ple – for instance, the concept offail early, recover quicker, ratherthan traditional waterfall style de-velopment. Creating internalchampions, providing training and

support are all essential to embed-ding these approaches in a com-pany’s development culture.

Secondly, Agile and CD can belet down by the software develop-ment tools the company is using,particularly if they have not beenreplaced or evolved during thepast few years. As a rule ofthumb, any development tools thathave not had a major update in thepast five years need closerscrutiny.

Common with other manufac-turing industries, there is often areluctance in the automotive sec-tor towards changing softwaretools, especially if they were ex-pensive and complex to purchase,deploy and manage.

The inertia to change is in-evitable, however if these toolsaren’t good enough to supporttoday’s challenges, then they cer-tainly are not going to be for the

SOFTWARE TOOLS AUTONOMOUS DRIVING

Vehicle ElectronicsPage 21, April 2015 Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 22

next few years either and willsoon become a hindrance ratherthan a help. There are severalareas where change can be cru-cial.

Single source of truthConsider the varied stack of hard-ware and software in a final prod-uct, such as memory, processors,drivers, graphics, documentation,test plans and simulators. Eachmay be created using multipletools and processes, by differentpeople in different teams and maybe in different companies or coun-tries. This can lead to a siloed ap-proach to working, whichundermines the co-ordination ofrapid releases in a highly collabo-rative environment (on whichmethods such as Agile and CD arebased). This is why, increasingly,companies are implementing asingle repository for all the assetsassociated with a developmentproject, not just code but caddrawings, documents and othersupporting content.

This acts as both a single sourceof truth for the project’s currentstatus, but also provides informa-tion that can be referred to at alater date, giving detailed infor-mation over who did what, when

and how. This is particularly im-portant if, for instance, there is aquery over ISO 26262 compli-ance. If required, that repositoryalso provides the means to rollback to a previous version of theproduct or service in question.

Most organisations may alreadyhave software configuration man-agement tools in place, also re-ferred to as version control,version management or sourcecode control. Those that havebeen in place for some time maynot be able to cope with the kindof large binary data files associ-ated with most modern designprojects, the diversity of file typesor rapid release cycles. So, it maybe time to re-assess existing ver-sion management tools and, ifmultiple ones are in place, alsolook at consolidation onto fewerplatforms.

Some will also be aware of theincreasing popularity of an open-source version control systemknown as Git. It chimes well withthe automotive industry’s adop-tion of a more open approach andit has its benefits: this is a light-weight software development toolthat is easy for software develop-ment teams to implement. How-ever, it is not ideal for large binary

Keep abreast of what’s going on across your projects with asummary of all activities including current work in progress

files, protecting intellectual prop-erty or organisation-wide visibil-ity and collaboration, which arethe main reasons why there arenow tools that enable individualsto continue using their belovedGit tools, while at the same timecreating an environment that putscontrol – particularly around qual-ity and scalability – back in thehands of IT management. So,where Git is part of the currentsoftware development environ-ment, look for tools that bridgethat gap.

Also look for tools that supportautomated testing processes. Test-ing is at the heart of CD in partic-ular, making it easier to deal withthe increased volume of testing re-quired, particularly mundane test-ing tasks that invite human error.In the automotive sector, look fortesting tools that support compli-ance testing (for example forMisra coding standards) and hard-ware simulators, creating high fi-delity emulation and reducing theneed for physical prototypes orproduction testing.

These are exciting times for au-tomotive electronics designers andmanufacturers. Software hasamazing potential to take innova-tion to a whole new level, particu-larly with the advent of advanceddriver assistance and driverlessvehicles. However, for vehicleelectronics companies to competesuccessfully in this brave newworld, it clearly makes sense toreview existing processes andtools to make sure they are goingto drive that innovation, not createroadblocks.

Mark Warren is Europeanmarketing director ofPerforce Software

An autonomous future iscloser than it has everbeen before. But the steps

that have led the industry to thispoint started a long time ago, ascan be illustrated by a look backat research at Mercedes-Benz overthe past 30 years.

1985Daimler-Benz and a group ofEuropean manufacturers kick-started the research into au-tonomous cars with the Eureka-Prometheus research project.Over eight years, the project ad-dressed issues surrounding the fu-ture of mobility and suggestedways to improve vehicle safety,efficiency and traffic flow. The re-sult was the Vita (vision technol-ogy application) vehicle, whichused miniature video cameras be-hind the front and rear wind-screens to capture the trafficaround the vehicle letting it brake,accelerate and steer accordingly.The origins of a broad range of in-novations, such as lane-change,parking assistance and navigationsystems can all be traced back tothis research project.

1995An S Class prototype test vehicle– equipped with an early super-computer – travelled from Munichto Copenhagen almost entirely au-tonomously on motorways andwas able to change lanes, overtake

Round the BenzA look back at 30 years of research byMercedes-Benz on its route toautonomous driving

and keep a safe distance from thevehicle ahead. As a result of thisprototype, in 1998 Distronic adap-tive cruise control entered produc-tion in the S Class. From thistechnology Mercedes-Benz wasable to develop a succession of as-sistance systems capable of de-tecting hazardous situations,warning the driver and, ever morefrequently, intervening.

2010A broad range of driver assistancesystem were introduced in 2010 –now under the banner IntelligentDrive – enabling vehicles to de-tect hazardous situations and reactaccordingly. This includes: colli-sion prevention assist; active blindspot assist; active lane keeping as-sist; and active parking assist.

2013Mercedes-Benz demonstrated thatautonomous driving is possible,even in complex urban and ruraltraffic.

The close-to-production S 500Intelligent Drive completed a100km journey from Mannheimto Pforzheim fully autonomouslyusing production-based sensors –following the route taken in 1888by Bertha Benz on the first everlong-distance car journey.

2015With the F 015 Luxury in Motion,Mercedes-Benz demonstrateswhat form Intelligent Drive mighttake in the future.

The electric-hybrid system has arange of 1100km and can operatein manual or autonomous modes.The driver is connected to the out-side world via a choice of sixscreens integrated throughout theinterior, controlled via eye track-ing, gesture recognition or touch.The F 015 – designed from theoutset as an autonomous car – waslaunched at the Consumer Elec-tronics Show in Las Vegas.

Eureka-Prometheus research project

SIMULATION & MODELLING SIMULATION & MODELLING

Vehicle ElectronicsPage 23, April 2015 Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 24

Gettingreal

Real-world driving conditions canbe key to improving real-world fuel

efficiencies, as a recentcollaboration discovered

SIMULATION & MODELLING SIMULATION & MODELLING

Vehicle ElectronicsPage 25, April 2015 Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 26

If the automotive industry is toreach EU targets for reducingcarbon emissions, firms must

be prepared to expand currentmethods for testing fuel efficiencyto consider the broad spectrum ofreal-world driving conditions andnot single legislative drive cycles.

This was the finding of a studyby Loughborough University andRomax Technology. It revealedthat fuel consumption in the auto-motive industry can differ by asmuch as 20 per cent when com-paring real-world drive cycles tothat of rig and simulated tests

based on legislative drive cycles,demonstrating the significant vari-ances that exist when it comes tofuel efficiency.

The findings are part of a three-year investigation into the factorsthat influence energy consumptionacross hybrid electric vehicles,and how real-world driving differsfrom legislative test cycles. Theproject stemmed from impendinglegislations from the EuropeanUnion, which is setting mandatoryemission reduction targets for allnew cars.

This legislation is the corner-

stone of the EU’s strategy to im-prove the fuel economy of carssold on the European market. Thefleet average to be achieved by allnew cars is 130g of CO2 per kmby 2015, and 95g/km by 2021,phased in from 2020. Manufactur-ers failing to comply face fines of€95 for every gram over targetper vehicle. The commission’s im-pact assessment states the 95gCO2/km limit would save Euro-pean drivers approximately€25bn a year in fuel costs. This isputting strain on automotive man-ufacturers and in light of pressures

Matthew Lintern fromLoughborough University

Comparisons were made between testing in laboratory conditions and in the real world

Barry James: “We are thrilledwith the results.”

from the EU, car makers need tomake better use of the datastreams available to them.

This particular project was car-ried out by Matthew Lintern, aPhD research student with a de-gree in automotive engineering atLoughborough University. Romaxand the Engineering & PhysicalSciences Research Council(EPSRC) jointly funded the proj-ect. Using a Toyota Prius test ve-hicle, with GPS data loggingcapability, the car journey datawere used to develop urban drivecycles to represent the usage pat-terns of the car. These were usedto carry out repeatable testing on achassis dynamometer, and to runvehicle simulations over the samedrive cycles. Comparisons weremade between testing in labora-tory conditions and in the realworld, and also with the simula-tion results.

The results revealed that the fuelconsumption on real-world cycletests was 20 per cent higher thanon the standard European ECE-15urban drive cycles. Additionally,real-world on-road driving fuelconsumption was over 20 per centhigher than in tests on the equiva-lent real-world cycle on the chas-sis dynamometer. The mostsignificant factor in this was de-termined to be the use of climatecontrol auxiliaries and associatedambient temperatures. In compar-ing dynamometer test results tothose simulated, the research fo-cussed on the vehicle’s batterydegradation by carrying out labo-ratory testing of the high voltagebattery pack, which was found tohave a noticeable influence.

Barry James, head of R&D atRomax, said the joint projectdemonstrated Romax’s commit-

ment to driving innovation.“R&D is core to our business

model,” he said. “Every year weaim to make a significant year-on-year investment into driving in-dustry innovation. Reducingcarbon emissions is a big strainfacing the automotive industry,and in light of this it is imperativethat we work with partners in aca-demia and industry to explore allrelevant avenues for fuel effi-ciency improvements.”

He said that traditional designtools used by manufacturerstended to focus on efficiencyagainst a single drive cycle.

“They don’t account for the ro-bustness of a vehicle’s perform-ance against a set of drive cyclesor against external factors such aslocational influence,” he said.“Tests are carried out in a veryregimented environment andrarely account for outside influ-ences and, as a result, the dataachieved from this are rarely putto effective use. The work withMatthew Lintern and Loughbor-ough University sought to addressthis very issue and we are thrilled

with the results.”Rui Chen, professor of low car-

bon engineering at LoughboroughUniversity, added: “For car mak-ers to take those first steps in be-coming compliant with impendingnew fuel efficiency targets, it isimportant they are able to max-imise new data streams, that ulti-mately provide us withinformation needed to get aclearer picture of real-world drivecycles.

“Matthew’s project addressesthis very issue, providing the nec-essary information to make calcu-lated assessments on where fuelefficiencies can be made. Ourrelationship with Romaxprovided us with the expert adviceneeded to ensure that this becamea reality.”

Founded in 1989, Romax pro-vides software and services for thedesign, analysis and optimisationof transmissions and drivelines forthe automotive, bearings, windenergy, off road, rail, marine andaerospace sectors. It is headquar-tered in Nottingham, UK, and op-erates through 12 offices globally.

t e n dto 100V

types over thecoming months.The TO-LL package

has low package parasiticcompared with a D2Pak.Its inductances are halfthe amount and the pack-age resistance is 40 percent. It allows for auto-mated optical inspectionthanks to its tin-platedlead tips.

s u p -ports up to300A currenthandling capabilities.It is almost half theheight.The switching and EMI

performance suit switch-ing and PWM controlledapplications.The portfolio now in-

cludes 40, 60, 80 and150V ratings and will ex-

Fairchild has announcedits next generation PowerTrench mosfets for auto-motive applications in theTO-leadless (TO-LL)package (Jedec MO-299).This is said to providelow package resistance,small footprint and goodEMI behaviour.Typical automotive

power applications in-clude battery manage-ment for electric andhybrid-electric vehicles,

battery safety switches,start-stop systems, andmotor drives for electricpower steering and activerectification alternators.Devices are optimised fortraditional 12V batterysystems as well as sup-porting board-net archi-tectures, such as 48V.At 2.3 by 9.8 by

10.38mm, the TO-LLpackage is about 30 percent smaller than a D2Pak(TO263) package and

PRODUCTS

Vehicle Electronics Vehicle ElectronicsPage 27, April 2015 April 2015, Page 28

PRODUCTS

TO-leadless package extendsmosfets’ abilities

Conductive polymer hy-brid aluminium elec-trolytic capacitors with45% higher ripple currentsuit high-reliability andother applications thatneed low leakage, highcapacitance and high sta-bility.The +125˚C capacitors

from Panasonic in 25 and35V have a ripple currentup to 2900mA rms. Thisapproaches the ripplecurrent performance ofsolid polymer devices (upto 10.2mm high) but withthe advantages of hybrid

High ripple current hybridcaps target high reliability

polymer technology –low leakage current, highcapacitance, low powerconsumption, stable oper-ation and the ability towithstand test environ-mental conditions of

+85˚C, 85%, 2000 hourRH.Capacitance values are

10 to 330µF. Deviceshave a withstand voltageof 25 to 63V and leakagecurrent of 0.01CV or 3µF.

Endurance is 4000 hoursat +125˚C.“With an operating tem-

perature range of -55 to+125˚C, theseAEC-Q200qualified, RoHS-compli-ant parts target highreliability applications in-cluding automotive,” saidMelanie Raimann, Euro-pean product manager forpolymer capacitors atPanasonic.“Vibration-proof resist-

ant devices are availableupon request for can sizesof greater than 8mm in di-ameter.”Capable of managing

input voltages from 3.5 to42V and regulating out-put voltages from 0.8 to55V, the LM5175 fromTexas Instruments is afour-switch buck-boostDC-DC controller for in-dustrial and automotiveapplications. These in-clude industrial PCs,USB power delivery, in-vehicle wireless charging,LED lighting, electric ve-hicles, battery chargingand telecoms RF poweramplifiers.It addresses buck, boost

and buck-boost applica-tions from output powerof a few watts to greaterthan 100W using one de-vice. A proprietaryswitching scheme in-creases efficiency in thebuck-boost transition re-

DC-DC controller handles wide voltagesgion and uses a single in-ductor to reduce boardspace.The gate drive (2A at

7.5V) enables wide inputvoltage mosfets to switchfaster and more effi-ciently. Optional hic-cough mode short-circuitprotection prevents ther-mal runaway during ex-tended load current faults,

reducing thermal stressby up to 30 per cent.The absolute maximum

input voltage is 60V, al-lowing it to withstandwide voltage transients.Optional input or outputaverage current limitingaddresses applications re-quiring a regulated cur-rent from the input supplyor to the load.

Topside cooling technol-ogy has been added toGaN Systems’ high-power enhancement-mode devices to letengineers use conven-tional, well-understoodPCB cooling techniqueswhen incorporating thesemiconductors into their

designs for hybrid andfull electric vehicles.The gallium nitride

transistors are based ontechnology in which thedie consist of islandsrather than traditional fin-gers, which brings advan-tages in terms of bettercurrent handling, lower

inductance, scaling, isola-tion and thermal manage-ment, as well as enablingsmaller die and loweringcost.The devices have cur-

rent ratings from 8 to250Aand are delivered inGaNPX packaging: thedie is embedded within a

Topside cooling simplifies PCB designlaminate construction anda series of galvanic

processes replace conven-tional techniques such asclips, wire bonds andmoulding compounds.These near-chipscale

high power switchingtransistors are now pack-aged to be cooled via thetopside of the chip usinga heat sink or fan.

The Verso+ 10 vehicle-mount computer fromJLT is available with ei-ther the Intel Core i5processor or a dual-coreIntel D2550 processor.The Core processor op-

tion has 8Gbyte DDR3memory, while bothprocessor options have a25.4cm sunlight viewableXGA LED display withmulti-touch projected ca-pacitive technology. In-

Processor choice for vehicle-mount PCbuilt storage comes in theform of a CFast drive andthe computer has water-proof stereo speakers andsupport for HD audio.In both, the power sup-

ply and battery back-upare integrated, and sup-ported by the QuickLockcradle, which simplifiesinstallation in a vehiclewhile preserving easy ac-cess for security.Features include built-

in wlan 802.11 ac/a/b/g/ndual-band and Bluetooth4.0 connectivity with in-tegrated and sensitivePIFA antennas, givinglocal and personal areacommunications even in

harsh environments. Anoptional 4G LTE modulecan be added to providewide area communica-tions and the dock can ac-commodate assisted GPSand Glonass technology.Dimensions are 251 by

207 by 65mm, includingdock. Weight is 2.7kg. Itcan operate at tempera-tures of -30 to +55˚C, in10 to 90% RH. Dust andwater ingress is to IP65.

PRODUCTS

Vehicle ElectronicsPage 29, April 2015

PRODUCTS

Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 30

A tri-axial mems acceler-ation sensor from Boschprovides information forinfotainment and telemat-ics applications in vehi-cles.Measuring 2 by 2mm,

the SMA 130 providesmeasurements between±2 and ±16g in 14bit res-olution. It consumes130µA when active. Fiveuser-defined energy-sav-

ing modes also reducepower consumption to aslow as 1µA. This is suit-able for use in alarm sys-tems, for example, toprevent the sensor fromputting excess strain onthe battery when the vehi-cle is parked for long pe-riods. The individualmodes can be activated inless than 2ms.A digital interface

makes it possible to selectfour different sensormeasuring ranges individ-ually and set a variety offilter options.A built-in self-test en-

sures the reliability of thesensor signals. The sensoris also AEC-Q100 quali-fied.As well as data on vehi-

cle acceleration, whichare relevant for features

such as the e-call serviceor the car’s alarm system,the device can also sup-port the navigation sys-tem when GPS receptionis poor by providing addi-tional information. Whenseveral roads overlap, thesensor sends data on in-clination to the navigationsystem, for example, al-lowing it to pinpoint thevehicle’s position.

Serial eeproms invarious densitiesAutomotive-qualified se-rial eeproms from STMicroelectronics providevarious densities in the 2by 3mm WFDFPN8package for integratedbody controllers and gate-ways, as well as radar andcamera modules for adasapplications.Using a discrete serial

eeprom for data and pa-rameter storage can helpsimplify design whileproviding upgrade flexi-bility. Densities rangefrom 2 to 512kbyte, andboth I2C and SPI are sup-ported.T h e

WFDFPN8 has provedpopular in consumer-electronics applications,and the company has nowcreated a rugged versioncapable of withstandingautomotive environ-ments. The devices havepassed AEC-Q100 grade0 reliability tests and op-erate up to +125˚C.Features include 4ms

write time, clock fre-quency up to 20MHz, andbuilt-in traceability andsecurity. There is a dedi-cated page for softwareidentification and a write-lockable page to keep

sensitive data se-cure.

Tri-axial acceleration sensor

For motor drive, blowersand sensor applications inindustrial and automotivemarkets, the ZXTR2105Fregulator from Diodesmonolithically integratesa transistor, Zener diodeand resistor to provide a5V 15mAoutput from in-puts up to 60V.Available in a sot-23

package, this regulatortransistor also reducescomponent count andPCB area in other micro-controller applications,such as DC cooling fansfor PCs and servers.It can replace three dis-

crete components, and

when typically used toproduce a stable supply ofbetween 4.7 and 5.3Vfrom 12 or 24V inputs,not only reduces the foot-print but also increasessystem power density andreliability.The 60V maximum

input rating ensures suffi-cient headroom in theevent of transient over-voltage conditions, whileits line and load regula-tion safeguards continu-ous operation by ensuringtransient voltage dropscannot cause latch-up,which further contributesto system reliability.

Three into one

Parallel NOR flash andlow-power DDR4 (LP-DDR4) dram are avail-able from Micron to meetthe increasing memoryrequirements for the auto-motive market. The G18NOR family is said to havethe industry’s highest-performance parallel NOR.The G18’s 266Mbyte/s

read speed enables fasterboot and code executionfor higher-density appli-cations, while LP-DDR4enables 33% higher peakbandwidth than DDR4.The NOR products have

options that meet the in-dustrial temperaturerange of -40 to +85˚C andthe automotive -40 to+105˚C. The LP-DDR4products have optionsthat meet the automotive

-40 to +95˚C, as well assome planned options thatwill meet -40C to+125˚C.The flash products suit

adas rear-view cameras,which need fast bootspeed for instant readi-ness. Load times meet200µs boot requirements.They have a 1.8V coreand IO voltage for betterpower consumption in a

small package.The LP-DDR4 enables

data transfer rates up to4.266GT/s. The IO datarate delivers speeds up to3200Mbit/s to enable dis-plays with up to 4k by 2kresolution and 3D graph-ics on infotainment sys-tems, as well as moreadvanced adas capabili-ties for collision avoid-ance and safer driving.

Flash and dram fuelnext-generation cars A brushed motor pre-dri-

ver IC can provide func-tional safety and controlfor automotive applica-tions such as electricpower steering. TheTB9057FG from ToshibaElectronics meets Asil Drequirements.The IC integrates a dual

motor current detectioncircuit that convertsmotor current to voltageand a motor direction de-tection circuit that detectswhether external mosfetsturn on or off normallyand outputs the directioninformation to an MCU.Failure detection cir-

cuits – VB under voltage,VDD under voltage, overtemperature, and shortcircuit – that detect anyshort circuit between thedrain and source of adriver (mosfet) are alsointegrated.Housed in an LQFP48-

P-0707-0.50C packagemeasuring 9.0 by 9.0 by1.6mm, the IC supportsan operating voltage of+5 to +21V and has anoperating temperature of-40 to +125˚C.

Pre-driver ICmeets Asil D

Single and dual channelvoltage monitors thatdraw 6µA of quiescentcurrent are available fromLinear Technology forautomotive, battery-pow-ered equipment, telecomssystems and industrialelectronics. The LTC2965and LTC2966 integrateall components requiredto interface directly withhigh-voltage rails.Each 3.5 to 100V de-

vice includes resistor-pro-

grammable threshold in-puts to facilitate under-voltage, overvoltage orwindow monitoring ofpositive or negative railsto within ±1.4% accuracyover temperature.In addition to the high-

voltage inputs, they in-clude adjustable-polarityUV/OV comparator out-puts that can be pulled upto voltages as high as100V. All high-voltagepins are rated to 140V,

withstanding high-volt-age transients withoutdamage.Integrated high value

resistive dividers with se-lectable ratios improveaccuracy, power savingsand flexibility. Thresholdprogramming is achievedusing low value discreteresistors in combinationwith configuration pinsfor scaling the compara-tor thresholds and settingoutput polarity.

Voltage monitors draw 6µA quiescent current

Vehicle ElectronicsPage 31, April 2015

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Published by: Vehicle Electronics Magazine,72 Westwood Road, Nottingham NG2 4FS, UK

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© 2015 Vehicle ElectronicsISSN 2055-1177

Vehicle Electronics is available to readers world-wide. It will be published approximately twelvetimes a year in a digital-only format. All rightsreserved. No part of Vehicle Electronics may bereporduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photo-copying or recording on any information storagesystem, without the written consent of the pub-lisher. The publisher cannot be held responsiblefor loss or damge to unsolicited press releases orphotographs. Views of contributors and advertis-ers do not necessarily refelect the policy ofVehicle Electronics or those of the publisher.

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Vehicle Electronics April 2015, Page 32

RoHS-compliant, sur-face-mount multilayer ce-ramic chip capacitors(MLCCs) are availablefromVishay Intertechnol-ogy for automotive appli-cations. They come withC0G (NP0), X7R andX8R dielectrics in sixbody sizes from 0402 to1812.The Vitramon VJ31X

devices can operate up to+150˚C. They are madein precious metal technol-ogy (PMT/NME) with awet build process. Quali-fied to AEC-Q200 withPPAP available on re-quest, the devices suitpowertrain, chassis, light-ing and comfort electron-ics, in addition toindustrial sensors. TheMLCCs can be used inengine, steering andheadlight control units,battery and power man-

MLCCs in six body sizes

agement, and power sup-plies.The devices with a C0G

(NP0) dielectric are forvoltages up to 3kV DC,capacitance down to 1pF,a temperature coefficientof capacitance (TCC)of 0ppm/˚C ±30ppm/˚Cfrom -55 to +125˚C, andan aging rate of 0% max-

imum per decade.Suitable for decoupling

and filtering, X7R andX8R devices provide ca-pacitance to 1.0µF, volt-ages to 1kV DC, TCC of±15% from -55 to+125˚C (X7R) and+150˚C (X8R), and anaging rate of 1% maxi-mum per decade.

They have 100% mattetin plate terminations andcome with polymer flexi-ble terminations for pro-tection against boardflexure damage. The de-vices are halogen free andcomply with RoHS andthe automotive ELV (endof life) directive beyond2016.

An automotive LDO reg-ulator with 36V inputvoltage and 250mA out-put current has a currentconsumption of 6.5µAand output voltage accu-racy of ±2.0%.The S-19212 from

Seiko Instruments suitsautomotive use in con-stant-voltage power sup-plies for ECUs for en-gines, transmissions andsuspensions, anti-lockbrakes, related electricvehicle equipment, andhybrid electric vehicleand plug-in hybrid elec-tric vehicle electronics.Other applications in-clude body ECUs forbodies, headlamps, IT, ac-cessories, navigation andaudio systems.Maximum input voltage

is 36V (rating 45V) andthe operating temperatureis up to +125˚C. The se-lectable output voltage

ranges from 2.5 to 16V in0.1V steps. The packagesare the lead-free and halo-gen-free hsop-8A, hsop-6, sot-89-5 and sot-23-5.Built-in overcurrent

protection limits overcur-rent of the output transis-tor and a built-in thermalshutdown circuit limitsheat; the on-off circuithelps extend battery life.Ceramic capacitors assmall as 1.0µF are avail-able for input and outputcapacitors. The junctiontemperature range is -40to +150˚C.A thermal simulation

service provides asuggestion of thermal re-sistance value and recom-mended wiring ratio tohelp users select pack-ages.AEC-Q100 qualifica-

tion is in process, and theapplication for PPAP ap-proval is available.

Release version 2.2r1 ofAltium’s Tasking C com-piler suite supports thelatest Renesas RH850 mi-crocontroller variants aswell as bringing code op-timisation improvementsand an integrated on-chipdebugger.The release brings sup-

port for the RH850/C1x,D1x, E1x, P1x and R1xvariants in addition to theRH850/F1x series thatwas already supported.An addition is support

for the Renesas E1 on-chip debugging emulator,next to the instruction setsimulator debugger. Thedebugger’s graphical userinterface is seamlessly in-tegrated into the Eclipse-based IDE and accessiblethrough the debugger per-spective.This brings to the devel-

oper a single coding and

debugging front-end forRH850 application devel-opment.Code generation opti-

misations have beenadded, such as MIL link-ing and code compaction(reverse in-lining), tech-niques that have provento be highly effective incompilers for automotivemicrocontrollers. Meas-urements on a wide rangeof different applicationsources, including power-train applications, showclaimed improvements ofup to 40% in code com-pactness.The release is available

on PC Windows, withother platforms supportedon request.• The company has alsoannounced a C compilerfor the GTM-IP MCSgeneric timer modulefrom Robert Bosch.

LDO regulator forconstant-voltageECU supplies

Toolset bringssupport forRH850 family