Skyworks introduces front-end module, certified to AEC-Q104

For automotive vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X)applications, the SKYA21043 is the latest integrated, 5GH front-end module from Skyworks. It incorporates a 5GHz single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) transmit/receive switch, a 5GHz high gain, low noise amplifier (LNA) with bypass, and a 5GHz power amplifier (PA) intended for high-power 802.11p DSRC (5.85 to 5.925GHz) at +105 degrees C applications and systems.

It is qualified to AEC-Q104 (Grade 2) for operation at -40 to +105 degrees C. The SKYA21043’s is rugged for automotive applications including V2V and V2X covering smart antennae, compensators, and roadside units for automotive infrastructure, backhaul and cellular small cells. Its characteristics include 8kV ESD protection on antenna output port and integrated logarithmic detector with wide dynamic range and is sensitive, jammer-tolerant (above 10dBm IIP3.

The device boasts +29dBm output power, which makes it one of the highest power devices available today, claims Skyworks.

The compact, conformally-shielded land grid array (LGA) package size will reduce front end board space by more than 50 per cent. The product is supported by the automotive PPAP process.

The compact, conformally shielded 24-pin package measures 3.0 x 5.0mm and is certified to MSL3, 260 degrees C, per JEDEC J-STD-020.

http://www.skyworksinc.com

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Controller provides safety functions for widescreen automotive displays

Two display controllers from Socionext have enhanced security support for high resolution, wide format displays.

The SC1702 display controller meets the automotive market’s demand for high-resolution widescreen automotive displays. Socionext has added a display controller to its SC1701 series, providing low-cost, optimal safety functions for meter clusters. Both display controllers deliver scalable in-vehicle remote display systems with high levels of safety, says the company.

The use of automotive displays is rapidly expanding in instrumentation and vehicle control operations, including meters, climate controls and other dashboard indicators integrated into graphics, as well as head-up displays (HUDs) and e-mirror displays, ranging from conventional small displays to large format, wide screens with some spanning across the entire dashboard.

The SC1702 is capable of transferring data at rates of up to 12Gbits per second, using APIX 3 technology. It is equipped with a newly developed panel interface port (PIP) that supports advanced, high-resolution, wide landscape format displays, such as 8K x 1K, which cannot be supported with conventional interfaces. It is also designed to conform to the HDCP 2.3 encryption technology, making it possible to effectively use rich, 4K-resolution content for multi-displays in a vehicle.

The SC1702 can detect display abnormalities that are unobservable with current technology, advises Socionext. In addition to the conventional safety features, displays can now recognise panel link loss, inconsistencies of CRC of pixel data and other behaviours at the source drivers and gate drivers, enhancing the capabilities to meet further safety requirements.

The SC1701BH5-300 has been added to the SC1701 family, providing additional functions to existing meter systems. Safety features include multi-window signature unit, picture freeze detection, and watchdog, as well as the 2D rendering capability of Deep Color (30 bpp) built-in graphics engine, at a competitive price, says Socionext.

The SC1701BH5-300 is available in an EP-LQFP-216 package, measuring 24 x 24mm and the SC1702AK3 is available in an HS-BGA-319 package, measuring 23 x 23mm.

The join the SC1701BK3-100 and SC1701BH5-100 display controllers.

Samples of the SC1701BH5-300 are now available. Sample shipment of the SC1702AK3 will start in February 2021.

http://www.socionext.com

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Radar sensor suite has all-round sensing for vehicles

Sensing to cover all radar segments from Europe’s NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) to 4D imaging radar is provided by a suite of automotive radar sensor chipset suite by NXP.

The NXP radar sensors are built on 16nm FinFET and 40nm RFCMOS technology. The include the RFCMOS 77GHz radar transceivers, the S32R45 high-performance radar processors for imaging radar and the S32R294 radar processor for corner and front radar applications

The processors and transceivers offer automotive manufacturers flexible and scalable configurations that address NCAP requirements for corner and front radar applications as well as what is claimed to be the first commercially viable path to volume production for 4D imaging radar.

4D imaging radar expands radar’s capabilities from measuring range and speed to include direction, angle of arrival, and elevation measurement.

NXP offers imaging radar, which “significantly enhances radar’s performance”. It delivers multi-modal capabilities and extends today’s L2+ features, such as highway pilot and lane change assistance, by offering very high resolution images for precise environmental mapping and scene understanding. This is an important part of enabling full autonomy in urban settings, says NXP.

NXP’s new purpose-built S32R45 radar processor and the TEF82xx transceivers deliver the fine angular resolution, processing power and range required to distinguish between small objects in the distance and separate and classify vehicles and vulnerable road users (e.g. cyclists or pedestrians) in crowded environments. This capability is targeted at providing better driving decisions.

The suite also provides scalability for long-range front radar and advanced multi-mode use cases, e.g. simultaneous blind-spot detection, lane change assistance and elevation sensing. These advanced applications require extended range and significantly enhanced angular resolution to detect and separate multiple objects simultaneously. The new S32R294 radar processors, combined with the NXP TEF82xx transceivers provide a scalable solution to address NCAP, advanced corner radar and long-range front radar sensor requirements. They can also be tailored for individual use cases.

“Radar has evolved from just detecting other cars’ velocity and distance to providing imaging radar’s high-resolution object and feature detection for precisely mapping the car’s surroundings,” said Torsten Lehmann, executive vice president and general manager, Radio Frequency Processing, NXP.

NXP claims to be the first company to broadly deliver 77GHz RFCMOS radar technology in high volume, mass production and says it helps customers optimise the total cost of ownership with scalable, re-useable radar systems.

Target applications are in traditional automotive manufacturers, focused on automated driving levels one to three, and for mobility as service innovators developing robotaxi and safe delivery applications for levels four and five automation.

The devices are sampling now, with mass production expected in 2021.

http://www.nxp.com

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dSpace partners with Microsoft Azure to develop ADAS

Customers of dSpace will have access to the data-driven development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) on the Microsoft cloud computing platform Azure, following the announcement that the two companies will work together to offer research and development engineers in the automotive industry an end-to-end solution that is scalable, secure, efficient, and agile.

The development of ADAS/AD functions relies on capturing large volumes of data from the vehicle perception sensors, buses, and networks, and on generating simulated scenarios to analyse the behaviour of the software, individual systems, subsystems as well as complete, integrated systems. The incoming data has to be enriched to a usable format, and it must be easy to distribute to teams working on AI-based development, data replay as well as simulation and validation tasks. This requires a powerful, flexible, and centralised data storage system, as well as a scalable and computational infrastructure with AI- and machine learning (ML) -based tools that can run seamlessly in the same environment.

Supplier to the automotive industry, dSpace offers mature and proven end-to-end solutions for ADAS/AD simulation and validation, including data logging, data enrichment, advanced simulation models, and data management software. Microsoft’s global, open, and scalable cloud platform allows businesses meet security, privacy and compliance requirements while innovation and development continues.

In this way, says dSpace, an integrated end-to-end solution for data-driven development can be achieved, allowing automotive OEMs and suppliers to focus on algorithm development.

“We combine our comprehensive and mature simulation portfolio with the highly scalable computational infrastructure of Microsoft Azure so that our customers can take full advantage of best-in-class solutions of both areas,” says Tino Schulze, executive vice president of Automated Driving & Software Solutions at dSpace.

“Collaborating with Microsoft will enable us to further expand our expertise in the areas of cloud computing and big data. Together, we will tackle the challenges of our automotive customers, supporting them in getting self-driving cars on the road faster,” explained Martin Goetzeler, CEO of dSpace.

dSpace provides solutions for developing connected, autonomous, and electrically powered vehicles. Automotive manufacturers and their suppliers use the company’s end-to-end solution range to test the software and hardware components of their new vehicles long before a new model is allowed on the road. Engineers also rely on dSpace expertise in aerospace and industrial automation. Its portfolio ranges from end-to-end solutions for simulation and validation to engineering and consulting services as well as training and support.

The company is headquartered in Paderborn, Germany and has three project centres in Germany. Customers are served through regional companies in the USA, the UK, France, Japan, China, and Croatia.

http://www.dspace.de

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