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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Trio to develop secure automotive platform

GuardKnox, NXP and Green Hills Software have announced a partnership to develop a secure automotive platform for the next generation of vehicle architecture.

GuardKnox’s consolidated, scalable, and high-performance solutions, based on NXP’s S32G vehicle network processors and the Green Hills INTEGRITY RTOS and development tools, will make up the automotive platform for global OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers.

GuardKnox claims to be the automotive industry’s first Cybertech Tier computing supplier and has partnered with NXP Semiconductors, which provides secure vehicle network processors, and Green Hills Software, which provides real time operating systems (RTOS).

The companies will collaborate to develop a secure automotive platform targeting next generation zonal E/E architecture, enabling commercial deployment for software-defined and service-oriented vehicles.

The platform is designed for global OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers to overcome current technological challenges such as integrating the hardware and software required for delivering advanced features and functionalities for the next generation of vehicles. The unified platform targets new zonal vehicle architectures that consolidate services that have traditionally been performed by multiple, dedicated functional domain platforms. This will simplify wiring harnesses, thereby lowering vehicle weight and cost and enable scalability and enhancements through software over the air updates.

“NXP’s collaboration with GuardKnox and Green Hills addresses key challenges of the automotive industry’s dramatic shift from horsepower to compute power to drive future software-centric vehicles,” said Brian Carlson, global marketing director for Vehicle Control and Networking Solutions at NXP. “This flexible automotive platform unleashes the innovation of the S32G vehicle network processor to meet the demanding processing and networking needs of domain and zonal vehicle architectures coupled with secure, service-oriented software that’s ready to accelerate automotive OEM and Tier 1 innovations.”

Based on NXP’s S32G vehicle network processor and the Green Hills Integrity safe and secure separation kernel and secure hypervisor (Multivisor), the platform will retain GuardKnox’s mixed-criticality features of service-oriented architecture (SOA) for a consolidated, scalable, dynamic, and secure-by-design platform, says the company.

Idan Nadav, co-founder and CSO of GuardKnox, commented: “By combining NXP’s . . . processor solutions and proven software and development tools from Green Hills, we are confident that our joint dynamic platform will empower OEMs with the freedom to evolve and usher in the next era of innovative automotive solutions”.

The platform is suited for a range of new vehicle services such as in-vehicle app stores, vehicle personalisation, immersive infotainment systems and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). It is designed to adapt to customer needs while remaining agnostic to network topology. Its flagship is a general purpose compute element with automotive network interfaces, serving as a baseline vehicle server. It can also serve as a high performance domain controller for today’s architectures, designed to host applications, provide extra services, additional functionality, and consolidation of other external hardware.

https://www.ghs.com

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PHY is integrated for fibre optic automotive networking

Believed to be the first device for optical in-vehicle connectivity incorporating a transceiver IC, optoelectronics and optics, the KD7051 is an integrated fibre optic transceiver (FOT) from KDPOF.

The integrated FOT is a 100Mbit per second optical port in one single component. “By constructing the ASIC IC, photodiode and LED as one single device, we significantly reduce cost and footprint for automotive Ethernet connectivity at 100 Mbits per second,” said Carlos Pardo, CEO and co-founder of KDPOF. “The decreased number of parts also reduces the effort in testing and qualification,” he added.

The KD7051 reduces cost, compared to shielded twisted pair (STP) of copper wires, said KDPOF. There are no margin stacking between links in the supply chain and supply chain simplification, which offers competitive pricing for EMC critical or galvanic isolated critical links, says KDPOF. Applications include battery management systems, camera and sensor links, fast Ethernet links and smart antenna links.

KDPOF’s KD7051 transceiver IC offers a complete FOT design, which reuses low cost MEMs encapsulation and allows SMD reflow assembly with 8.0 by 7.0mm LGA components. The FOT is shielded against electromagnetic radiation. Fibre connection is via a simple plastic connector placed on top. The temperature range, from -40 to +105 degrees C, conforms with harsh automotive environmental requirements. It has a vibration class of V2 and withstands motor conditions. According to KDPOF, the device endures water without sealing. Shielding is integrated into the PCB component to strengthen EMC performance even with the ECU shield case removed. The first prototypes are available now.

The plastic optical fibre has a large diameter, making it more cost-effective to manufacture and install. During car assembly, the optical harness can be installed in the same process as the copper harness to ease installation.

Fabless semiconductor supplier KDPOF provides innovative high speed optical networking for harsh environments. It makes Gbit communications over fibre optics a reality, and supplies 1Gbit per second POF links for automotive, industrial, and home networks.

The company was founded in 2010 in Madrid, Spain, and offers a cost-effective technology as either ASSP or IP to be integrated in SoCs. The adaptive system works with a range of optoelectronics and low cost large core optical fibres, for a low risk, low cost, reduced time to market for vehicle manufacturers.

http://www.kdpof.com

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Automotive -grade proximity sensors prevent false triggers

Two integrated automotive-grade proximity sensors with high resolution up to 20 micron for force sensing applications have been released by Vishay Intertechnology. Each combine a photodiode, amplifier and ADC circuitry in a 4.0 by 2.36mm surface mount package with a low 0.75mm profile. The VCNL3030X01 features an on-board infrared emitter (IRED) while the VCNL3036X01 is designed to be used with up to three external IREDs, for which an on-board driver with internal logic is provided.

They are intended for use in automotive, consumer, smart home, industrial, office products and toys. The AEC-Q101-qualified devices provide higher resolution compared to previous generation sensors at a lower cost, says Vishay Intertechnology. The VCNL3030X01 and VCNL3036X01 can be used for force sensing applications in steering wheel controls, laptop smart power buttons and multi-force trackpads, and touchpads for IoT devices and kitchen appliances. The sensors prevent false triggers and even allow users to wear gloves, advises Vishay. The VCNL3036X01 is designed to work with external IREDs, for increased flexibility for product design.

Both VCNL3030X01 and VCNL3036X01 sensors support the I²C bus communication interface and the programmable interrupt function allows designers to specify high and low thresholds, which reduces the continuous communication with the microcontroller. The proximity sensors have selectable 12-bit and 16-bit outputs, and use intelligent cancellation to eliminate crosstalk. There is also a smart persistence scheme which ensures accurate sensing and faster response time. The VCNL3030X01’s emitter wavelength peaks at 940nm and has no visible ‘red-tail’, says Vishay.

The VCNL3030X01 and VCNL3036X01 have an IRED / LED pulse current of 200mA, a supply voltage range of 2.5 to 3.6V and an I²C bus voltage range from 1.8 to 5.5V. For force sensing applications, the sensors offer the flexibility to fine-tune the current for short displacements.

The devices are RoHS-compliant, halogen-free, and Vishay Green.

The VCNL3030X01 and VCNL3036X01 proximity sensors are sampling now and available in production quantities with lead times of six to 12 weeks for large orders.

http://www.Vishay.com

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