ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 182 of 227

Partners to develop AI hardware and software for autonomous vehicles

Thu, Jan 02, 2020

Videantis, which provides automotive deep learning, computer vision and video coding solutions, has announced that it will partner with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Infineon and other leading companies and universities to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) ASIC and software development tools specifically for intelligent autonomous vehicles.

The Videantis AI multi-core processor platform and tool flow has been selected for the KI-Flex autonomous driving chip project.

Autonomous driving relies on fast and reliable processing and merging of data from several lidar, camera and radar sensors in the vehicle. This data can provide an accurate picture of the traffic conditions and environment to allow the vehicle to make intelligent decisions when driving. The process of intelligently analysing these volumes of sensor data requires high-performance, efficient, and versatile compute solutions.

Videantis, Fraunhofer IIS and partners working on the KI-Flex project to develop a powerful system-on-a-chip and associated software development tools will use the AI multi-core processor to run the algorithms used for sensor signal processing and sensor data fusion to enable the vehicle’s exact position and environment to be understood. The chip will integrate the next-generation videantis processors and technology to run these demanding artificial intelligence algorithms in real-time and with low power consumption. This chip will also be supported by an automated tool flow from Videantis, which automatically distributes and maps AI workloads onto the parallel architecture.

Under the KI-Flex program, Videantis will integrate its multi-core processor into a software-programmable and reconfigurable chip that processes the sensor data using AI-based methods for autonomous driving.

The project, which runs until August 2022, is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Fraunhofer IIS leads the project consortium, which comprises Ibeo Automotive Systems, Infineon Technologies, Videantis, Technical University of Munich (Chair of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Real-time Systems), Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS, Daimler Center for Automotive IT Innovations (DCAITI, Technical University of Berlin) and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (Chair of Computer Science 3: Computer Architecture).

Videantis is headquartered in Hannover, Germany. It provides deep learning, computer vision and video processor IP for flexible computer vision, imaging and multi-standard hardware/software video coding for automotive, mobile, consumer, and embedded markets. Based on a unified processor platform approach that is licensed to chip manufacturers, Videantis provides tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of its customers. Core competencies are deep camera and video application with SoC design and system architecture expertise. Target applications are advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving, mobile phones, augmented reality / virtual reality (AR/VR), IoT, gesture interfacing, computational photography, in-car infotainment, and over-the-top (OTT) TV.

http://www.videantis.com

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Image sensor evaluation kits support VR and smart buildings

Tue, Dec 24, 2019

Evaluation kits from ams support eye tracking, presence detection and object recognition in virtual reality headsets, smart lighting and home and building
automation products.

The Raspberry Pi and Arduino-based NanEyeC evaluation kits are based around the ams NanEyeC miniature image sensor.

The NanEyeC camera, image sensor is supplied as a 1.0 x 1.0mm surface-mount module. It produces 100kpixel resolution up to 58 frames per second and can be used for video applications where the camera needs to be accommodated in an extremely small space, such as eye tracking in virtual reality (VR) headsets. It can also be applied in user presence detection, to support automatic power on/off controls in home and building automation (HABA) applications such as air conditioning, home robotics, appliances and smart lighting.

The NanoVision demo kit for the NanEyeC is based on an Arduino development platform. It includes all necessary drivers to interface the sensor’s single-ended interface mode (SEIM) output to an Arm Cortex-M7 microcontroller. It also supports image processing including functions like colour reconstruction and white-point balancing.

The second board is the NanoBerry, designed for more demanding operations like eye tracking or stereo vision systems. This evaluation kit uses a NanEyeC image sensor add-on board to the Raspberry Pi port and includes firmware to interface to the Raspberry Pi host processor. Engineers can use the Arm Cortex-A53-based processor to perform demanding operations such as object detection, object tracking and computer vision functions provided by the OpenCV library.

The NanoBerry kit is suitable for high frame-rate and low-latency applications such as eye tracking. When integrated into the NanEye PC viewer, it enables full evaluation of the NanEyeC with access to all registers and raw image data.

The NanoVision board is available now to customers on request and the NanoBerry kit will be demonstrated at CES 2020 (the Venetian Tower, Suite 30-236) and will be available to customers in Q1 2020.

https://ams.com

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SYSGO and STMicroelectronics demonstrate secure telematics

Thu, Dec 19, 2019

Real-time operating system (RTOS) for certifiable embedded systems company, SYSGO has jointly developed the Automotive Secure Gateway, based on STMicroelectronics’ Telemaco3P SoC.

The Telemaco3P SoC is an automotive processor for secure telematics and connectivity, which is combined with SYSGO`s PikeOS hypervisor-based RTOS, which brings avionics-grade safety and security to the automotive market, says the company.

The Telemaco3P platform ensures a secure connection between the vehicle and the cloud. Its asymmetric multi-core architecture is built upon powerful application processors as well as an independent controlled area network (CAN) control sub-system with optimised power management. Its ISO 26262 silicon design, embedded hardware security module and automotive-grade qualification up to +105 degrees C ambient temperature enable it to be used in a range of secure telematics applications supporting high-throughput wireless connectivity and over-the-air (OTA) firmware upgrades.

PikeOS extends the concept of secure telematics by encapsulating all communications channels and all applications in individual partitions, using a positive-security concept. This means that individual partitions cannot communicate with each other unless explicitly allowed and configured by the developer. The strict separation on the kernel level ensures that any malfunction or malicious attack will not impact the software running in partitions other than the one originally affected. PikeOS is currently the only RTOS/hypervisor certified to Common Criteria (EAL 3+). It has been used in a range of critical safety and security applications in the avionics, railway, and automotive industries.

The Automotive Secure Gateway implements a comprehensive security concept including a virtualised firewall, an intrusion detection system (IDS), fast and secure boot capabilities and a secure OTA update process. It supports secure cloud communications via LTE, as well as secured Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet and CAN connectivity within the car.

At CES 2020, ST and SYSGO will demonstrate how the Automotive Secure Gateway can detect and effectively mitigate OTA attacks. Demos will take place at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, in the Automotive Grade Linux showcase in the Smart City exhibition (Westgate Booth 1815) and in SYSGO’s hospitality suite in the Westgate Hotel (floor 18, suite 1830).

https://www.st.com

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Renesas collaborates with Xilinx on Versal ACAP reference designs

Wed, Dec 18, 2019

Power semiconductors from Renesas and timing solutions from its subsidiary, IDT, support the Xilinx Versal adaptive compute acceleration platform (ACAP) devices featured on the Xilinx VCK190 evaluation kit and the Renesas VERSALDEMO1Z power reference board.

The 7nm process Versal is the industry’s first ACAP platform that addresses applications in data centre, automotive, 5G wireless, and wired and defence markets, says Renesas.

The company provides turnkey clocking and power reference boards that help system developers jumpstart Versal ACAP designs. For developers creating complex, compute-intensive systems that demand flexible and high-performance power delivery and timing, the collaboration has resulted in pre-validated reference designs that allow developers to rapidly develop and optimise system performance and power efficiency.

The Xilinx VCK190 is the first Versal AI Core series evaluation kit. It is based on the VC1902 Versal AI Core series ACAP, providing AI inference and signal processing throughput for cloud, network, and edge applications. The kit features complete timing solutions including the 8A34001 ClockMatrix system synchroniser for IEEE1588 and eCPRI applications, 8T49N240/8T49N241 Universal Frequency Translators for low-jitter and flexible transceiver SerDes clocking, a programmable clock generator and clock buffer/multiplexer for PCIe interface.

The Renesas VERSALDEMO1Z power reference board provides full power rails for the Versal ACAP’s adaptable engines, AI engines, scalar engines, and external DDR memory. The board is a complete power supply solution featuring one member of the ISL68xxx digital multiphase PWM controller family and multiple members of the ISL99xxx smart power stage family to provide high-efficiency and scalable Vcore power. There are also ISL91211A power management IC (PMIC) and DC/DC regulators.

The Renesas VERSALDEMO1Z power reference board is available now from Renesas Electronics.

Renesas Electronics delivers semiconductors that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices, microcontrollers, analogue, power, and SoC products for automotive, industrial, home electronics, office automation, and information communication technology applications.

http://renesas.com

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Partners to develop AI hardware and software for autonomous vehicles

Image sensor evaluation kits support VR and smart buildings

SYSGO and STMicroelectronics demonstrate secure telematics

Renesas collaborates with Xilinx on Versal ACAP reference designs

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