Sector News

Ultra-Wideband IC opens doors for hands-free car access

Thu, Nov 14, 2019

For hands-free smartphone car access, NXP, the BMW Group and Continental are working together to develop new automotive uses, based on NXP’s new automotive ultra wideband (UWB) IC.

The NXP NCJ29D5 is the first of a new generation of UWB ICs designed specifically for the demands of the global automotive industry. Together, with NXP connectivity and security solutions, such as Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC) and Secure Element (SE), it enables true secure hands-free smart access, says NXP, and supports standardisation in vehicle connectivity.

UWB provides precise, secure, real-time localisation capabilities, superior to other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS, explains NXP. The technology is designed to give spatial awareness to UWB-equipped cars, mobiles and other smart devices, to enable cars to know exactly where the users are, for smartphone-based car access with the same level of convenience as key fobs. Users can open and start cars, while leaving their phones in their pockets or bags, and enjoy secure remote parking via smartphone. The UWB IC maximises protection against car theft through relay attacks.

The three partners and others are jointly working on UWB implementations through the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) and IEEE, and combining vehicle, mobile and consumer devices. Efforts for standardisation aim to enable a global standard for hands-free smart access and other automotive localisation, based on UWB.

Commenting on the ubiquity of smartphones, Dr Olaf Müller, head of development digital access functions, BMW Group, said: “We are convinced that the smartphone-based comfort access is just the beginning of a series of innovative vehicle-related UWB use cases.”

For Philippe Fournet-Fayat, director at Continental AG for car access systems: “To deliver new use cases, such as smartphone access and remote parking requires the ultra-precise real-time localisation capabilities of UWB.”

As well as smart access and remote parking, NXP’s automotive UWB targets short range radar, smartphone valet parking, electric vehicle charging, drive through payment and the car-as-a-key for seamlessly access garage door/parking.

http://www.nxp.com/UWB

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Graph Streaming Processor blazes a trail for AI computing

Thu, Nov 14, 2019

Start-up Blaize (formerly known as Thinci) has announced details of the first true Graph-Native silicon architecture and software built to process neural networks and enable AI applications.

The Blaize Graph Streaming Processor (GSP) architecture enables concurrent execution of multiple neural networks and workflows on a single system. It also supports a range of heterogeneous compute-intensive workloads, says Blaize.

According to Blaize, the computing architecture meets the demands and complexity of new computational workloads found in artificial intelligence (AI) applications in automotive, smart vision and enterprise computing segments.

The Blaize GSP architecture and Blaize Picasso software development platform blends dynamic data flow methods and graph computing models with fully programmable proprietary SoCs. This allows Blaize computing platforms to exploit the native graph structure inherent in neural network workloads all the way through runtime, explains the company. The massive efficiency multiplier is delivered via a data streaming mechanism, where non-computational data movement is minimised or eliminated. This gives Blaize systems the lowest possible latency, reduces memory requirements and reduces energy demand at the chip, board and system levels, claims the company.

Blaize GSP is claimed to be the first fully programmable processor architecture and software platform that is built from the ground up to be 100% graph-native. Its inherent graph-native structure means developers can build multiple neural networks and entire workflows for neural networks on a single architecture that can be applied to a multitude of markets and use cases. Blaize explains that it allows end-to-end applications to be built integrating non-neural network functions, such as image signal processing with neural network functions, all represented as graphs that are processed 10 to 100 times more efficiently than existing solutions. AI application developers can build entire applications faster, optimise these for edge deployment constraints and run them efficiently using automated data-streaming methods, the company adds.

http://www.blaize.com

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STMicroelectronics adds wireless support to smart meter chipset

Wed, Nov 13, 2019

The ST8500 smart-meter chipset from STMicroelectronics now integrates both RF and PLC communication. At this week’s European Utility Week 2019, ADD Grup, a European smart-metering, announces hybrid PLC/wireless products that contain the enhanced ST8500 chipset.

ST’s ST8500 powerline communication (PLC) chipset now enables smart meters to communicate through existing power cables or radio frequency (RF) waves, combining the strengths of both types of connection.

Where power lines may be too noisy for PLC, or where local regulations dictate, equipment makers can now implement wireless and PLC quickly and efficiently using the ST8500, explains ST. In addition, the built-in RF capability lets equipment designers leverage the ST8500’s feature integration and ease of use in smart devices such as gas and water smart meters, environmental monitors, lighting controllers, and industrial sensors.

By embedding support for RF Mesh at the physical (PHY) layer and in the data-link layer (media access control, MAC, and 6LoWPAN) firmware, the ST8500 allows developers to leverage the strengths of combined powerline and wireless mesh networking for communication between smart nodes and data collectors. Unlike simple point-to-point links, hybrid mesh networking interconnects nodes extensively to create more reliable and fault-tolerant connections and extend communication distances, adds ST.

“With wireless support now fully integrated in the ST8500 firmware, ST’s chipset . . . .[will] enhance network performance, reliability, capacity, and scalability for our innovative electricity meters,” said Ruslan Casico, head of sales and marketing at ADD Grup. “The hybrid PLC/wireless connectivity is credited for ADD Grup winning “important metering projects” in EMEA, Russia, and Asia.

Domenico Arrigo, general manager, industrial and power conversion, STMicroelectronics, added, “By supporting RF communication alongside the leading PLC protocols, our market-proven chipset enables smart city and industry infrastructures worldwide to deliver more of their potential for saving the planet’s resources and enhancing control and efficiency.”

ST will exhibit its ST8500 chipset and demonstrate smart-meter, smart-home and -building, and smart-infrastructure customer solutions at European Utility Week in Paris, France (12 to 14 November) Stand J160.

http://www.st.com

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Xilinx adds MPSoCs for ADAS and autonomous driving

Wed, Nov 13, 2019

The Xilinix Automotive (XA) Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC 7EV and 11EG have been added to the company’s automotive portfolio. According to the company, the programmable capacity, performance and I/O capabilities enable high-speed, data aggregation, pre-processing, and distribution (DAPD) as well as compute acceleration for L2+ to L4 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving applications.

The XA Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC 7EV and 11EG offer over 650,000 programmable logic cells and nearly 3,000 DSP slices, representing a 2.5-fold increase compared with the previous largest device.

The XA 7EV contains a video codec unit for h.264/h.265 encode and decode; the XA 11EG includes 32 12.5Gbits per second transceivers and provides four PCIe Gen3x16 blocks. At the launch, Xilinx said the devices provide the performance required by carmakers, robotaxi developers and Tier-1 suppliers to perform power-efficient DAPD and compute acceleration that allows for scalable production deployments for autonomous driving vehicles.

The XA Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC portfolio is qualified to AEC-Q100 and integrates both Xilinx programmable logic and a feature-rich 64-bit quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 and dual-core Arm Cortex-R5-based processing system that is certified to ASIL-C level in the low power domain. These characteristics and the high data throughput capability of the XA 7EV and XA 11EG accelerate the deployment of autonomous.

The XA 7EV and XA 11EG are available for order today.  Both are supported by Vitis and Vitis AI software.

Xilinx develops adaptive processing platforms that enable rapid innovation from the endpoint to the edge to the cloud. Xilinx invented the FPGA, hardware programmable SoCs, and the ACAP.

http://www.xilinx.com

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