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AI in vehicle cockpit will help drivers interpret data

Mon, Jan 17, 2022

Computer vision based spatial AI provided by Phiar Technologies will be brought to Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon automotive cockpit platforms for AI-powered augmented reality (AR) navigation systems in vehicles.

Today, drivers are facing cognitive overload from having to interpret a multitude of information and notifications from the cockpit, while still trying to interpret directions on a 2D map, said Phiar, which is working with Qualcomm Technologies to bring seamless AI-powered road perception and AR navigation to video and HUD-based automotive IVI environments.

Gene Karshenboym, CEO of Phiar Technologies, explained that delivering AR navigation to drivers will bring them intelligent navigation guidance in real-time for more intuitive driving, without the need to look at a map. “Working with Qualcomm Technologies and the Snapdragon automotive cockpit platforms has empowered us to continually innovate on our existing high standards in AR navigation design, and to deliver the first-rate infotainment services and digital cockpit solutions demanded by modern consumers,” he said.

Bill Pinnell, vice president, product management, automotive at Qualcomm Technologies, added: “There is a growing expectation among consumers and automakers for sophisticated and truly connected digital cockpit solutions. Qualcomm Technologies is delighted that our next generation Snapdragon automotive cockpit platform is helping bring the future of driving navigation to consumers through Phiar’s innovative platform.”

Founded in 2017, Phiar Technologies is a computer vision AI company, specialising in augmented reality driving navigation technology for the automotive industry. Phiar combines its patented innovations in deep learning AI and AR into a new form of driving navigation platform to enhance safety, facilitate more intuitive wayfinding and connect drivers with their surrounding environments.

http://www.phiar.net

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Collaboration investigates improving RF switches

Fri, Jan 14, 2022

Rohde & Schwarz and FormFactor have supported the University of Texas at Austin in a research project to characterise a new technology for RF switches. The aim is to improve battery life performance and support higher bandwidths and switching speeds.

In 2020, the university published research on an RF switch technology based on hexagonal boron nitrite (hBN). The technology is energy efficient and allows higher bandwidths and speeds, making it ideal for 5G. In a follow-up project, Rohde & Schwarz and FormFactor supported further research to characterise the RF switch technology at sub-THz frequency ranges, in particular at the D-band (110 to 170GHz), for applications beyond 5G and 6G.

RF switches are used in all forms of transceivers. For example, current 4G and 5G smartphones switch between transmit and receive mode or between different frequency bands, networks, and technologies. Today’s switches need to operate constantly to change between the various states and in doing so consume a lot of power, affecting the battery lifetime of the device. The new RF switch technology stays off until required to switch to a different state, making it up to 50 times more energy-efficient.

Professor Deji Akinwande, from the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Texas Austin, commented: “By using the test and measurement solutions from Rohde & Schwarz and FormFactor our team was able to further characterise this new technology at the D-band, which is a frequency band of global interest for future 6G applications. The equipment was configured in an easy-to-use setup that provided reliable measurement results”.

The test setup consisted of a four-port R&S ZNA43 vector network analyser from Rohde & Schwarz connected to R&S ZC170 frequency extenders that allow to carry out S-parameter and intermodulation distortion (IMD) measurements at frequencies between 110 and 170GHz. There are dedicated IF inputs on the rear of the R&S ZNA43 for reference and measurement signals as well as high power LO signal for the two converters on the VNA, and its front panel ports which are typically used for these signals are available for additional measurements up to 43GHz without the need to re-calibrate the instrument. A graphical user interface (GUI) eases configuration and pertinent signal parameter routing to the converters, says Rohde & Schwarz. The converters were used within FormFactor’s Cascade Summit 12000 probe station, mounted to the mm-wave/THz positioning system. FormFactor’s WinCal XE software tool allowed was used to calibrate the test set up.

The Rohde & Schwarz technology group operates in test and measurement, technology systems, and networks and cybersecurity. Founded more than 85 years ago, the group partners with industry and government customers around the globe. The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany.

http://www.rohde-schwarz.com

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Solid Sands updates SuperTest Vermeer with diagnostic reporting

Fri, Jan 14, 2022

New tests and line-number accurate diagnostic reporting, together with enhanced floating-point checks to confirm arithmetic accuracy are in the latest update of the SuperTest Vermeer Release test and validation suite. Update #3 supports widespread adoption of the C++ programming language in safety critical applications with comprehensive C++20 language coverage. It also includes over 800 tests designed to verify the correct implementation of C++ language constructs. There are 1700 new tests for C++ library functions to make sure they work as intended in all use cases.

The ability of C++ to meet the security, functional safety, and behavioural requirements of ISO 26262 has led to increased adoption of C++ in the automotive industry. Many of the latest image processing, signal processing and machine learning algorithms used in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are now written in C++, said Solid Sands. SuperTest now comprehensively supports the test and validation of C++20 compilers enabling developers to keep abreast of the latest developments in C++ programming.

“Vehicle manufacturers are moving from single-core embedded processors to high-performance multi-core processor solutions, for which C++ has a distinct advantage over C in terms of structuring large software projects,” explained Marcel Beemster, chief technology officer at Solid Sands. The AutoSAR Adaptive Platform now includes programming guidelines for C++ and developers wanting to use the latest features in C++ can now verify that their compiler implements them correctly, Beemster added.

For diagnostic tests that are specifically designed to generate a compiler error, SuperTest’s C++ support includes line-number accurate error reporting so that developers can identify the precise language construct that generates the error.

The update also features improved floating point accuracy checking, with the default accuracy limit on arithmetic operations now universally set at four ULP (units in the last place, which is the smallest interval between two subsequent floating point numbers). This limit can be changed by the user, if required. For non-library arithmetic it can be set to zero to check rounding accuracy. There are also enhancements to SuperTest’s arithmetic function testing, including improvements to its powerful arithmetic depth suite that now supports target platforms that do not support floating point arithmetic.

The calling convention test suite has been improved so that it can be used to verify calling conventions within a compiler, verify that no compiler changes break application binary interface (ABI) integrity between different versions of a compiler. It can even test for calling convention consistency between different compilers.

The section traceability report details how each individual test matches the language standard and has been extended to cover all versions of C, including C18, and C++ up to C++17.

Multiple installs of different versions can be managed in the same Windows operating system environment, allowing users to run SuperTest and SuperGuard (Solid Sands’ C Library Safety Qualification Suite), or multiple SuperTest versions, on the same machine.

SuperTest Vermeer Release Update #3 is available now from Solid Sands.

http://www.solidsands.nl

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Ethernet PCIe bridge IC anticipates zoning in automotive networks

Thu, Jan 13, 2022

Anticipating the movement towards zonal architecture in automotive design, Toshiba Electronics Europe has developed the TC9563XBG Ethernet bridge IC.

It incorporates two 10Gbits per second Ethernet media access controllers (MACs) supporting USXGMII (universal serial 10 Gbit media independent interface), XFI (the 10Gbit serial interface), the SGMII (serial Gbit media independent interface) and the RGMII (reduced Gigabit media independent interface) Ethernet interface standards.

Both ports support Ethernet IEEE802.1 audio/video bridging (AVB) for real time processing and low latency IEEE802.1 time sensitive networking (TSN) for synchronous processing. The ports also support single root I/O virtualisation (SR-IOV) on PCIe devices.

The IC is intended for use in automotive zonal-architecture, infotainment, telematics or gateways as well as industrial equipment. Toshiba said automotive networks are evolving toward zonal architecture that requires real time transmission between the zones using multi-gigabit Ethernet communication. It developed the TC9563XBG with dual 10Gbits per second AVB and TSN-capable Ethernet interfaces for this networking technology.

The TC9563XBG includes a PCIe Gen 3 switch with three external ports for communications with the host controller SoC and additional devices equipped with PCIe interfaces like 5G-modem modules. The PCIe switch upstream port supports up to four lanes (32G transfers per second) for connection with the host SoC. Depending on the configuration, the downstream ports can connect with one and two lanes to PCIe-capable devices.

As automotive communication requirements increase in terms of the amount of data as well as the required speeds, the bridge IC will support various automotive applications including in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and telematics. It can also replace Toshiba’s Ethernet-to-PCIe TC9560 and TC9562 bridges, to upgrade system throughput and performance.

The use of PCIe interfaces has proliferated for device-to-device communication such as Wi-Fi, which can occupy PCIe interfaces on the host SoC. Using the TC9563XBG’s three-port PCIe switch function for these connections addresses this conflict.

Housed in a 10mm x 10mm, 0.65mm pitch P-FBGA package, the TC9563XBG bridge IC will be compliant with AEC-Q100 (Grade 3).

Samples are shipping now and volume production ramp-up will be in April 2022.

http://www.toshiba.semicon-storage.com

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AI in vehicle cockpit will help drivers interpret data

Collaboration investigates improving RF switches

Solid Sands updates SuperTest Vermeer with diagnostic reporting

Ethernet PCIe bridge IC anticipates zoning in automotive networks

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