With 18 chips in a car in hand, attack!

Latest update time：2023-12-15

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Regarding the origin of automobiles, the most common theory is that in 1885, German Karl Benz successfully developed the world's first three-wheeled automobile. As a result, he was recognized by the world as the "Father of the Automobile". But if we go back even further, the world's first "car" appeared in China. According to the "European Astronomical Manuscripts", in 1672, the European missionary and Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest built a 65 cm long car toy for the then 18-year-old Emperor Kangxi.

The manuscript mentions that this was a steam-powered car. Welbister used a spherical boiler to generate steam, which he then blew through a tube toward a turbine that turned the car's rear wheels. As long as it is full of coal, the car can travel for more than an hour. Although it is just a toy, judging from existing records, it is most likely the first car in the world to be driven by self-made power.

In today's terms, it can be regarded as a small "unmanned car".

More than three hundred years have passed, and the world is facing the arrival of the fourth industrial revolution, which is shifting from digitalization to intelligence. Human beings have never stopped imagining automobile innovation. The automobile industry in 2023 is also undergoing an accelerated transformation of "electrification + intelligence". Under this, the usage, value, and importance of automobile chips are increasing day by day, becoming a core component for the improvement of automobile functions and the application of new technologies.

Source: Photo Network

What exactly are we talking about when we talk about cars?

"When we talk about cars, we talk about the challenges of mobility." Regarding the issue mentioned in the title, at the Melexis 2023 Annual Innovation Media Day held not long ago, Vincent Hiligsmann, Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Melexis, took the lead to give There is an answer. As a leading semiconductor company that has been around for 34 years and is one of the top five automotive sensor suppliers in the world, with 90% of its revenue coming from the automotive business, this reply is not only a must-do for its development and innovation, but also the current focus of the entire automotive industry. .

In the process of developing toward electrification, intelligence, and connectivity, cars have gradually transformed from traditional means of transportation into an intelligent interconnected mobile platform. Mobile travel integrates advanced information technology, communication technology, control technology, and artificial intelligence. technology to realize vehicle autonomous driving, Internet of Vehicles, intelligent traffic management and other functions. To achieve differentiation in future automotive products , chips are a key component, and the external environment and current challenges will all have an impact on changes in chip functions.

The main challenges facing smart car mobility include the development bottleneck of autonomous driving technology, building an effective in-vehicle communication model, processing the massive data generated by connected cars, and optimizing energy management.

First of all, autonomous driving has always been an important track for smart cars. Currently, L2-level configurations such as adaptive cruise (ACC), automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane keeping system (LKS), automatic parking (APA) and other technologies have been implemented , but there are still technical and safety issues that need to be resolved in the development of autonomous driving to a higher level.

Second, for the in-vehicle communication model, which enables connected cars to collect data and transmit it to the cloud, its design will affect the type and amount of car data that can ultimately be collected.

Third, with the development and maturity of new generation digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and 5G mobile communications, they are increasingly integrated with physical products, which also brings new challenges to smart cars. For example, information obtained from car data can be used to develop various smart services to enrich the driving experience, but how to make full use of this data and ensure that the services provided can meet current challenges is a question worth pondering.

Finally, optimizing energy management is also a major challenge facing smart cars. Smart cars require precise management of battery power to ensure vehicle endurance. This requires automotive sensing chips to have high-precision power detection and management capabilities.

Source: Photo Network

In the era of vehicle electrification and intelligence, some "core" strategies

According to a previous report released by the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor industry sales will reach US$573.5 billion in 2022, a record high. Among them, sales of automotive semiconductors increased by 29.2% year-on-year to US$34.1 billion, also setting a record high. The report points out that despite the many challenges faced by the industry in 2022, global automotive chip sales are still growing, and the long-term prospects of the market are still very strong.

According to S&P Global Mobility's forecast, global automobile production will show a compound annual growth rate of 1.7% from 2023 to 2028. Obviously, the booming development prospects of the automotive market have been recognized by the industry, and there is a huge demand for semiconductors behind this market.

Founded in 1989, Melexis has kept pace with the development of the automotive industry over the past 34 years. Since its establishment, Melexis has continued to launch a number of innovative technologies and industry benchmark products, and some of its products in niche areas such as position sensors, latches/switches, and interior ambient light drivers are even more leading -

· In 1992, Melexis’ first automotive product was launched;

· In 1996, the first programmable Hall chip was launched;

· In 2016, the industry's smallest TPMS tire pressure monitoring chip was launched;

· In 2021, an inductive decoder with an innovative architecture will be released, allowing Melexis position sensor business to add inductive sensing in addition to magnetic sensing, further expanding the product line;

· In 2023, a non-contact temperature sensor will be integrated into a smartwatch for the first time.

According to official reports, Melexis' global chip shipments will exceed 1.9 billion in 2022, and each new car in the world will be equipped with an average of 18 Melexis chips. Melexis' innovative achievements are visible to the naked eye, as are the fierce competition in the market. In recent years, affected by economic fluctuations, geopolitics, international trade and other factors, it has been extremely difficult for semiconductor companies to survive. In this context, how does Melexis achieve "a steady pace" or even "a big step ahead"?

Source: Melexis

According to reports, Melexis' current automotive strategy focuses on three major areas - electrification, high-end, and ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems).

Electrification:

As development trends such as electrification become more and more apparent, the demand for sensors in automobiles is growing at an unprecedented rate. From the traditional commonly used temperature sensors, pressure sensors, gas sensors, etc., to millimeter wave radar, lidar, high-precision visual sensors, etc. that assist autonomous driving, the demand and desire for sensors in automobiles have never stopped.

This is exactly where Melexis’ “specialty” lies.

"Melexis' products are mainly divided into two BUs, one is Sense&Drive - sensing and driving. The other is Sense&Light - sensing and light." According to Gao Xuan, Sales Director of Melexis Asia Pacific Automotive Division, Melexis has Extensive portfolio of sensors and drivers such as magnetic position sensors, inductive position sensors, current sensors, latch switches, embedded motor driver chips, smart driver chips, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, optical sensors, etc.

These sensors play a vital role in automotive electronic steering wheel angle position and torque sensing, electronic steering rack position sensing, electronic brake pedal position sensing, electronic brake caliper position and force sensing, motor rotor positioning, etc. . "Melexis' magnetic position sensors are by far Melexis' largest product line in terms of sales, and it is also Melexis' most well-known product line in the automotive industry." Gao Xuan specifically pointed out.

High-end:

It is reported that some of Melexis' products are mainly developed for high-end automotive applications. In the past two years, more and more high-end features have gradually moved from luxury cars to entry-level models. This development phenomenon is especially obvious in the Chinese market. It can be seen that high-endization has huge growth potential.

ADAS:

In recent years, among the hottest topics in the technology industry, "reform in the automobile industry" must account for one. As a product of the deep integration of the automotive industry with new-generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and the Internet of Things, autonomous driving relies on high intelligence to achieve autonomous environment perception, driving planning and decision-making, and vehicle control functions. It has become the current intelligent development of transportation. main direction. Melexis has had a glimpse of this opportunity for a long time.

What should be emphasized here is that as a chip company, Melexis focuses on the field of sensors and drivers. It does not develop system software and hardware for intelligent driving. However, Melexis helps achieve this through its unique and highly reliable sensors and driver products. More advanced chassis controls, such as steer-by-wire, pedal-by-wire, brake-by-wire, etc., promote the introduction of new methods.

It can be seen that behind the technological innovation of modern automobiles, Melexis' sensor products provide strong technical support for the reliability and safety of automobiles and have become a key component of modern automobile technology. As a key IC supplier, Melexis' influence in the automotive electronics field will continue to expand in the future.

Amplify 10% beyond the main business

As mentioned above, the application fields of Melexis products are mainly focused on the automotive industry, and nearly 90% of its revenue comes from the automotive industry. Non-automotive business revenue accounts for about 10%. But even if it is one-tenth of the share, Melexis is still interested. "Melexis has been committed to expanding the non-automotive market, and the proportion of about 10% is low. We need (to spend) twice as much innovation as automotive to focus on the non-automotive market, because this is a new one for us. market." said Dieter Verstreken, Vice President of Strategy at Melexis China.

Source: Melexis

According to Zou Mingyan, sales director of the non-automotive business unit of Melexis Asia Pacific, Melexis has set four directions in the non-automotive business field, namely sustainable world, mobile travel, robots and digital health.

Zou Mingyan introduced that in terms of a sustainable world, Melexis focuses on smart devices, smart buildings, energy management, etc. Such as current sensing power monitoring and over-current protection, server cooling fans, power supply, temperature and fault detection, open/close & installation detection, which can fully utilize energy in an efficient manner. Melexis' sustainable world-related applications are dedicated to solving problems such as climate change and population aging, and bringing people a more comfortable life.

Mobile travel mainly refers to travel modes other than cars, such as two-wheelers, three-wheelers, etc. Melexis' chip solutions can improve cruising range, safety and comfort, making mobility such as electric bicycles, drones and other means of transportation smarter, greener and more comfortable.

In terms of robotics, Melexis is confident of its significant growth, predicting that the service and collaborative robot market will experience significant growth over the next decade. With the help of a series of sensors such as brushless DC motor drive and position sensing, position sensing of robot joints, and tactile sensing of robot hands, it captures the environment, interprets signals, and takes corresponding actions. It is reported that in 2022, Melexis will release its first product for robots, which gives robots a sense of touch by installing tactile sensors on their fingertips.

In terms of digital health, the solutions provided by Melexis can be used in thermometers, PDAs, medical bracelets, in vitro diagnostic reagent temperature detection, brushless DC motor control for respirators, and other fields.

According to official reports, Melexis's non-automotive market sales are currently experiencing steady growth. In the third quarter of this year, Melexis' non-automotive market customer sales accounted for 11% of total sales. Just as Melexis expected - the non-automotive markets it is committed to expanding are now beginning to show results.

summary

We will continue to consolidate and pursue innovation in 90% of our main business, and explore more possibilities in the remaining 10%. Melexis is telling the industry with its actions and wisdom why it continues to lead. The reason why giants are giants is because they have first-level adaptability, first-level risk resistance, and unlimited innovation.

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This article was originally created by Global IoT Observation , and part of the content is compiled from the opinions of guests at Melexis’ 2023 Innovation Media Day. It is for communication and learning purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@gsi24.com.

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