New technologies and development trends of in-vehicle entertainment and power control

It has been about 130 years since the first car was introduced in 1866. Traditional mechanical parts and components can no longer meet the increasingly stringent standards set by the government for automobiles. Automobile manufacturers are increasingly inclined to use electronic technology to improve the performance of automobiles to meet relevant standards and provide users with a better driving experience. Automobile electronics is an important indicator of the development level of contemporary automobiles.

According to relevant statistics, the total number of cars in mainland China reached 91.23 million in 2011, and it is expected that the total number will exceed 110 million in 2012. In 2011, the sales of automotive electronic products in China reached 44.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 13%. In 2012, it will continue to grow by about 15%, and the sales will exceed 50 billion US dollars. At present, the degree of electronicization of automobiles is constantly improving. In 2010, the proportion of on-board electronic components in the cost of the whole vehicle was 20%, and this proportion will reach 40% by 2015. However, among the total sales of about 18.5 million vehicles in 2011, the production and sales of China's new energy vehicle market, including hybrid vehicles, were less than 10,000 vehicles, and the sales of pure electric vehicles were basically negligible. However, as global energy issues continue to become more prominent, the government is also stepping up efforts to promote the development of new energy vehicles, which will be a major driving force for the development of the new energy vehicle market in the future.

The automotive industry is also facing the full promotion of digital lifestyle. In-vehicle entertainment information system is an important aspect to promote the digital development of automotive electronics in the future. It can provide customers with better driving experience, more convenient navigation services, higher driving efficiency, so that the car is no longer just a node, but a network that supports multiple devices to connect, providing a very personalized driving experience. But at the same time, it also requires in-vehicle entertainment information system products to have high performance, low development cost and rich and fast software that meets customer requirements. In-vehicle entertainment information systems in the future will be able to provide users with location-based navigation applications, such as real-time traffic information, which can avoid traffic jams and save time; personalized, online entertainment, such as network broadcasting and video on demand, web browsing, etc.; seamless connection of various electronic products, such as smartphones, tablets, etc.; assisted driving, such as vehicle diagnosis, communication between cars, etc. In-vehicle entertainment is also a personalized and scalable automotive electronic product provided by automotive electronics manufacturers to customers.

Infineon Technologies: Focusing on high efficiency and environmental protection

In the field of automotive electronics, Infineon has always focused on the development and application promotion of high-efficiency (low-carbon) and low-emission products. Taking the engine as an example, direct injection, engine miniaturization, efficient engine thermal management and turbocharging are the development trends of technology, and the realization of these technologies is inseparable from the application of semiconductor chips.

Infineon Technologies recently launched the "Dragon" chip TLE82453SA for the control of linear proportional valves in automatic transmission hydraulic systems. It integrates high-side drivers and low-side drivers, has high integration, can be flexibly configured in driving mode, and eliminates the need for external discrete MOS tubes and freewheeling diodes. Its current control accuracy can be as high as ±1% (-40°C~125°C) or ±1.5% (-40°C~150°C), which can enhance the smoothness of gear shifting during driving. No other product on the market can match it. In addition, with the launch of the new HybridPACK2600A (needle bed, referred to as 600A HP2) power module, Infineon has fully covered all power levels required for hybrid to pure electric vehicle drive systems. Prior to this, Infineon has launched 200A and 400A HybridPACK1 (non-needle bed), HybridPACK1 Pin-Pin (needle bed) and HybridPACK2 (needle bed).

At present, the biggest challenge facing automotive electronics is safety, such as system redundancy. Emerging standards such as ISO26262 are important safety standards. Infineon has also worked closely with third-party authoritative certification bodies to launch the PRO-SIL safety platform, which can help customers meet the requirements of ISO26262. In the face of increasingly stringent automotive electronics standards, Liu Meng, powertrain marketing manager of Infineon Technologies (China) Co., Ltd., said that first of all, there must be a keen and creative market team to follow up on the development trends of technology and the trends of relevant standards, and to formulate an accurate product roadmap; secondly, the entire process from development to production of automotive-grade products has extremely high requirements for quality and safety. Infineon has a rigorous product development process, and its products have extremely high quality and zero defect projects, which can meet strict quality requirements. In addition, Infineon will also adjust its development strategy in a timely manner according to market development trends and customer requirements, and use the most appropriate strategy to support the development of China's automotive industry. He said: "We are also very optimistic about the Chinese market, and we actively consider and adopt the needs of Chinese customers in product development. We not only establish direct business contacts with domestic key component suppliers, but also establish long-term strategic partnerships with local car manufacturers."

NXP: Making Vehicles Connected

90% of innovations in the automotive field are related to electronic components. With the advent of new generations of cars, the penetration rate of electronic components in cars is also growing. The in-vehicle entertainment information system is an application that allows drivers to intuitively feel the changes. It is the link between the car and the outside world and is constantly developing in the direction of digitalization. The car is no longer an information island. Drivers can communicate with the outside world through more and more communication methods, such as the widely used FM/AM radio, and the increasingly popular in-vehicle Bluetooth, 3G in-vehicle communication, Wi-Fi, GPS, digital TV, etc. The connection methods are becoming more and more extensive, the amount of information exchanged is increasing, and the transmission speed is also getting faster and faster.

Recently, NXP released the latest products for in-car entertainment, the DSP-based in-car software FM/AM radio HELIO-TEF664X series and the global multi-standard terrestrial digital radio solution CAYMAN-SAF356X series. Among them, TEF664X adopts low intermediate frequency technology, performs radio reception and processing through DSP, and has high integration and excellent reception performance. SAF356X can support terrestrial digital radio such as DAB, DAB+, HD RADIO and DRM. Its good compatibility and integration can save a lot of R&D testing costs and production costs for the whole machine manufacturers, and can also greatly shorten the R&D cycle and product listing time.

NXP believes that in-vehicle entertainment information systems are gradually developing in the direction of digitalization, such as the popularization of digital broadcasting formats such as DAB, DAB+, HD RADIO and DRM that replace traditional analog radio and television, and the transition of sound processing from analog audio processing to digital audio processing DSP. In terms of car amplifiers, the in-vehicle entertainment equipment industry is shifting from traditional Class-AB amplifiers to Class-D amplifiers, and the display screen is also changing from analog screens to digital screens.

The biggest challenge facing automotive electronics at present is how to control the loss of automotive energy. NXP has been committed to improving vehicle energy efficiency and making cars "interconnected", including connecting the ECU in the car and providing a wireless interface for the car to connect to the outside world. Because China's automotive electronics market will maintain a rapid growth momentum in the next few years, NXP also moved its global automotive sales and marketing headquarters to Shanghai last year, and also established a new automotive technology center in China, equipped with highly qualified technicians to provide timely and professional application support to local customers and strengthen its deployment in the Chinese market. At the same time, with the improvement of automotive connectivity and safety performance, automotive communications, PKE and sensors will be the future development direction.

ON Semiconductor: Maintaining the leading position in power system products

As a high-performance supplier of automotive electronics, ON Semiconductor has all automotive electronics-related products except airbags. After acquiring Sanyo Semiconductor in January 2011, it has expanded its products in car audio and in-car entertainment. Recently, ON Semiconductor has launched a series of products for in-car entertainment, such as low-dropout (LDO) regulator ICs—NCV17700 and NCV47701, which are suitable for applications such as car audio and infotainment systems, instrument panels, navigation and satellite broadcasting. They integrate the output diagnostic pin CSO, which can be used to detect load open circuit and short circuit accidents. These two devices use only one resistor to connect the CSO pin, and can provide an adjustable output current between 10mA and 350mA with an accuracy of up to ±10%. In addition, ON Semiconductor has also launched a series of switching regulators for automotive entertainment and infotainment applications that are space-constrained and sensitive to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). In addition to the above products, Sanyo Semiconductor, which ON Semiconductor acquired, can provide components such as audio DSP, CD DSP, analog and digital tuners, and LCD display drivers.

In terms of powertrain, ON Semiconductor has launched a bus transceiver IC, NCV7381, which complies with the industry's latest FlexRay communication protocol. It is an extremely robust single-channel device with a data transmission rate of up to 10Mbps. FlexRay is a rapidly developing emerging standard in vehicle network applications. Its digital transmission rate has increased by an order of magnitude and has higher reliability. It will be the best choice to replace the current controller area network (CAN) and local interconnect network (LIN) systems. ON Semiconductor will also launch a series of brushless DC (BLDC) motor drivers, LV9901, which can drive pumps, cooling fans or throttle valves in powertrain applications, as well as a micromodule provided by SANYO Semiconductor that integrates the controller and power supply segment in a single power package.

Regarding the future development trend of power systems, ON Semiconductor Global Automotive Electronics Solutions and Marketing Director He Baokang said there will be two trends: one is that internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles will provide greater fuel economy; the other is a new generation of hybrid and electric vehicles, and these two trends will be coordinated by electronic circuits to complete the shift to cleaner and more energy-efficient vehicles. He Baokang said that factors such as battery prices and unstable battery chemical properties will be the biggest challenges limiting the electrification of vehicles. In addition, components that can support higher voltages (250~400V) and larger currents will also be a major challenge. Most of the components currently used are from industries such as industry or white goods, and many cannot meet automotive-grade application requirements.

He Baokang also mentioned the ISO26262 safety standard, which will affect the entire automotive industry, and the semiconductor industry must also adapt to it. ON Semiconductor is currently strictly following this standard in the development of new products, allocating resources and developing methods to meet the requirements of this standard. After all, for drivers, it is not only about how to drive the car to the destination, but more importantly, driving safely and arriving at the destination smoothly.

Xilinx: FPGA-based automotive driver assistance systems

Xilinx demonstrated the world's first field programmable gate array (FPGA) Ethernet audio and video bridging (EAVB) network solution optimized for high-speed data traffic transmission in cars at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The solution was jointly developed by Xilinx and Digital Design Company (DDC) to provide automotive system developers with the framework and tools needed to accelerate their application development and help them provide drivers and passengers with a richer driving experience. The solution is mainly used in driver assistance camera systems, driver information and infotainment video/graphics/display systems, etc.

This EAVB solution expands and improves on the previously launched Xilinx Ethernet AVB endpoint LogiCORE IP, making it a complete network interface solution while also being able to flexibly meet customers' unique application interface requirements. The solution also uses Xilinx Automotive (XA) Spartan-6 FPGAs to provide superior system integration capabilities and reduce development costs. With this development kit, Xilinx customers can implement modular EAVB IP cores on FPGAs and integrate them with application IP cores. For example, four camera surround view image processing IP modules or infotainment graphics and display IP modules can be implemented together with EAVB IP modules to build a complete system in the FPGA and connect it to the network. In addition, the solution can also maximize the integration potential of Xilinx FPGA common systems, including traditional entertainment information connection functions (such as host processor co-chips) and driver assistance (DA) applications, so that the FPGA can perform image processing tasks to meet functional requirements such as surround image display, blind spot detection and real-time lane tracking.

Compared with other chip devices, FPGA not only has excellent processing, network and connection functions, but also has repeatable programmability, which can be adjusted in time with the continuous revision of network standards to avoid the risk of delaying the entire application to market. Xilinx EAVB network solution also complies with the latest IEEE802.1 standard.

Fujitsu: Improving the integration of automotive electronic systems

Whether it is a gasoline or diesel engine car or an electric car, in order to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of environmental protection, fuel economy, driving experience, etc., the proportion of electronic control functions in the power control system will become higher and higher, especially for electric cars. Fujitsu has launched the latest 32-bit MB91580 series MCU for the main drive motor control of electric vehicles. This series of MCUs integrates key peripheral functions such as RDC modules, which can shorten the motor control time, help customers achieve a higher degree of integration of system solutions, reduce system costs, and improve system reliability.

In terms of in-car multimedia and entertainment, Fujitsu has also launched a variety of cost-effective solutions for the low-end and mid-range markets in China, such as the CD-free car audio solution based on MB9G711, the central information display (CID) solution based on MB91590, etc. For high-end market applications, Fujitsu's OmniView system solution can provide a true 3D 360° surround view system, which is more intuitive and safer than the traditional 2D bird's-eye view system.

China's "12th Five-Year Plan" highlights an expectation for new energy vehicles, namely, reaching 500,000 vehicles in 2015 and 5 million vehicles in 2020. Of the 500,000 vehicles in 2015, about half are expected to be electric vehicles, which is an opportunity for automotive electronics manufacturers. Fujitsu attaches great importance to the development of China's electric vehicle market and has provided suitable products and solutions for key control systems such as motor control, battery management, and vehicle controllers for electric vehicles. It has also formed strategic partnerships with many vehicle manufacturers or supporting manufacturers to jointly develop systems. In addition, all Fujitsu's automotive-grade products have undergone the most rigorous design and testing and passed the AEC-Q100 certification to ensure safety and reliability.