Car-to-x, NXP technology opens a new era of connected vehicles

Do you remember the car accident on Chang'an Avenue last year? The speeding Infiniti turned a Honda Fit 2-box parked at a traffic light into a 1-box. In the same year, in Dunhuang, Gansu, at the test drive site of a new Volkswagen car, a high-speed sedan collided with an oncoming earthmoving truck... These are all tragedies that caused heavy casualties, but with the upgrading of technology, they are not inevitable.

On May 10, 2011, after a live demonstration of the new car-to-x communication platform with BMW on a public road in the Netherlands, Drue Freeman, vice president of global sales and marketing of NXP's automotive electronics division, introduced this new application to the Chinese media. "Through remote information technology means such as car-to-x location services (LBS) and network security, drivers can extend their vision to every corner, so as to discover traffic risks before the naked eye can detect them and take timely countermeasures."

As shown in the figure above, when traffic anomalies occur at locations with poor visibility such as street corners or behind the car, the driver can sense and communicate through vehicle-mounted communication technology to avoid danger.

You may wonder, isn't this just adding Wifi function to each car to turn it into a mobile base station? Actually, it is not. Drue Freeman said that first of all, communication between cars must be completed in a very short time. Secondly, safety performance must be guaranteed. How to ensure the communication quality under high-speed driving conditions, and how to avoid mutual interference with other wireless communication devices in the car?

"On the Car-to-x communication platform, we use the wireless transmission standard IEEE802.11P designed specifically for automotive applications, which can ensure the accuracy and stability of communication when the car is driving at high speeds. Moreover, this is a public communication platform. As long as different cars using this communication standard can communicate, including cars and cars, cars and surrounding intelligent transportation infrastructure, etc."

What will happen if traditional Wifi is used? Drue Freeman said that traditional Wifi technology is mainly used in stationary conditions. If the vehicle speed exceeds 90km/h, it will produce a very serious error rate, and even lose about 80% of the data packets. "This is very scary in car safety," he added.

MK3 is a Car-to-x platform developed by NXP and Cohda Wireless of Australia, which uses the car version of Wifi technology - IEEE802.11P. The blue is the test result of MK3, and the red is the ordinary Wifi technology.

Introduction to NXP Car-to-x features:

Automotive-grade reliability

– Based on a proven multi-standard digital radio reception platform

– IEEE802.11p performance, independent of vehicle speed or packet length

– Large effective range, especially in non-line-of-sight conditions

Extremely flexible, able to accept multi-standard signals

Support on-site upgrade, good reception effect

Low power consumption (less than 1 W, better than conventional WiFi solutions)

Support for global and regional standards
In addition to Car-to-x, which integrates a dedicated in-vehicle version of Wifi technology, NXP has also introduced the current popular short-range communication technology, NFC, into car interconnection communication, i.e., Internet of Vehicles applications. Drue Freeman gave an example, saying that in the future, two-way communication will be adopted between the car and the key. In an unfamiliar parking lot, it is currently difficult for you to directly find the car you parked in a hurry a few hours ago. "Two-way communication and NFC can play a big role here. By combining the car key with NFC function with a mobile phone or other device with a screen, the car sends the positioning information to the key, and the final information is displayed on the mobile phone, which can save a lot of aimless searching time." Of course, NFC can also continue to be used as an electronic wallet in automotive applications. Drue Freeman said that the development of technology will never end, and we must use safe and reliable technology to improve our lives and avoid risks. "NXP has been working hard on this, and not just in the field of automotive electronics."

Drue Freeman, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Automotive Electronics Division, NXP