Technology Frontier: Interactive Technology in Smart Cockpits

Domestic and foreign giants are entering the smart cockpit domain controller market, with many domestic manufacturers participating. Domestic and foreign giants have deployed autonomous driving domain controllers. Currently, there are four main types of players involved in autonomous driving domain controllers: 1) Traditional foreign Tier 1, which cooperates with chip manufacturers to integrate solutions and develop central domain controllers and sell them to OEMs, such as Bosch, Continental, ZF, etc. ; 2) Local Tier 1, which mainly cooperates with chip manufacturers, software companies and vehicle companies, and is responsible for the middle layer and hardware production. The vehicle manufacturers are responsible for the autonomous driving software part, such as Desay SV, etc.; 3) Internet technology and software companies, Focus on autonomous driving technology software platforms, such as Huawei and Baidu; 4) Vehicle companies, such as Tesla's self-developed full-stack layout, Wei Xiaoli, etc., have in-depth cooperation with Tier1. Domestic related targets such as Desay SV, Joyson Electronics, Jingwei Hengrun, Meige Intelligent, and Luxshare Precision are expected to benefit.

Cockpit chips: SoC chips have become mainstream, and the domestic market exceeds 10 billion

In the transformation of automobile E/E architecture, SoC chips will become the mainstream of smart cockpit chips. With the advent of the smart cockpit era, the data processing complexity of large-screen, multi-functional, multi-modal interactive smart cockpit platforms is significantly higher than that of traditional cockpits. Traditional MCU chips are difficult to meet the computing power needs of smart cockpits, so the choice of a smart cockpit platform with more computing power Strong SoC chips have become an inevitable choice. SoC is a system-level chip, which usually integrates multiple processing units such as CPU (central processing unit), GPU (graphics processing unit), NPU (neural network unit), etc., and can support high-performance computing, graphics computing, AI computing, audio processing, etc. This function has powerful computing performance and is also the key core for the cockpit domain controller to achieve multi-hardware fusion control. Taking Qualcomm SA8155P as an example, it integrates multiple processors such as Qualcomm AI engine, image signal processing unit, KryoCPU, digital signal and graphics processor, and can integrate LCD instruments, central control large screen, HUD, streaming media rearview mirror, The ECU functions of multiple screens such as the rear seat display are integrated into one chip, thereby achieving "one core, multiple screens" through a cockpit domain controller.

Under the rapid development trend of smart cockpits, it is expected that China's smart cockpit SoC chip market will reach US$1.3 billion in 2025. The gradual increase in the penetration rate of the smart cockpit market will drive an increase in the market demand for smart cockpit SoC chips. According to our calculations, the global smart cockpit SoC chip market is expected to reach US$3.96 billion in 2025, and the Chinese smart cockpit SoC chip market is expected to reach US$1.31 billion. .

Competition for SoC chips is fierce, with major foreign manufacturers advancing steadily and local manufacturers accelerating core production. Competition in the automotive cockpit SoC market has become increasingly fierce in the past two years, especially in the mid-to-high-end market. Not only has there been an increase in competing companies, but in addition to traditional automotive SoC manufacturers such as NXP, Renesas, and Texas Instruments, there are also Qualcomm, Intel, Nvidia, Huawei, AMD, MediaTek, etc. Chip manufacturers in the consumer electronics field are also actively entering. For example, in 2021, AMD entered the car cockpit market through Tesla. AMD started from the car gaming scene and customized a smart cockpit SoC equipped with consumer-grade gaming graphics cards for Tesla. Not only overseas chip manufacturers, but also domestic chip companies such as Jiefa Technology, Xinchi Technology, Rockchip, Horizon, and Xinqing Technology have also joined the fray through independent core manufacturing to reshape the automotive chip industry pattern. Domestic related targets such as Rockchip Micro, Fulhan Micro, Amlogic Technology, and Allwinner Technology are expected to benefit.

Cockpit optics: In-cabin cameras and HUD jointly realize intelligent interaction between people and vehicles

Smart cockpits can realize intelligent human-vehicle interaction functions and put forward higher requirements for cockpit optics. The smart cockpit contains a large number of software and hardware equipment and various module systems. Integration, communication, and human-computer interaction have become the most important influencing factors. In the era of smart cars, the way humans and vehicles interact will be upgraded from traditional mechanical interaction to natural interaction with human language, movements, etc. Intelligent human-vehicle interaction requires, on the one hand, the installation of more sensors in the car to capture signals from people, such as using cabin cameras to realize the functions of the driver monitoring system (DMS) and passenger monitoring system (OMS). On the other hand, it requires Feed back vehicle information to people in a more intuitive way, such as a head-up display system (HUD).

Under the trend of automobile intelligence, the number of cameras in the cabin of single vehicles has increased. It is expected that the global market size of CIS chips, the core component of cabin cameras, will reach US$220 million in 2025. According to IDC, when a car reaches the L2 level, it will usually be equipped with a camera in the cabin. As the level of automobile intelligence increases, the in-cabin camera market grows accordingly. The CIS sensor is the core component of the camera and has a large value share in the entire camera module. According to our calculations, the global cabin camera CIS market size is expected to be US$216 million in 2025, and the Chinese cabin camera CIS market size is US$67 million.

HUD is the third screen in automobiles and has great development potential. It is estimated that China's passenger car HUD market will reach 10 billion yuan in 2025. HUD (HeadsUpDisplay) is a display system that displays important driving information such as vehicle speed, fuel consumption, and engine speed on the front windshield in real time to avoid a series of safety hazards caused by the driver lowering his head, shifting his gaze, etc. . As the third visual display besides the central control screen and instrument panel, HUD has been installed in cars rapidly in recent years. The current mainstream HUD technology is mainly divided into three types: C-HUD, W-HUD and AR-HUD. At present, in my country's HUD market, C-HUD has basically withdrawn from the market due to poor imaging effects and less display content. AR-HUD has not yet been mass-produced due to high costs and immature technology. W-HUD is still technologically advanced. It has relatively mature aspects, good display effect and moderate price, and has become the mainstream product in my country's HUD market. According to TCView’s forecast, as HUD technology gradually matures and HUD models continue to be mass-produced and launched, the HUD installation rate in passenger cars is expected to expand to about 38%. The domestic passenger car AR-HUD market size is expected to be approximately 5.1 billion yuan in 2025, W -HUD market size is approximately 4.9 billion yuan, with a CAGR of 65%.

The automotive camera lens market structure presents a "one super, many strong" situation, and Sunny Optical is the absolute leader. In 2020, Sunny Optical's shipments ranked first, with a market share of over 30%. Japan's Maxell, Nidec Sankyo, Japan's Fujifilm, and South Korea's Seiko Optical ranked second to fifth. In addition to Sunny Optical Technology, domestic companies such as Lianchuang Electronics, Leading Optoelectronics, and Yutong Optical are actively developing automotive lenses, but currently have a low market share and are expected to benefit from the rapid development of smart cockpits in the future. The camera CIS sensor leaders Weir and Smartway are both expected to benefit from the rapid development of the in-cabin camera market.

There are many suppliers in the automotive HUD market. China's HUD industry has a vast market and has attracted many suppliers, including global auto parts suppliers Nippon Seiki, Nippon Denso, and German Continental, as well as domestic Huayang Group, United Optoelectronics, OFILM, and Crystal Optoelectronics. At present, foreign HUD suppliers mainly serve mid-to-high-end brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, while local HUD suppliers mostly serve domestic car companies.

Cockpit Acoustics: Under the trend of intelligent interaction between people and vehicles, the volume and price of automotive acoustics are rising

The smart cockpit voice system is another important function for human-vehicle interaction. The smart cockpit has two major artificial intelligence interaction systems, one based on vision (computer vision) and one based on voice. The application of the latter is the voice function in the cabin. VOS (Intelligent Cockpit Voice Operating System) is designed to provide users with voice interaction services in the in-car environment. The VOS system uses wake-up, speech recognition, semantic understanding and other technologies to achieve voice control. The cockpit's car controls, map navigation, music and multimedia applications, system settings, air conditioning, etc. can all be operated through voice. In addition to body and vehicle control, voice also supports weather inquiries, schedule management, and chat conversations. Users only need to say the wake word to use it. Voice commands can directly access functions in one step, freeing your fingers and eliminating the need to shift your gaze to the central control area of ​​the vehicle, thus ensuring driving safety.