Automotive Electronics

Infineon has introduced a dual-channel smart gate driver for high-side load switches, design to control heavy loads in a 48 V board net through an SPI interface. Called 2ED4820-EM and ruggedised against vehicle transients, it can tolerate negative voltages at Vbat down to -90V and voltages up to +105V. Bus current sensing is included, with the amplifier compatible with both ...

Audi RS Q e-tron is a fuel-electric series hybrid made for the Dakar cross-desert race, which finishes today. In series hybrids, all drive is via electricity, there is no rotating mechanical link between heat engine and wheels. Just like a diesel-electric railway train, the intervening electric drive allows the fuel engine to run continuously at its most efficient operating point ...

Toshiba is sampling an Ethernet bridge IC – the TC9563XBG – for use in automotive zonal-architecture, infotainment, telematics or gateways as well as industrial equipment. Volume production is planned for April. The new bridge IC incorporates two 10 Gbps Ethernet Media Access Controller (MAC) supporting a number of interfaces including USXGMII, XFI, SGMII, and RGMII. Both ports support Ethernet IEEE802.1 ...

First samples of Infineon’s 28nm Aurix TC4x family of automotive MCUs are available. “The family provides an upward migration path for the Aurix TC3x family,” according to the company. “It features the next-generation TriCore 1.8 and the new parallel processing unit, a SIMD vector DSP which addresses the demands of various AI topologies – this may include real-time control and ...

In the Spring, Sony intends to establish an EV subsidiary called Sony Mobility Inc to make and market EVs. “The excitement we received after we showed off the Vision-S really encouraged us to further consider how we can bring creativity and technology to change the experience of moving from one place to another,” said Sony Chairman Kenichiro Yoshida at CES. ...

Mobileye today introduced the EyeQ Ultra, a 5nm IC designed for autonomous driving to be put into silicon in 2023.  EyeQ Ultra, at 176 TOPS, will be the seventh generation of EyeQ architecture. EyeQ Ultra integrates the performance of 10 EyeQ5s in one package. Leveraging 5nm process technology, EyeQ Ultra can handle all the needs and applications of Level 4 ...

NXP put its 16nm imaging radar processor, the NXP S32R45, into mass production, with initial customer ramp-up starting in the first half 2022. Additionally, the new NXP S32R41 has been introduced to extend 4D imaging radar’s benefits to a much larger number of vehicles. Together these processors serve the L2+ through L5 autonomy sectors, enabling 4D imaging radar for 360-degree surround ...

Daimler is expecting chip shortages to last throughout 2022. Yesterday, CTO Markus Schaefer told journalists: “Chip scarcity will also accompany us in 2022, particularly in the first half.’ “We do not expect significant production capacity increases in the first half of the year,” added Schaefer, “these will barely come in the full year.” Nissan and Renault are saying they expect to ...

NXP and Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), a subsidiary company of Foxconn, have hooked up to transform the car into the ultimate edge device. NXP will provide FII with its  portfolio of automotive technologies. The initial phase of the joint project will focus on the development of a full digital cockpit solution, based on the NXP i.MX 8 QuadMax. The platform ...

The selection of a materials supplier should be based on a number of factors throughout the design chain, says Ladislav Zima of Parker Hannifin. In the high-volume automotive industry, it is advisable to ensure that any supplier of electromagnetic (EMI) shielding and thermal interface material (TIM) can offer optimised production capabilities. The right manufacturing expertise and capacity cleanliness management, and ...