focus on electronics

focus on electronics
Game-like interfaces for Toyota concept car
One of the highlights of the Melbourne Motor Show in March was the homegrown Toyota Sportivo Coupe, which featured a customizable, digitally animated interface for driver and passengers. Toyota Australia turned to Melbourne-based new media company 2WC to create a hi-tech, interactive interior for the car that would appeal to tomorrows drivers. For 2WC, part of the SEE Group of companies, the project became an exploration of the viability of applying computer gaming and multimedia technologies as the interface with the vehicles working systems and instruments. The result is a series of firsts that Toyota says shows what is possible in the future and how this technology can benefit society as a whole. Collaborating with Toyota Style in Melbourne and instrument supplier Siemens VDO Automotive, 2WC produced a real-time functioning driver cluster, incorporating speedometer, tachometer, and various new digital safety systems, and a simulated telematics and infotainment system with voice control and touch-screen operation. The speedometer pulses and recalibrates in different speed zones, with the maximum speed always at the 12 oclock position and wider increments for easy visual reference and to help prevent speeding fines. The T-Link infotainment and telematics system offers GPS navigation and a Friend-Finder tracking facility; video, voice, and SMS messaging; Web browser; and DVD, digital radio, and MP3 library. Matching the technology for impact is the design execution, which has its roots in youth pop culture, computer gaming, and with strong Japanese design culture influence. This was a gift for new media designersthe invitation to apply the animation and interactivity of computer games to working vehicle systems, said 2WC senior art director Stephen Van Elst. Function and safety are paramount, but it doesnt have to dictate the interface. We wanted to make it simple and playful, so we introduced the look and feel of
Based on market research of 14- to 18-year-olds, the Toyota Sportivo Coupe has gullwing doors, a turbocharged 2.4-L 180-kW (241-hp) engine, 21-in wheels, and LED headlamps/ turn signalsas well as Siemens/2WC voice-controlled infotainment and telematics.

The Sportivo Coupes instrumentation features a speedometer that pulses and recalibrates in different speed zones.

Touch-screen controls for front and rear passengers are part of the Sportivo Coupes interior package.

early isometric game platforms and customizable 3-D character icons. We wanted to show how communication technology has made the car an important social environment and how tomorrows drivers can expect to personalize this environment and its interfaces. One of the key project challenges was the communication between multimedia software and vehicle safety and control systems. The interfaces were animated using Aftereffects and Flash and authored for communication with the vehicle systems using Director software. Toyota recognizes that, for tomorrows drivers, the interface will be as important as the cars performance and styling, said SEE Group project manager Paul Staubli and former Marketing Manager for the
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Get More Impact Out of Your Data

aXcess australia concept car project, which used an all-Australian designed and manufactured concept car to sell Australian technology to the worlds car makers. Car makers are looking for ways to provide the sort of interactivity and smart controls that kids have been brought up on with computer games and the Internet. The Sportivo Coupe is the first real, driveable car with fully animated digital

controls and infotainment, and the response from young people particularly has been fantastic, said Staubli. Its a new level of customization. You will be able to change the way your car communicatesits voice, the look and feel of its interface, and its connection to your friends in their cars. Kevin Jost

Valeo, Iteris help Infiniti drivers stay in lane

A National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) 2003 study based on 2001 data shows that 55% of fatal accidents in the U.S. are caused by lane departure, said Robert Yakushi, Director, Product Safety, Regulatory, Accessory Quality, Nissan North America, Inc. Driver distraction, inattention, or drowsiness are some of the major culprits. To address the issue, Infiniti announced at the 2004 New York International Auto Show in April that a lanedeparture warning system will be offered this fall on the 2005 FX crossover SUV the first such application in North Americaand on the new M45 sedan scheduled to go on sale in spring 2005 as a 2006 model. The system, which alerts drivers of unintentional vehicle movement out of a designated traffic lane, uses a small camera, speed sensor, indicator, and an audible warning buzzer.
Camera unit Buzzer

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Activation of the vehicles turn signals, which informs the systems control unit of intended lane changes, temporarily disables the system. So the system may also help to encourage the correct use of direction indicators. Nonuse of the indicators is becoming a concern in some countries, where as many as one in 10 drivers do not use the indicator system before changing lanes. A manual cancel switch allows drivers to turn the system off when desired, but it automatically resets when the vehicle is restarted. The system features a video sensor (camera) mounted behind the rearview mirror that uses proprietary software algorithms to monitor lane markings. The cameras signal and the vehicles speed are sent to the systems microprocessing unit, which combines the information to calculate both the distance between the vehicle and lane marking and the lateral velocity to the lane marking to judge

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Valeos lane-departure warning technology for Nissan consists of a miniature video sensor and proprietary software algorithms that continuously monitor the lane markings in front of the car.

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whether the vehicle is moving out of the lane. If it is, both visual (indicator light on the instrument panel) and audible (buzzer) warning signals are generated, alerting the driver to take corrective action. The system will not operate if the camera cannot detect the lane markers or if the vehicles speed is below 45 mph (72 km/h).

The lane-departure warning system was developed in conjunction with Valeo SA and Iteris, Inc. The latter has developed similar systems for the commercial long-haul trucking industry. Following a two-year development with Iteris, the vision technology is now an integral part of Valeos Driving Assistance Domain that employs radar, infrared, camera, and

ultrasonic sensing, as well as lighting and wiping technologies, to achieve a complete 360 surveillance of a vehicles immediate environment. The lanedeparture warning system represents Valeos first of many vision systems for front and rear. Kevin Jost and David Alexander

Mobileye EyeQ uses Virage Logic technology

The automotive industry faces the challenge of incorporating more and more electronics functionality into its cars while improving the reliability of these advanced systems and manufacturing them at a minimum cost. One example of a company that is meeting this challenge is Mobileye with its EyeQ, a complete vision system on a chip (SoC) with the equivalent computing power of two powerful Pentium computers, but at a fraction of the cost. The chip architecture is designed to maximize cost performance by performing a full-fledged image application, such as
Forward-looking camera Side-mirror cameras In-cabin cameras

Lane-change aid Blind-spot detection Lane-departure warning Adaptive cruise control (ACC) Stop & go ACC Precrash active safety
Advanced airbag deployment:

Passenger detection (adult, child, baby) Out of position

Lane-change aid Blind-spot detection

Mobileyes EyeQ has many driverassistance applications.

Drivers really dont need to understand just how we improve the safety, comfort and performance of their cars. Or how our remote tire pressure sensor is designed to rotate with a car tire at the equivalent of 2,000 gs. All drivers need to know is peace of mind whenever theyre out for a spin. To learn more, visit us at www.gesensing.com

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Briefs
Delphi Corp. has joined AUTOSAR, the partnership of companies working to establish an open standard for automotive electrical/electronic architectures. AUTOSAR standards will provide a common framework for the management of functions throughout the vehicle including powertrain, safety, dynamic control, and infotainment. Information flow between applications will be in standard formats, making it independent of the bus architecture chosen by the vehicle manufacturer. The first production vehicles to incorporate elements of AUTOSAR are expected to be launched around 2007-08. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has begun standards work to ensure that brake and transmission data are recorded uniformly in motor vehicle event data recorders (MVEDRs). The new project, IEEE P1616a, will require units to store a history of time-stamped fault codes synchronized with other onboard MVEDR devices. We will, in all likelihood, enhance IEEE P1616a so it becomes a broad standard that involves other technologies and enduser requirements beyond brakes and transmissions, said Tom Kowalick, Chair of the IEEE P1616 Working Group. XM Satellite Radio has introduced a service that provides 21 channels of traffic and weather audio information for the most traffic-congested metropolitan areas, travel times for major roadways, Amber Alerts, and other important public safety and homeland security notifications as well as radio-display text messages. The companys dedicated staff of more than 40 experts is supported by a network of traffic data collection professionals and traffic information from in-road sensors, aircraft, traffic, and local eyewitness reports. XM is working with Mobility Technologies and The Weather Channel on the service, and it has recently completed an Instant Traffic & Weather Center at its broadcast headquarters in Washington, DC.
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adaptive cruise control using a single video source, on a single low-cost chip. The EyeQ can perform a range of advanced driver-assistance applications including adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation (as a standalone sensor or in conjunction with radar), pedestrian detection, lane following, and lane change assist. EyeQ exemplifies the rapid increase in complexity in automotive electronics that has given rise to multiple challenges in the manufacture, maintenance, and support of such systems. Automotive electronic components must also be designed for very high reliability and for easy support and maintenance under multiple environments. Yet another challenge is to achieve better economies of scale for these highvolume products by significantly improving manufacturing yield. Over the past decade, chip designers have started to adapt structured test methodologies to address the challenges of manufacturability with high yield and reliability as well as ease of maintenance and support. The built-in-self-test (BIST) feature is one of the key test methodologies deployed in many large-scale designs to test both logic and embedded memory within the chip. This methodology involves embedding BIST logic in the design to automatically generate test and verify the design against manufacturing defects, thus completely avoiding external test generation. In evaluating this approach, Mobileye selected Virage Logics Self-Test and Repair (STAR) memory system, which takes

STAR memory STAR memory

STAR processor

Logic tester

ASAP memory

STAR processor

Packaging

The STAR processor is embedded in a chip for test and repair of embedded memories.

BIST technology a step further by providing cost-effective, on-chip repairing of SoCs with multiple megabits of embedded memory. The memory system accomplishes this by employing additional logic to analyze and repair memories with redundancy, thereby significantly improving manufacturing yield. It enables Mobileye and its customers to reduce manufacturing costs and deliver higher product reliability. Because Virage Logic has built test and repair intelligence into the STAR memory system, it obviates the need for expensive external testers or laser repair equipment, resulting in a drastic reduction of test development time and cost. In addition, whenever the Mobileye EyeQ chip is powered on, the memory system performs a self-test and repairs any faulty devices, thereby dramatically improving system reliability.
This article was written for AEI by Dr. R. Chandramouli of Virage Logic Corp. and Dr. Meny Benady of Mobileye, N.V.

Jaguar concept gets Alpine entertainment

At the New York International Auto Show in April, Jaguar Cars Advanced Design Studio used the launch of the new XJ Long Wheelbase model as an opportunity to develop a new concept car called the Concept Eight. The extensively reworked XJ has a single-piece, glass roof and makes the most of the longest wheelbase in its class by introducing elements such as a new in-car entertainment technology. Inside, the biggest visible change is the rear seats, explained Chief of Advanced Design, Julian Thomson. But it is what you can hear that may be even more impressive. Jaguar partnered with long-time supplier Alpine Electronics of Europe to debut the concept cars 8.2 fully digital multimedia system. The 860-W concept system employs 14 speakers to recreate sound precisely as the artist intended. The latest speaker and amplifier technologies have also been incorporated in the installation. The Super Eight applications follow last years Jaguar R-D6 show car, which featured Alpines innovative Shutter Screen technology. The two-way front speaker setup is complemented by a center fill speaker located in the middle of the instrument panel. The rear compartment has also

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DDL represents the latest in powerful, but lightweight, audiophile speakers. The technology combines a dual gap and short voice coils, eliminating the modulation of motor power normally associated with excursion, while the linear-excursion characteristics remain in proportion to the input voltage. Using a shorter voice coil removes weight and reduces inductance.

Alpine also achieved weight savings by using Neodymium magnets, which despite being lighter, produce more bass. More responsive and conceived with todays digital sources in mind, these magnets provide low distortion and a more dynamic bass sound. Bass performance is enhanced with 2 x 8-in drivers in the rear of the car. Kevin Jost

Jaguar partnered with Alpine Electronics on the Super Eight concept cars 8.2 fully digital multimedia system with the latest speaker and amplifier technologies.

been extensively remodeled to incorporate additional mid-range speakers in the rear shelf, while increased diameter subwoofers provide deep bass. The Jaguars rear doors feature the latest Alpine DDLinear drivers and soft dome tweeters. As featured on current Alpine Jaguar premium sound systems, time alignment means all occupants receive the sounds at the right moment, wherever they are seated. Rear-seat passengers get a highly integrated in-car rear entertainment system. Based on the current Jaguar XJ installation, the D2B network incorporates a switchpack in the central armrest that allows rear-seat occupants to enjoy whatever medium they choose via individual fold-down screens totally independent of the front occupants selection. At the heart of the system is a fully digital Class D 8.2 amplifier. Producing 860 W (8 x 70 W channels and 2 x 150 W channels for the subwoofers), it features a number of technologies normally available only on home theater systemsDolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, and DTSto recreate a cinema-type experience. Parametric 112-band equalization is available, allowing the audio signal to be manipulated at specific frequencies to complement the Super Eights interior acoustics.

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DuPont, IMST develop low-cost radar sensor

The automotive industry is developing a number of innovative applications based on radar sensor technology to improve passenger safety and comfort. Automotive radar enables measuring of the distance and velocity of objects around the car, and can aid development of systems for collision avoidance, crash impact prediction, blind-spot obstacle detection, and parking assistance. However, cost reduction has been a large hurdle for engineers to overcome. DuPont Microcircuit Materials and IMST GmbH have jointly developed a radar sensor made exclusively of single semiconductor devices and

Connector to dc board

IF amplifier

Transition to antenna Mixer Coupler

VCO

Buffer amplifier

LT3 O-RINGS

IMST has developed a 24-GHz automotive radar using an LTCC substrate made of material from DuPont.

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interconnection technology meant to drive down system costs. The frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) 24GHz radar demonstrator is designed for use in automotive driver-assistance systems and can detect objects at a distance of up to 30 m (98 ft). Since the primary driver during the development process was cost reduction, a five-layer LTCC (low temperature cofired ceramic) was chosen as the substrate. The multi-layer ceramic substrate based on the DuPont 951 Green Tape material system comprises the patch antenna on one side and the RF front end on the other. Conductors and passive structures are applied by screen-printing. LTCC-based ceramic circuits are an ideal interconnection technology for automotive applications, according to DuPont, offering field-proven reliability and superior robustness in harsh environments, resistance against vibrations and temperature cycling, high thermal conductivity, low weight, and small size. The DuPont/IMST module measures 3.4 x 2.1 cm (1.3 x 0.8 in) and is assembled using cost-effective single semiconductor devices instead of monolithic integrated circuits. Signal conversion and processing are currently realized on an external board connected via a USB port to a PC that evaluates and visualizes the data. Goal specifications of the radar sensor include a bandwidth of 2 GHz, resolution of 1 cm (0.4 in), obstacle separation of 10 cm (4 in), measuring distances as small as 10 cm (4 in). The module is meant to demonstrate the capabilities of LTCC substrate technology and represents a first step toward volume production. DuPont and IMST plan to offer further development support for high-volume custom applications, during which more detailed cost, size, and functionality requirements can be taken into account. Kevin Jost

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