EPN Automotive Electronics Blog

CAN node à la carte

It may look like a mixture of an old-fashioned beeper and some gadget for taxi drivers and is none of those. The CAN bus remote controller »neoVI-MOTE«, developed by Intrepid Control Systems and distributed by Hitex Development Tools, is supposed to make working with the  CAN bus  easier.

Safety for Safety

Camera systems have become an important automotive safety component, typically combining multiple camera modules with advanced image analysis to help drivers monitor road conditions, detect hazards and avoid collisions. These cameras need to be controlled with as less as possible delay and the transmitted data has to be checked for safety and security reasons, so fast and reliable connections are mandatory.

More Power for more Horsepower

While automotive ECUs in general neither require nor use extremely powerful processors, the tools to develop them in a network infrastructure need to be as powerful as they come.

A tiny controller in a big car

More electronics, increasingly complex software: Modern cars are embedded systems on wheels. While communication between ECUs (Electronic control units) and other on-board systems has become more or less standardized with bus systems like CAN, LIN and sometimes already MOST and Flexray , there are still many proprietary communication solutions in the powertrain area.

MOST for the masses

It took quite a while for the “Multimedia-Bus” MOST to penetrate even the luxury car segment. Now it's becoming available in an entry level car, the Audi A1.

Measuring LIN

While LIN is the PHY- and protocol-wise the simplest of the currently used bus systems in cars, more often than not analysing systems know more about CAN , Flexray or even MOST than about the uncomplicated two-wire connection.

Look back in OLED

It’s been twelve months since the ORECA 01 racing car from Oreca racing made its first appearance at the Sarthe and now it’s ready to take on the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010. A special mirror, probably bordering on disqualification, is supposed to lend it the necessary edge.

Multec cleans Polo

Delphi and Volkswagen have developed a "green" diesel system for the new 3-cylinder VW Polo BlueMotion. This allows the automaker to offer consumers a vehicle with relatively low CO2 emissions and fuel consumption, while still delivering suitable powertrain performance.

Vélosolex revisited

After decades of virtual non-existence, the bicycle with auxiliary engine seems to come back. Of course, the old, stinking two-stroke engines with friction wheel remain obsolete, electric drives are the fashion of the day.

“Energy-Efficient Driving 2014”

The complete supply chain around the automotive industry has joined the new research project called Energy-Efficient Driving 2014 (EFA 2014), bringing its expertise in direct co-operation. In fact, not many important brands are missing there: Audi, Audi Electronic Venture, BMW Group, Bosch, Continental Automotive, Elmos Semiconductor, Flextronics Automotive, FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik, Harman Automotive Division, Infineon Technologies and metaio . They are all focussing on the one and only target: cutting consumption by up to 10 % till 2014.