EPN Automotive Electronics Blog

Isolators for hybrid cars

The simple I2C bus connects controllers and peripheral devices. In automotive and especially hybrid electric vehicle applications, controllers or peripherals are isolated from the bus to avoid interference or harmful voltage levels. Usually, optocouplers are being used, but this increases the cost and complexity disproportionally. Digital isolators have the potential to simplify I2C design in electric and hybrid-electric vehicles.

Safety Fibre

A car's crash components can make the difference between life and death. Their job is to absorb energy in a collision in order to protect the driver inside. Researchers have now found a way to mass-produce a particularly safe class of materials known as thermoplastic fibre composite components.

Compact cars stay on track

In 2009, the number of newly registered vehicles in Europe equipped with the electronic stability control program ESP/ESC rose from 55% to 60%. An evaluation of the new figures by Bosch shows that this was above all due to considerable growth in the compact car segment.

TriCore on the road

We’ve all heard about the 60, 80 or 100 microcontrollers in todays or tomorrows cars, controlling ignition timing, displaying virtualized tachometers or illuminating the front-seat passenger’s ashtray. Since the assigned functions are so varied, those automobiles usually are a very diverse ecosystem for many different MCU families from a large number of different manufacturers.

Sensor manufacturer chairs DASH7 AWG

The newly formed automotive working group within the DASH7 Alliance is co-chaired by the Belgian semiconductor company Melexis. The company’s mission as co-chair will be to craft a multi-year roadmap for bringing DASH7 into a variety of automotive applications and markets.