EPN Automotive Electronics Blog

Threewise triple MCU

In modern automotive systems, various bus systems, rigid safety demands and the need for high performance at low power have to be balanced. While there are many specialized automotive chips like microcontrollers and SoCs around, this  is an area where the general trend towards higher integration finally makes sense.

Cars and more

In terms of software development, AUTOSAR sets rather good practices. Actually, it has a few advantages over general purpose SW development standards with its coverage of the full development cycle easily the most important. Unfortunately, the AUTOSAR development partnership isn’t too fond of allowing the software architecture outside of the automotive market. Now, they start opening up. A bit.

Safer ECUs

The ISO 26262 functional safety standard for road vehicles poses various problems for component manufacturers as well as for system integrators. Luckily, not all control units in a car are that safety critical, but the ones that need to comply require extensive checking and testing during all stages of product development.

The three-bus board

Among the most critical points in automotive electronics are intersections of different bus systems. Those areas need to be designed and tested thoroughly – and it’s a bonus when the development device can be used in all stages, even in production.

European Eco-SoC

In times of growing euro-scepticism the engineering community demonstrates the benefits of cooperation in the union. The recently completed EU FP7 project »ATHENIS« (Automotive Tested High Voltage Embedded Non Volatile Memory Integrated System On Chip) is a successful example of collaborative European Research contributing to the EU 2020 CO₂ reduction objectives with IC products manufactured in Europe.

Japan: News from Distributors

European and international distributors offer online information about the delivery and supply situation regarding their Japanese linecards.

embedded world 2011: Infotainment-SoC

For me it is not terribly clear why one needs high-definition video in a car’s dashboard, since one is not supposed to watch the newest Coen brothers movie there and even a Sat Nav doesn’t need 1080p, much less the »virtual« tachometers. However, nowadays it’s even being installed in mid-range cars, so there seems to be some kind of demand. A good thing for semiconductor manufacturers.

Bienvenue en France!

For a better positioning and to solidify growth in embedded systems, the German Berner & Mattner Systemtechnik, is joining the French Assystem Group. The agreement stipulates that Berner & Mattner is being integrated into the Assystem Group as an independent unit and without any change in either staff or organization.

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.

Decorated Power

Power loss actually happens in hardware, but software has a big impact on its magnitude. Optimizing software with respect to power consumption can make a huge difference in systemwide losses. A new tool from Hitex Development Tools takes care of that issue and made an impression on the award committee of embedded world 2010.