I was had planned to do a long post on self-driving cars a quite long time. I was planning to do one this spring, but I might not do that, because it seems that predictions that self-driving cars would be here in 2020 were far too rosy. Five years ago, several companies including Nissan and Toyota promised self-driving cars in 2020. So it may be wise to take any new forecasts with a grain of salt. Hare is a worth to check out article of the current status of self-driving cars:
Surprise! 2020 Is Not the Year for Self-Driving Cars
https://spectrum.ieee.org/transportation/self-driving/surprise-2020-is-not-the-year-for-selfdriving-cars
In March, because of the coronavirus, self-driving car companies, including Argo, Aurora, Cruise, Pony, and Waymo, suspended vehicle testing and operations that involved a human driver. Around the same time, Waymo and Ford released open data sets of information collected during autonomous-vehicle tests and challenged developers to use them to come up with faster and smarter self-driving algorithms.
It seems that the self-driving car industry still hopes to make meaningful progress on autonomous vehicles (AVs) this year, but the industry is slowed by the pandemic and facing a set of very hard problems that have gotten no easier to solve over the years.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Auto päästää enää keskimäärin 99 grammaa kilometrillä
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13463-auto-paeaestaeae-enaeae-keskimaeaerin-99-grammaa-kilometrillae
Autokannan sähköistyminen on johtanut Euroopassa varsin merkittävän virstanpylvään ohittamiseen. JATO Dynamicsin mukaan autojen keskimääräinen volyymipainotettu päästö putosi viime vuonna 99 grammaan kilometriä kohti. Pudotus edellisen vuoden 117,7 grammasta oli merkittävä.
JATO Dynamicsin 17 Euroopan markkinaa koskevien tietojen mukaan keskimääräisten CO2-päästöjen lasku oli näin 16 prosenttia. Myönteinen kehitys johtuu JATOn mukaan autonvalmistajien yhteisistä ponnisteluista kehittää vähäpäästöisiä autoja.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ladattavat ohittivat jo dieselit
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13506-ladattavat-ohittivat-jo-dieselit
Tomi Engdahl says:
From Car To Device: How Software Is Changing Vehicle Ownership
https://hackaday.com/2022/05/02/from-car-to-device-how-software-is-changing-vehicle-ownership/
For much of the last century, the ownership, loving care, and maintenance of an aged and decrepit automobile has been a rite of passage among the mechanically inclined. Sure, the battle against rust and worn-out parts may eventually be lost, but through that bond between hacker and machine are the formative experiences of motoring forged. In middle-age we wouldn’t think of setting off across the continent on a wing and a prayer in a decades-old vehicle, but somehow in our twenties we managed it. The Drive have a piece that explores how technological shifts in motor vehicle design are changing our relationship with cars such that what we’ve just described may become a thing of the past. Titled “The Era of ‘the Car You Own Forever’ Is Coming to an End“, it’s well worth a read.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Era of ‘the Car You Own Forever’ Is Coming to an End
It won’t make sense to form a bond with a car that’s not really yours and runs on software someone else controls.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-era-of-the-car-you-own-forever-is-coming-to-an-end
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2022/04/19/european-carmakers-will-report-impressive-profits-but-war-ruins-short-term-prospects/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kestää vielä kauan ennen kuin roboauto vie meidät Helsingistä Turkuun
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13524-kestaeae-vielae-kauan-ennen-kuin-roboauto-vie-meidaet-helsingistae-turkuun
Futuristisimmissa visioissa istumme aamulla robottiautomme takapenkille tekemään töitä, kun auto ajaa itsenäisesti ja autonomisesti perille. Vaikkapa sitten Turkuun, jos on pakko. Visio on houkutteleva, mutta todellisuutta siitä tulee vasta pitkän ajan päästä.
Näin katsoivat autonomisen ajamisen expertit eilen Teknologia22-messujen autonomisen ajamisen paneelissa. Mukana olivat Patrian Matti Saarikko, virolaisen Auve Techin Taavi Roivas, Unikien Esko Mertasalmi ja TTS Kehityksen Arto Kyytinen.
Näistä Unikie esitteli jo viime vuonna IAA Mobility -messuilla Münchenissä täysin automaattista autojen pysäköintipalvelua. Mertasalmi lupasi tekniikan laajemmin tarjolle ensi vuonna. Ratkaisu nojaa vahvasti lidariin, joka osaa luotettavasti tunnistaa objektit ympärillään.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elon Musk ottaa ison riskin
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13523-elon-musk-ottaa-ison-riskin
Teslan perustaja Elon Musk tunnetaan siitä, että hän ei usko lidariin. Muskin mukaan autonomisen ajoneuvon voi toteuttaa näkyvää valoa kuvaavilla kameroilla. Monet ovat eri mieltä ja uskovat ennemmin anturifuusioon. Musk voi olla oikeassa tai olla tekemässä ison virheen.
Virolainen Auve Tech kehittää autonomisia pikkubusseja (kuvassa) urbaaniin liikenteeseen. Yhtiön johtokunnan puheenjohtaja Taavi Roivas ei halua vielä ennustaa, onko Musk oikeassa vai tekeekö hän ison virheen.
- Tämä riippuu oikeastaan 3D-kameroiden kehityksestä. Tuleeko markkinoille joskus sellainen 3D-kamera, joka pystyy mallintamaan ympäristöä samalla tavalla kuin lidar, sitä emme tiedä.
Auve Techin robottibussit nojaavat kameroihin, lidariin ja GPS-signaaliin. Toisaalta Auven ajoneuvot on suunniteltu kontrolloituun ympäristöön, jossa alue on tarkkaan mallinnettu, tai mapattu. Tällä alueella lidar tunnistaa ajoneuvon paikan hyvin luotettavasti.
Tomi Engdahl says:
UK to install data loggers in new cars from July 2022
In a bid to reduce drunk driving, speeding, and more.
https://reclaimthenet.org/uk-to-install-data-loggers-in-new-cars-from-july-2022/
Starting in 2022, drivers of new cars in the UK will highly likely be dealing with mandatory speed limiter (Intelligent Speed Assist, ISA) tech installed in their vehicles. This is based on new EU rules, and the UK is expected to follow suit despite no longer being a member of the bloc.
Based on a provisional agreement, the European Commission’s regulation is expected to come into force on July 6. A deadline of two years will be given for new cars sold before this date to also have an ISA installed. This technology can be based on GPS data or cameras for traffic sign recognition, or both.
Driving will be further restricted and drivers monitored and controlled through a range of other mandatory implementations such as emergency braking, emergency stop signal, data loggers, driver fatigue detection system, lane keep assist and reversing sensors or cameras.
There will also be built-in breathalyzers which will prevent people from starting their car if they fail the test.
The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) is the body that is behind the push to get these compulsory new rules introduced
The regulation speaks about the introduction of event data recorders “storing a range of crucial anonymized vehicle data,” which should be present in all vehicles.
It is further stated that the recorders should be capable of recording and storing data that can only be used by member states, “to conduct road safety analysis and assess the effectiveness of specific measures taken without the possibility of identifying the owner or the holder of a particular vehicle on the basis of the stored data.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Blending Machine Learning and Radar for Enhanced Navigation
April 19, 2022
Editor Bill Wong interviews AV industry expert Steven Hong on the advances of radar technology and central processing architecture.
William G. Wong
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21239563/electronic-design-blending-machine-learning-and-radar-for-enhanced-navigation?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220415028&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aaron Gordon / VICE:
A San Francisco Police department training document notes that video footage from continuously recording autonomous vehicles can be obtained as evidence
San Francisco Police Are Using Driverless Cars as Mobile Surveillance Cameras
https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7dw8x/san-francisco-police-are-using-driverless-cars-as-mobile-surveillance-cameras
“Autonomous vehicles are recording their surroundings continuously and have the potential to help with investigative leads,” an internal training document states.
For the last five years, driverless car companies have been testing their vehicles on public roads. These vehicles constantly roam neighborhoods while laden with a variety of sensors including video cameras capturing everything going on around them in order to operate safely and analyze instances where they don’t.
While the companies themselves, such as Alphabet’s Waymo and General Motors’ Cruise, tout the potential transportation benefits their services may one day offer, they don’t publicize another use case, one that is far less hypothetical: Mobile surveillance cameras for police departments.
“Autonomous vehicles are recording their surroundings continuously and have the potential to help with investigative leads,” says a San Francisco Police department training document obtained by Motherboard via a public records request. “Investigations has already done this several times.”
The document released to Motherboard is a three-page guide for how officers should interact with autonomous vehicles (AVs), especially ones that have no human driver inside. It outlines basic procedures such as how to interact with the vehicles (”Do not open the vehicle for non-emergency issues” and ”Do not pull vehicles over unless a legitimate law enforcement action exists”) as well as whether to issue a citation for a moving violation for a car with no human driver (”No citation can be issued at this time if the vehicle has no one in the driver’s seat” but an incident report should be written instead). And the section titled “Investigations” has two bullet points advising officers of their usefulness in collecting footage.
Privacy advocates say the revelation that police are actively using AV footage is cause for alarm.
“This is very concerning,” Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) senior staff attorney Adam Schwartz told Motherboard. He said cars in general are troves of personal consumer data, but autonomous vehicles will have even more of that data from capturing the details of the world around them. “So when we see any police department identify AVs as a new source of evidence, that’s very concerning.”
Waymo and Cruise are the two AV companies mentioned in the training document, although more have permits to test driverless cars in California (the state grants permission through the DMV, not the city). A Waymo spokesperson told Motherboard the company “requires law enforcement agencies who seek information and data from Waymo to follow valid legal processes in making such requests (e.g. secure and present a valid warrant, etc.). Our policy is to challenge, limit or reject requests that do not have a valid legal basis or are overly broad.”
Privacy advocates and researchers have long warned about the implications of increasingly sophisticated cars, but many of these warnings are essentially extensions of the privacy concerns of smartphones, where consumer technology tracks your movements and behavior, anonymizes it, and sells it to third parties in a manner that can be reverse-engineered to identify individuals. They rarely imagine a scenario where cars on the road are constantly recording the world around them for later use by police departments.
It is the combination of using fixed location camera networks with rolling networks of autonomous vehicle cameras and data that scares privacy advocates most. “The holistic outcome of these combined moving and fixed networks is a threat that is greater than the sum of its parts,” Schwartz said. “Working together, [they can] more effectively turn our lives into open books.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
No more brakes for cars of the future
https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/motoring-news/no-more-brakes-for-cars-of-the-future/news-story/ebf79a0140b4805d617e1ced79cfb131
Manufacturers could put a stop to technology that has been central to motoring since the dawn of the automobile.
Electric cars of the future could be able to ditch conventional brake technology in favour of powerful regeneration by battery-powered motors.
The move could come as a result of improved electric vehicle technology, as well as a push for improved air quality.
Electric cars already use a combination of conventional friction braking and brake regeneration. The latter slows down vehicles using resistance from the same electric motor that propels the car, feeding that energy into the car’s battery to extend its range.
DS, Citroen’s luxury arm, said it is “exploring whether regenerative braking alone could eventually be the sole method to slow cars down, helping to better recharge the battery in the process, and doing away with conventional brake discs and pads”.
All new cars sold in Australia today have disc brakes that work by clamping spinning rotors with brake pads that use friction to slow the vehicle.
Some cars, such as utes and cheaper hatchbacks, also have “drum” brakes attached to the back wheels that push “brake shoes” against the inner surface of a rotating barrel.
Both types produce “brake dust”, fine particles of metallic material that separates from the pad and disc as part of the braking process.
Vehicles with drum brakes trap most dust inside the braking system, while disc brakes disperse material into the air around them.
Next-generation European emissions laws are expected to shift attention from exhaust pipes to brakes and tyres.
Dr Asma Beji, a non-exhaust particles expert, said in June 2021 that “the impact on health of brake wear particles is undeniable and cannot be neglected”.
“The Euro 7 emissions standard, which is still being developed for implementation by 2024/2025, should set a regulatory limit for these particles and would require an evolution of motor vehicles.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Courts VW, Stellantis in Fight for the Car’s Future
May 4, 2022
As software becomes a bigger focus for auto makers, so has the hardware under the hood.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21239255/electronic-design-qualcomm-courts-vw-stellantis-in-fight-for-the-cars-future?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220510011&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Qualcomm is striking deals with car manufacturers and suppliers like Stellantis and Volkswagen’s Cariad software unit that want to use high-performance chips tocontrol new software-driven car features.
The smartphone chip giant said the order pipeline in its budding automobile business rose from $13 billion to $16 billion last quarter, largely due to its long-term supply deal with Stellantis that was announced last month.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, who ran its flagship smartphone-chip business before being promoted last year, has pushed the company to diversify into cars, personal computers, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Automotive Software Framework Speeds Connected-Vehicle Development
May 9, 2022
Wind River will collaborate with Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai AutoEver on an automotive software framework in addition to continuous test and test automation capabilities plus software lifecycle management.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21241332/electronic-design-automotive-software-framework-speeds-connectedvehicle-development?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220510011&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9Rhttps://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21241332/electronic-design-automotive-software-framework-speeds-connectedvehicle-development?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220510011&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9Rhttps://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21241332/electronic-design-automotive-software-framework-speeds-connectedvehicle-development?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220510011&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
EV Battery Chemistry and Its Impact on the Electronics Industry
May 10, 2022
The industry wants to know when electric cars will be available for everyone, but it’s essential to understand the limiting component to answer that question.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21241459/mouser-electronics-ev-battery-chemistry-and-its-impact-on-the-electronics-industry?utm_source=EG+ED+Analog+%26+Power+Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220506079&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
What you’ll learn:
What are the barriers to wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles?
The different types of battery alternatives.
The industry wants to know when electric cars will be available for everyone. It’s essential to understand the limiting component to answer that question, both from an economic and a technology perspective. The battery pack is the most expensive component in an EV, consuming 30% of the total cost to battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) consumers.
Still, with vehicle demand exponentially increasing, the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is exponentially decreasing, down to $137/kWh at the end of 2020. BloombergNEF estimates that at $100/kWh, electric cars will soon be at cost parity with gasoline-powered vehicles.
Now that battery cost is on the decline, the key problems to solve are charging time and total range. Drivers expect a refueling time of around five minutes or less, which becomes the unofficial benchmark for EV charging. The battery chemistry and charging infrastructure will dictate how quickly a driver can charge an EV.
There’s no clear choice for the best battery technology within the battery segment. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) dominates the market, but market alternatives offer exciting value propositions, including some technically superior to Li-ion.
But if the automotive industry genuinely shifts toward electric cars, the sharp increase in battery production will create unprecedented demand for minerals to make the batteries. Because many existing battery chemistries overlap with consumer electronics, it also will significantly impact that market. As a result, there will be tension in the supply chain for competing priorities over mineral supply between the two industries at the highest level.
The “winning” EV battery chemistry would ideally de-risk mineral supply while providing the technical and environmental benefits that EVs can deliver. Below is a review of how the leading battery alternatives affect electronics.
Leading Battery Alternatives
The overwhelming majority of EV batteries are Li-ion-based. Li-ion’s liquid-state technology works by employing lithium to carry the electric charge between the electrodes. To put the scale of EV batteries into perspective, they use 10,000X the amount of lithium of mobile phones, ramping up the demand for lithium and driving up its commodity price.
However, Li-ion is not without its challenges. Thus, battery manufacturers are developing alternatives, paced by nickel metal hydride (NMH), lead-acid, ultracapacitors, and solid-state batteries.
One of the biggest reasons electric-vehicle manufacturers prefer lithium-ion battery technology is its high power-to-mass ratio.
In addition, Li-ion batteries have high energy density and better performance than their alternatives at elevated temperatures. Li-ion’s use in the consumer electronics industry is partly responsible for the high energy density.
Li-ion’s energy density is more than 2.5X greater than both NMH and lead-acid batteries. In addition, Li-ion batteries are recyclable, making them a good choice for environmentally focused consumers.
Nickel Metal Hydride (NMH)
While Li-ion is the standard for all-electric vehicles (AEVs), NMH is better suited for hybrid electric (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Though NMH has a better lifecycle than Li-ion or lead-acid, the chemistry brings its share of tradeoffs.
NMH batteries are less expensive than Li-ion but experience higher self-discharge rates when not in use. They also generate substantial heat at the hotter end of the operating range.
Though seemingly unlikely, an uptick in NMH demand for EVs would affect cell phones, computers, and similar electronic devices. In addition, power tools often use NMH batteries, so a shift in demand or availability of minerals could significantly impact the construction industry.
Solid-State Electrolytes
The clear winner for liquid-state electrolytes is Li-ion, especially with the percentage of BEVs likely to substantially increase in the coming years. But Li-ion is sensitive to cost swings due to market movement and reshuffling, along with skyrocketing demand.
In addition, there’s an opportunity to improve the top safety concern of flammable liquid catching fire. Safety is one of the most critical success criteria for EVs to inspire public confidence, so industry and safety regulators would likely welcome an opportunity to step up the safety features.
Solid-state batteries (comprised of lithium metal) address the most pressing safety challenges of Li-ion using essentially the same chemistry. Solid-state technology utilizes a solid disc electrolyte, whereas Li-ion employs a liquid. Long thought by many engineers and materials scientists to be the long-term solution for EVs, devices like pacemakers, radio-frequency identification (RFID), and wearables already use solid-state technology.
Solid-state batteries are more stable, have a higher energy density than the already high-density Li-ion, come from readily available materials, offer lower flammability and faster charging, and improve and extend the performance range of EV batteries. For these reasons, solid-state batteries seem like the future.
Barriers to Wide-Scale Adoption
Solid-state is seemingly the future of EV batteries, but developers must solve some of the challenges to widescale adoption. Solid-state batteries will carry a higher development cost due to a lack of capital to produce mass quantities. It’s crucial to get this cost down to encourage consumers to purchase cars with these kinds of batteries.
Gaps in the solid Li electrolyte material degrade battery performance and service life when implemented into BEVs. In addition, solid-state batteries are prone to cracking and like to charge at 60°C for optimal performance.
Conclusion and Takeaway
EVs are changing the way we think about batteries. Engineers are challenging previous realities like specific energy limits and materials of construction. The extra demand for EV charging, safety requirements, and efficiency goals may disrupt the electronics industry, closely tied to electric vehicles, through their battery technology. Understanding how EVs’ economic and technical developments influence electronics and other related markets is essential for seamless implementation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The electric vehicle revolution is far bigger–literally–than Teslas and Ford’s electric pickup.
Big Rigs Going Electric As Navistar, Cummins, Daimler Rev Up Next-Generation Trucks
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2022/05/13/big-rigs-going-electric-as-navistar-cummins-daimler-rev-up-next-generation-trucks/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Gordie&sh=62e646ff419d
Tomi Engdahl says:
ADAS-kamera tarkkailee kuskia 88 kertaa sekunnissa
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13576-adas-kamera-tarkkailee-kuskia-88-kertaa-sekunnissa
Merkittävä osa onnettomuuksista liikenteessä johtuu kuljettajan herpaantumisesta, usein jopa nukahtamisesta. Onnettomuuksia pyritään ehkäisemään ADAS-järjestelmillä (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). STMicroelectronics on nyt esitellyt ADAS-järjestelmiin entistä tehokkaamman ja luotettavamman kameran.
VB56G4A-piiri on ST:n toisen sukupolven globaalin sulkimen kamerakenno, joka yksinkertaistaa DMS- eli kuljettajan valvontajärjestelmän suunnittelua. Kenno on taustavalaistu (BSI, back side illuminated) ja siten herkempi, pienempi ja luotettavampi kuin perinteiset etupuolella valaistut (FSI) anturit, joita tyypillisesti käytetään ensimmäisen sukupolven DMS-järjestelmissä.
Piirin ulkoisiin liitäntöihin kuuluu kahdeksan ohjelmoitavaa yleiskäyttöistä I/O-nastaa ja kaksikaistainen MIPI CSI-2 -lähetinliitäntä, joka toimii jopa 1,5 Gbps:n nopeudella linjaa kohti. Anturi voi kuvata jopa 88 kuvaa sekunnissa (fps) täydellä resoluutiolla ja tyypillinen virrankulutus on 145 mlliwattia 60 fps:llä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
iPhone vaihtaa sittenkin USB-liitäntään
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13582-iphone-vaihtaa-sittenkin-usb-liitaentaeaen
EU on määrännyt Applen siirtymään standardiin C-tyypin USB-liitäntään iPhone-puhelimissaan, mutta yhtiö on tähän asti hangannut tiukasti vastaan. Nyt Bloomberg kertoo, että tilanne voisi olla muuttumassa jo ensi vuonna.
Uutistoimiston mukaan Apple on testannut USBC-portilla varustettuja malleja viime kuukausina. Lisäksi Apple on työstämässä sovitinta, joka antaisi tuleville iPhoneille mahdollisuuden toimia nykyiseen Lightning-liittimeen suunniteltujen lisävarusteiden kanssa. Bloombergin mukaan tiedot tulevat ”yhtiön läheltä”.
Muutos voisi tapahtua aikaisintaan vuonna 2023. Apple aikoo säilyttää Lightning-liittimen tämän vuoden uusissa malleissa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
San Francisco police use driverless cars for surveillance https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/16/in_brief_security/
San Francisco police have been using driverless cars for surveillance to assist in law enforcement investigations. According to an SFPD training document obtained by Motherboard [PDF]: “Autonomous vehicles are recording their surroundings continuously and have the potential to help with investigative leads.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The combination of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s renewed medical emergency shutdown and key component shortages mean a more than 5% contraction is likely, according to a new report
Global Car Sales To Fall, Spooked By Russian Invasion, China’s Shutdown
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2022/05/17/global-car-sales-to-fall-spooked-by-russian-invasion-chinas-shutdown/?sh=45f3e71e1c4a&utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflowForbesMainFB
Tomi Engdahl says:
u-blox and Geespace Join Forces on High-Precision Positioning
May 6, 2022
The partnership will help to grow global adoption of u-blox’s PointPerfect high-precision positioning service for automotive applications.
https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/systems/article/21241167/microwaves-rf-ublox-and-geespace-join-forces-on-highprecision-positioning?utm_source=RF+MWRF+Today&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220513068&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
u-blox, which offers positioning and wireless communication technologies and services, and Geespace, a provider of aerospace information and communications (AICT) infrastructure and application solutions, have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the expansion of their respective augmentation services for high-precision applications. Both partners will be able to extend their service offering to the U.S., European, and Chinese markets, primarily in the automotive sector.
The rise of reliable and cost-effective high-precision positioning has improved the accuracy of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) solutions to the order of tens of centimeters, enabling a plethora of new applications in the automotive, industrial, and robotics segments. But global adoption has been hampered by a fragmented augmentation services landscape.
For global adoption to become a reality, worldwide coverage is required. It also needs unified pricing and business models designed to serve mass-market high-precision solutions for automotive and industrial customers operating on a global scale. The resulting differences in technical specifications have made the development of such solutions requiring different services more complex, too.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Networking Challenges Confronting Autonomous Vehicles
May 10, 2022
Like the human brain, computers tasked with driving vehicles need to make split-second decisions to deal with unanticipated circumstances, and even small delays can have catastrophic consequences for the vehicle and passengers.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21241411/rambus-the-networking-challenges-confronting-autonomous-vehicles?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220510035&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
What you’ll learn:
Networking methods for modern automobiles.
Challenges involved with automotive networking architectures for vehicles, including autonomous vehicles.
Potential solutions to automotive networking challenges.
In my previous article, I discussed how sensor fusion is paving the way for the future of autonomous vehicles (AVs), allowing them to replicate human senses through the combination of data from multiple inputs, including radar, LiDAR, and camera sensors. By fusing together this data, automakers can mitigate the shortcomings of individual sensors to gain a complete picture of a vehicle’s surroundings and provide high levels of spatial awareness.
For sensor fusion to work reliably, though, data from the sensors must be collected, distributed, and processed at very high speeds. Just like the human brain, computers tasked with driving vehicles need to make split-second decisions to deal with unanticipated circumstances. Even small delays in this process can have catastrophic consequences for the vehicle and passengers.
As one might expect, incorporating all of the sensors needed for AVs adds complexity to the vehicle and necessitates a change of approach for automotive OEMs as they design, engineer, and manufacture vehicles. How best to network the myriad electronics is particularly challenging. It could significantly impact how quickly and efficiently data can be moved and processed and comes with a range of second-order challenges, such as its effect on the vehicle’s overall weight.
The Weight Challenge
For those working on automotive networking and AVs, vehicle weight is a factor that can’t be ignored. More sensors mean more cabling to connect them, which can lead to increased system weight and unfavorable effects on a vehicle’s overall speed, fuel efficiency, or range in the case of electric vehicles. In fact, for many vehicles, wiring is one of the top four heaviest subsystems, weighing as much as 132 lbs. in modern automobiles. In addition, complex wiring impacts vehicle production rate because it requires more time to complete and test.
This issue is compounded as more cars are going electric and need to shed excess weight due to the increased weight of the electric powertrain. What’s more, electric-vehicle makers often are the ones pushing the hardest for autonomous driving, meaning they simultaneously require more sensors and better networking while needing to remove weight to make allowance for the battery.
Fortunately, advances in components such as Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) controllers are helping limit the need for added wiring and, in some cases, even lowering the total length of cable needed. MIPI allows for wiring up to 45 ft. directly from sensors to CPUs without latency or loss of processing. In effect, it’s as if the sensor is directly attached to the CPU and negates the need for additional gateways that would add excess wiring.
Furthermore, automakers such as Tesla are experimenting with new variations of central network architectures, including ring architectures. Recent patents indicate systems that use a circular-looking harness enable all components to connect to the harness and into the CPU instead of being individually wired into the CPU at multiple points.
Other advances, such as wireless battery-management systems, also promise to help reduce overall wiring needs in future vehicles. On top of that, the trends toward zonal architectures and virtualized electronic control units (ECUs) introduce a notion of more powerful multifunction ECUs. These would be connected to smart sensors to reduce the overall number of ECUs, which, in turn, favorably impacts wiring.
A Need for Speed
As mentioned previously, speed—as it refers to the ability to move and process data, not miles per hour—is critically important for sensor fusion and AVs. Massive amounts of data must be collected, transferred, and calculated in real time to allow for swift decision making, so high throughput is a stringent requirement. This requirement affects both data exchanges over automotive networks and data transfers in and out of memory.
Traditional automotive networks such as CAN, LIN, and FlexRay simply don’t provide enough bandwidth to transfer the large amounts of data needed for sensor fusion and on-board AI compute engines using deep neural nets. To give you a sense of where we’re headed, Micron estimates that memory bandwidth of up to 512 to 1,024 GB/s is needed to support level 3 and 4 autonomous driving. At level 4, the vehicle is highly autonomous, but still requires human interaction in some situations.
In 2020, most automotive systems were equipped with x32 LPDRAM components with I/O signaling speeds of up to 4,266 MB/s (4.266 GB/s) per device. Achieving higher levels of autonomy with a practicable number of DRAM devices requires high-performance memories such as GDDR6. A x32 GDDR6 DRAM device operating at 16 Gb/s delivers 64 GB/s of bandwidth. An architecture with 16 such GDDR6 DRAMs could achieve the level 4 memory-bandwidth requirement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video SerDes Tech Boosts Resolution Over a Longer, Single Wire
May 12, 2022
Sponsored by Texas Instruments: Achieve higher resolution and transfer uncompressed video, power, and more over one wire using V3Link serializers/deserializers.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/tools/learning-resources/whitepaper/21240305/texas-instruments-video-serdes-tech-boosts-resolution-over-a-longer-single-wire?utm_source=EG+ED+Connected+Solutions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220510036&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
The uncompressed transmission of video data, control signals and power is heating up—and it’s not just with the promise of warmer weather. A wide range of applications, from endoscopy, a non-surgical procedure used to examine a person’s digestive tract, to factory automation, require that high-bandwidth data be transferred over several meters worth of cable.
That presents a challenge, not just because of the signal loss introduced with such a transmission channel, but also due to the introduction of electromagnetic-interference (EMI) or electromagnetic-compatibility (EMC) considerations common to medical or industrial applications. Such external noise sources could interfere with the cable as data passes to its destination.
Increasing the resolution of an imager in a system increases the amount of data it generates, data that must be transmitted, processed, and stored. Unfortunately, connecting an imager over a small-diameter wire or cable can add signal interference. Here, we’ll discuss a modern solution to this problem: V3Link SerDes pairs, which can enhance resolution and reduce system size in high-speed video applications.
V3Link technology acts as a bridge between protocol-based data interfaces, which require multiple signaling conductors to transfer high-bandwidth data. Supported data-interface standards include HDMI, LVDS, MIPI CSI-2, and MIPI DSI. These standards, however, are designed to transfer video only over short distances, which may include PCB traces.
V3Link devices support various cable types. Applications typically utilize either coaxial or twisted-pair cables to carry information between serializer and deserializer. Coaxial cables tend to have lower insertion-loss characteristics when compared with twisted-pair cables due to their electromagnetic construction. Twisted-pair cables are typically more immune to the effects of electromagnetic interference. Most V3Link devices can support either coax or twisted-pair configurations to ensure flexibility in various applications.
V3Link transfer works by combining input data into packets or frames to be transmitted serially at high speed. Payload data makes up the majority of the frame. This is the high-bandwidth portion of the data, which could be comprised of video pixel information, audio data, or other data types including radar, LiDAR, and more.
By utilizing a proprietary echo-cancellation technique, V3Link SerDes allows for full duplex communication over one physical conductor.
Using this simultaneous back-channel communication, I2C access and GPIO transfer can be enabled across in either forward or reverse directions. V3Link deserializers utilize multiple equalization techniques to recover high-frequency signal content and mitigate the effects of intersymbol interference (ISI), reflections, or external noise influence.
SerDes technology such as the V3Link TSER953 serializer and TDES960 and TDES954 deserializers work in tandem to transfer high-resolution video, control signals, and power simultaneously over a single thin wire. These devices help establish links between sensors and processors to aggregate clock, uncompressed video, control, power, and GPIO signals
In addition to facilitating the transfer of video data, control signals, and power over a single cable, V3Link devices include adaptive equalizer technology that can compensate for a loss of up to 21 dB at 2.1 GHz, enabling the use of very thin 28 to 32 American-wire-gauge (AWG) cables. The higher the AWG number, the thinner the cable and the higher the signal loss. The ability to transfer power and control signals on the same thin cable also minimizes the number of conductors.
At typical power dissipation of 250 mW on the sensor side, V3Link serializers consume very low power. As a result, the sensor and serializers can be integrated into very compact areas without the need for power and heat dissipation, which requires additional space.
Conclusion
V³Link is a high-speed bidirectional video SerDes technology that enables uncompressed transmission of video data, control signals, and power using a single wire. As a high-speed, uncompressed video-transport technology, V3Link aggregates video, clock, control, and peripheral data from cameras, radar, LiDAR, or time-of-flight sensors to an SoC over a single wire or cable up to 15 m. V3Link serializers and deserializers extend cable reach while maintaining image quality, reducing power consumption and improving system reliability.
Enhancing Resolution and
Reducing System Size in High
Speed Video Applications
https://www.ti.com/lit/wp/slyy215/slyy215.pdf?HQS=asc-hsd-fpdl-v3link-asset-whip-ElectronicDesign_05-wwe_int&ts=1652878003867
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sensible 4 sai 8 miljoonan euron EIP-rahoituksen
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13604-sensible-4-sai-8-miljoonan-euron-eip-rahoituksen
Euroopan investointipankki (EIP) on myöntänyt 8 miljoonan euron rahoituksen suomalaiselle Sensible 4 Oy:lle, joka on innovatiivinen robottiautojen teknologiaa kehittävä yhtiö. Rahoituksen avulla Sensible 4 saa kehitettyä valmiiksi Dawn-ohjelmistonsa.
EIP-laina on osa Euroopan takuurahaston Venture Debt -tuotetta, joka kehitettiin koronaviruspandemiasta kärsivien pk-yritysten maksuvalmiuden vahvistamiseen. Toimitusjohtaja Harri Santamalan mukaan rahoitus varmistaa sen, että Sensible 4 voi siirtyä massatuotantoon tähtäävien kumppaniensa kanssa esituotantovaiheeseen.
Itseajavienteknologioiden käyttöönotto voi johtaa pääosin inhimillisistä virheistä aiheutuvien liikenneonnettomuuksien määrän laskuun. Lisäksi se voi nopeuttaa täysin hiilipäästöttömiin ajoneuvoihin siirtymistä etenkin suurkaupunkialueilla, mikä vähentää hiilidioksidi- ja muita saastuttavia päästöjä.
- Sen lisäksi, että jaettu, itseajavaja sähköinen liikenne ovat linjassa kestävän kehityksen kanssa, robottiautot tuovat ratkaisun myös Euroopan akuuttiin kuljettajapulaan. Julkisen liikenteen laajentaminen ja kasvava logistiikka vaativat yhä enemmän kuljettajia, etäohjattu robottiautokalusto on oiva ratkaisu tähän ongelmaan, Santamala jatkaa.
Sensible 4 on Aalto-yliopiston spin-off-yritys, joka hyödyntää yli 30 vuoden tutkimusta ja tuotekehitystä robotiikan ja itseajavien ajoneuvojen teknologioiden sektorilla.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Leverages Habana’s AI Chips to Train Self-Driving Cars
May 12, 2022
The company has also deployed more than 8,000 Gaudi2 server chips in its data centers to inform of further advances of the upcoming Gaudi3 chip.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21241539/electronic-design-intel-leverages-habanas-ai-chips-to-train-selfdriving-cars?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220517095&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Intel rolled out a new generation of AI server chips that offer a massive jump in computing, memory, and networking capabilities, setting it apart from NVIDIA’s GPUs for training deep learning in data centers.
The company is courting every major cloud-computing giant with the new Gaudi2, the second generation of the server chip that debuted in cloud services for training AI models offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) last year. However, it’s also using the Habana Labs-designed chips in its own data centers to push the envelope in autonomous driving and other areas.
Intel’s Mobileye unit is using Habana’s first-generation Gaudi accelerators to train the AI at the heart of its self-driving vehicles to sense and understand their surroundings. Gaby Hayon, executive vice president of R&D at Mobileye, said that as training such models is time-consuming and costly, Mobileye is using Gaudi in AWS’s cloud and on-premises in its data centers to get “significant cost savings” compared to GPUs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EV Battery Chemistry and Its Impact on the Electronics Industry
May 10, 2022
The industry wants to know when electric cars will be available for everyone, but it’s essential to understand the limiting component to answer that question.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21241459/mouser-electronics-ev-battery-chemistry-and-its-impact-on-the-electronics-industry?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220517095&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Electric vehicles (EVs) are surging ahead, with new startups like Byton, Canoo, and Rivian entering the arena each year to follow Tesla’s lead. In the meantime, automotive bluebloods GM and Ford have committed $7B and $11B (respectively) to defend their market-leading positions. Moreover, Europe and China paced the global markets with over one million new registrations in 2020. On top of that, the cost of EVs, long said by EV opponents to be a deal-breaking challenge, is coming down as supply ramps up. Nonetheless, significant technical and commercial challenges remain.
The industry wants to know when electric cars will be available for everyone. It’s essential to understand the limiting component to answer that question, both from an economic and a technology perspective. The battery pack is the most expensive component in an EV, consuming 30% of the total cost to battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) consumers.
Still, with vehicle demand exponentially increasing, the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is exponentially decreasing, down to $137/kWh at the end of 2020. BloombergNEF estimates that at $100/kWh, electric cars will soon be at cost parity with gasoline-powered vehicles.
Now that battery cost is on the decline, the key problems to solve are charging time and total range. Drivers expect a refueling time of around five minutes or less, which becomes the unofficial benchmark for EV charging. The battery chemistry and charging infrastructure will dictate how quickly a driver can charge an EV.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Turusta etäohjattiin laiva väylälle Kokkolassa
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13607-turusta-etaeohjattiin-laiva-vaeylaelle-kokkolassa
DIMECC:n Fairway-projektissa kehitetään tulevaisuuden väyläpalveluita. Eilen hankkeessa otettiin tärkeä askel, kun ESL Shippingin M/S Viikki ohjattiin Kokkolan satamasta väylälle. Samalla päästiin kokeilemaan eri järjestelmien soveltuvuutta etäluotsaukseen. Järjestelmiä testattiin rinnakkain tavallisen luotsauksen kanssa.
ESL Shippingin M/S Viikki välitti reaaliaikaista tietoa laivan liikkeistä ja väylän olosuhteista Novia ammattikorkeakoulun Turussa sijaitsevaan etäluotsauskeskukseen. Fairway-ohjelmassa on mukana yrityksiä ja korkeakouluja, ja tarkoitus on edistää digitalisaation keinoin entistä turvallisempaa, tehokkaampaa ja kestävämpää meriliikennettä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AV simulation testing for 3D object detection, collision prediction
https://www.edn.com/av-simulation-testing-for-3d-object-detection-collision-prediction/
There was a time when self-driving cars taking over the roads was a distant vision. Today, the situation has changed dramatically. Although autonomous vehicles (AVs) took longer than expected to make their first appearance, automotive experts believe that this technology is poised to mature quickly.
Automotive OEMs and their key technology partners are already in the process of developing and testing truly self-driving vehicles—Level 5 autonomous cars—that can cruise along open roads without human drivers. This is partly made possible through the technology of sensor fusion, powered by machine-learning algorithms.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IGBT/SiC Module Drivers Target Traction Inverters for EV, HEV, Fuel-Cell Vehicles
May 16, 2022
Power Integrations launched a family of ASIL B-qualified, dual-channel, plug-and-play gate-driver boards for both SiC MOSFETs and silicon IGBTs.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21241905/electronic-design-igbtsic-module-drivers-target-traction-inverters-for-ev-hev-fuelcell-vehicles?utm_source=EG+ED+Analog+%26+Power+Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220517100&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
At PCIM Europe, Power Integrations announced the SCALE EV family of gate-driver boards for Infineon EconoDUAL modules. The SCALE EV family consists of automotive-qualified, dual-channel plug-and-play drivers for both silicon-carbide (SiC) MOSFETs and silicon IGBTs.
The boards are aimed at high-power automotive and traction inverters for electric, hybrid, and fuel-cell vehicles, including buses and trucks, as well as construction, mining, and agricultural equipment. They’re ASIL B certified, enabling implementation of ASIL C traction-inverter designs
“By offering a product where the development, testing, and qualification plus ASIL certification have already been done,” said Peter Vaughan, director of automotive business development at Power Integrations, “we are dramatically reducing development time and cost.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/05/23/lisarahaa-robottiautojen-ohjelmistokehitykseen/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rebecca Fannin / CNBC:
A look at the autonomous vehicle industry, as CB Insights says equity funding for startups developing autonomous vehicles passed $12B in 2021, up 50%+ YoY
Where the billions spent on autonomous vehicles by U.S. and Chinese giants is heading
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/21/why-the-first-autonomous-vehicles-winners-wont-be-in-your-driveway.html
Despite its promise, a future full of autonomous vehicles still seems like a distant fantasy.
But tech giants, automakers, and start-ups from the U.S. and China, including Ford, GM, Baidu, Tesla, and Alphabet, have invested billions of dollars and years of R&D into making it a reality.
Robotaxis seems like a good bet to be first to make it to market in a major way. As one expert said, “Ride-hailing is a lousy business model with unhappy human drivers and urban mobility problems.”
For years, Alphabet’s Waymo and others leaders have promised autonomous vehicles are just around the bend. But that future has not arrived yet. Why not?
“In one word, it’s complexity,” said James Peng, CEO and co-founder of Pony.ai, an autonomous vehicle company. “Every time there is a technical breakthrough, there are challenges. We have the AI, the fast computer chips, the sensors. It’s all solvable by fitting all the pieces together smoothly. 99.9% is not good enough to perfect the technology.”
Despite promises of life-saving, climate-change fighting, and cost-efficient driving, the reality is that “the autonomous vehicle nirvana is 10 years out,” said Michael Dunne, CEO of autotech consultancy ZoZoGo. “While it’s not impossible to get there, even the most advanced technologies are not there yet and used mainly in confined areas where things are predictable. We are far, far away from universal acceptance.”
Not only that, but “the business model is a bigger challenge than the technology,” he said.
Self-driving vehicles without steering wheels or brake pedals have been slow to scale and are viewed by many as a novelty. Additional road tests are needed to work out tech glitches. Regulations to permit driverless vehicles are still evolving by city, state, and country. High price tags hovering above $100,000 for an AV-equipped auto are a drawback to individual purchases for most buyers. Commercialization is still underway. Safety concerns remain, particularly after a fatal crash in March 2018 involving one of Uber’s vehicles in Tempe, Arizona and multiple incidents involving Teslas being operated in self-driving mode.
Still, market leaders are betting big on smarter transit technology and are testing its viability, logging thousands of road miles to train self-driving algorithms and AI sensors to drive better than humans in all kinds of weather and unpredictable circumstances. Tech giants, automakers, and start-ups including GM’s Cruise, Waymo, Baidu, and others have invested billions of dollars and years of R&D in this emerging market poised to reach 12% of new car registrations globally by 2030. Meanwhile, Tesla continues its work on its semi-autonomous autopilot and self-driving systems.
Promising future for robotaxis, robo-deliverys
Now after a decade and some bumpy starts, it’s robotaxis, robot-driven deliveries, and autonomous trucks that are emerging as the most promising money-makers in the market.
“Ride-hailing is a lousy business model with unhappy human drivers and urban mobility problems. The next great thing could be fleets of robotaxis,” said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan where he focuses on entrepreneurship and technology. He envisions urban streets without accidents, honking, traffic jams, and dedicated lanes for self-driving vehicles.
In this next phase of passengers and road testing, the technical complexities are growing with unpredictable traffic patterns and weather factors such as fog and rain, plus lingering social awareness and acceptance issues.
“It will still require a significant amount of time for autonomous driving to be commercialized on a large scale,”
Paid passenger fares in fully driverless robotaxis could be the next step toward the commercial development of this transformative market.
Pony.ai, which ranked No. 10 on the 2022 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, along with Baidu in Beijing, have led the industry in launching fare-charging robotaxis for the public in China. The two companies started charging fares last November in Beijing for their robotaxi services, which have a safety driver monitoring the ride. Additionally, Pony.ai is starting a paid taxi service this May featuring 100 AVs as traditional taxis within the Nansha district of Guangzhou. Both also have been testing AVs and robotaxis in the U.S.
China is targeting smart transportation as a national growth strategy and has designated several sections of major cities for testing. “If you are looking for the perfect place to test autonomous driving, it is hard to beat China for its ambition,” said Dunne.
“two global ecosystems, one that is China-led and one that is U.S.-led with their respective systems and governments,” Dunne said. “China does not want U.S. companies vacuuming up data and China testing in the U.S. faces the same issue. Chinese AV companies are likely to maintain R&D in the U.S. but deploy in China for China.”
In the U.S., industry leaders Waymo and Cruise expect to soon launch their own paid driverless robotaxis in San Francisco after several months of testing rides with employees. Additionally, Waymo plans to expand its fee-charging driverless rides to downtown Phoenix after pilots in late 2018 for paying customers in suburban Chandler.
Ford and VW-backed Argo-AI have begun operating autonomous test vehicles without a human safety driver in Miami and Austin, Texas, moving around employees. Argo has been testing its self-driving technology on streets in eight cities across the U.S. and Europe, with some of its vehicles, with a human safety driver, being used by passengers in Miami Beach, Florida, through Lyft’s ride-sharing network. Lyft has a roughly 2.5% stake in the company.
Amazon-acquired start-up Zoox is custom testing its cube-like robotaxis in the Bay Area, Seattle, and Las Vegas, without initially charging for rides.
Billions bet by U.S. and Asian auto, tech giants
Chasing the opportunity, equity funding in AV tech companies eclipsed $12 billion in 2021, up more than 50% from 2020, according to CB Insights. The U.S. funding is dominated by Waymo, which topped out at $5.5 billion including from Alphabet, and by Cruise, which is backed with $10 billion from GM, Honda, and other investors, with a $5 billion line of credit from GM Financial. Pony.ai, co-founded by former Baidu AV lead developer Peng in 2016, is financed with $1.1 billion, including a $400 million investment from Toyota.
Start-ups in the AV space have piggybacked on major automakers and ride-hailing services
Production of robo-vehicles is costly but pursued as another strategy to commercialize the market.
Robot-powered delivery services are also emerging as a viable path toward commercial scale and profitability.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the AV long-haul trucking space is moving perhaps the fastest in this evolving market. Jim Scheinman, founding managing partner at Maven Ventures and an early investor in Cruise, noted that Embark Truck and other AV trucking companies will help the trillion-dollar market in many ways. “Not only by keeping our freight costs substantially lower which will continue to be so important in a world of continued supply chain issues and inflation, but also in helping the long haul trucking labor shortages as well as being so much more environmentally friendly,” Scheinman said. “Massive wins for everyone and the planet,” he added.
“With trucking in demand for freight and a driver shortage, this helps to solve a pain point,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
An Electric Bus Caught Fire After Battery Explosion in Paris
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5r-yN8SugWM
Tomi Engdahl says:
European Roads See First Zero-Occupancy Autonomous Journey
https://hackaday.com/2022/05/23/european-roads-see-first-zero-occupancy-autonomous-journey/
We write a lot about self-driving vehicles here at Hackaday, but it’s fair to say that most of the limelight has fallen upon large and well-known technology companies on the west coast of the USA. It’s worth drawing attention to other parts of the world where just as much research has gone into autonomous transport, and on that note there’s an interesting milestone from Europe. The British company Oxbotica has successfully made the first zero-occupancy on-road journey in Europe, on a public road in Oxford, UK.
https://www.oxbotica.com/insight/europe-first-zero-occupancy-autonomous-vehicle-journey-on-road-completed-by-oxbotica/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sähköauton suosio kasvaa
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13617-saehkoeauton-suosio-kasvaa
Tomi Engdahl says:
IGBT/SiC Module Drivers Target Traction Inverters for EV, HEV, Fuel-Cell Vehicles
May 16, 2022
Power Integrations launched a family of ASIL B-qualified, dual-channel, plug-and-play gate-driver boards for both SiC MOSFETs and silicon IGBTs.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21241905/electronic-design-igbtsic-module-drivers-target-traction-inverters-for-ev-hev-fuelcell-vehicles?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220517096&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Advancing GaN Tech into Mainstream Adoption at PCIM 2022
May 19, 2022
VisIC Technologies’ D3GaN solution offers better switching performance than cascade topologies, and is more robust than enhancement-mode devices.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/gan-transistors/video/21242047/advancing-gan-tech-into-mainstream-adoption-at-pcim-2022?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220517096&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Vital Role of Power Density in Electric Aircraft
May 20, 2022
The goal of “green” aviation is leading electric-aircraft power designers to discover new technological power-density approaches to realize smaller/more efficient systems.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/power-management/whitepaper/21242291/electronic-design-the-vital-role-of-power-density-in-electric-aircraft?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220517096&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tutkijat: 250 kilometriä riittää sähköauton kantamaksi
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13631-tutkijat-250-kilometriae-riittaeae-saehkoeauton-kantamaksi
Riittääkö sähköauton lataus seuraavalle latausasemalle? Ilmiölle on keksitty jo nimikin: latausahdistus. Geneven yliopiston tutkijoiden mukaan kognitiiviset tekijät estävät monia siirtymästä sähköautoon.
Tutkijat selvittivät tutkimuksessaan, että auton omistajat aliarvioivat järjestelmällisesti sähköautojensa kantaman kyvyn vastata päivittäisiin tarpeisiinsa. Nature Energy -lehdessä julkaistut tulokset avaavat uusia mahdollisuuksia nopeuttaa liikkuvuuden sähköistämistä perinteisten poliittisten lähestymistapojen lisäksi.
Sähköautojen määrä kasvaa monissa maissa. He ovat kuitenkin vielä kaukana markkinaosuudesta, joka mahdollistaisi tieliikenteen päästöjen merkittävän vähentämisen. Vuonna 2020 sähköautojen osuus globaalista autokannasta oli vain yksi prosentti. Jotta vuoden 2030 ilmastotavoitteet saavutetaan, osuuden olisi oltava vähintään 12 prosenttia.
Kun tärkeimmät taloudelliset ja tekniset esteet on poistettu, mitkä tekijät estävät edelleen sähköautojen laajaa käyttöönottoa? Suuri osa vastauksesta löytyy autonkuljettajien kognitiivisista ennakkoluuloista.
- Energiasiirtymän psykologisia tekijöitä on otettu hyvin vähän huomioon. Monet tutkimukset osoittavat kuitenkin, että yksilöt eivät automaattisesti omaksu itselleen tai yhteiskunnalle edullisinta käyttäytymistä, usein siksi, että heillä ei ole kunnollista tietoa, selittää tutkija Mario Herberz Geneven yliopiston psykologian laitokselta.
Haastattelemalla yli 2000 eri taustasta ja ikäistä autonkuljettajaa Saksassa ja Yhdysvalloissa, UNIGE-tutkijat tunnistivat kognitiivisten harhojen lähteen, jotka estivät heitä ottamasta käyttöön sähköautoa. Osallistujat aliarvioivat systemaattisesti nykyisten markkinoiden sähköakkukapasiteetin yhteensopivuutta todellisten tarpeidensa kanssa.
Toisin sanoen kuluttajat uskovat virheellisesti, että nykyisillä akuilla ei voida ajaa päivittäisiä matkoja. Ero todelliseen kantamaan on noin 30 prosenttia. Tämä tarkoittaa, että latausverkoston tai akkujen koon kasvattaminen ei ratkaise ongelmaa. Ainoa tie ratkaisuun on oikea tieto.
Tutkimusryhmä havaitsi, että yli 90 prosenttia automatkoista voitaisiin suorittaa ajoneuvoilla, joiden ajomatka on 200 kilometriä. Tähän käytännössä kaikki markkinoilla jo olevat sähköautot yltävät. Suurempi toimintasäde, esimerkiksi yli 300 kilometriä, ei paranna käyttökelpoisuutta päivittäisessä ajossa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yhden sirun tutka paljastaa pienetkin liikkeet
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13634-yhden-sirun-tutka-paljastaa-pienetkin-liikkeet
Yhden sirun tutka paljastaa pienetkin liikkeet
Julkaistu: 25.05.2022
Devices Embedded
NXP on esitellyt ratkaisun, joka mahdollistaa erittäin tarkan liikkeentunnistuksen ultralaajakaistaisella UWB-tutkalla. Uusi Trimension-siru on markkinoiden ensimmäinen yksisiruinen ratkaisu, jossa UWB-tutkaan on tuotu tarkan liiketunnistuksen mahdollistava laskenta.
Piirillä on monia käyttökohteita, jotka liittyvät sekä turvallisuuteen että käyttömukavuuteen. Sen avulla voidaan valvoa elintoimintoja, kuten vaikkapa pikkuvauvan hengitystä. Käyttömukavuus puolestaan kasvaa monissa laitteissa, kun piiri tunnistaa liikkeet ja eleet todella tarkasti.
UWB-tutkan ansiosta laitteet voivat havaita ympäristönsä sekä etäisyyden muihin UWB-yhteensopiviin laitteisiin. Tämä tekee liikeherkkyyden, mukaan lukien läsnäolontunnistuksen, elintoimintojen valvonnan ja eleiden tunnistuksen, tuomisesta mobiili-, esineiden internet- (IoT) ja autoteollisuuden sovelluksiin helpompaa ja kustannustehokkaampaa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tekoäly tuli auton liikeanturiin
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13635-tekoaely-tuli-auton-liikeanturiin
STMicroelectronics on esitellyt ajoneuvojen liikeanturin, joka ensimmäistä kertaa tuo koneoppimisen MEMS-pohjaiseen anturiin. ASM330LHHX-anturin koneoppimisydin mahdollistaa nopean reaaliaikaisen vasteen ja kehittyneet toiminnot alhaisella järjestelmän virrankulutuksella.
ASM330LHHX-piiri sisältää 3-akselisen kiihtyvyysmittarin ja 3-akselisen gyroskoopin 2,5 x 3 x 0,83 millimetrin kotelossa. 6-akselinen moduuli tarjoaa liikkeen ja asennon tunnistuksen toimintoihin, mukaan lukien ajoneuvon paikannus ja vakautus.
Piirillä oleva ML-ydin laskee tekoälyalgoritmeja suoraan anturin päällä. Tämän ansiosta liikkeen havaitsemisen ja siihen vastaamisen välillä on erittäin pieni viive. Anturipiirillä reaaliaikainen laskenta kuluttaa paljon vähemmän järjestelmäenergiaa ja laskentatehoa kuin sovellusprosessoriin tai pilvipohjaiseen tekoälyyn upotettu ratkaisu.
ST tarjoaa laitekehittäjille evaluointikortteja ja ilmaisia ohjelmistokirjastoja sovellusten kehittämisen helpottamiseksi.
ASM330LHHX on AEC-Q100-hyväksytty, ja se on nyt tuotannossa. Lisätietoja ST:n sivuilta.
https://www.st.com/en/mems-and-sensors/asm330lhhx.html
The ASM330LHHX is a system-in-package featuring a 3-axis digital accelerometer and a 3-axis digital gyroscope with an extended temperature range up to +105 °C and designed to address automotive non-safety applications. ST’s family of MEMS sensor modules leverages the robust and mature manufacturing processes already used for the production of micromachined accelerometers and gyroscopes to serve both the automotive and consumer markets. The ASM330LHHX is AEC-Q100 compliant and industrialized through a dedicated MEMS production flow to meet automotive reliability standards. All the parts are fully tested with respect to temperature to ensure the highest quality level.
The sensing elements are manufactured using ST’s proprietary micromachining processes, while the IC interfaces are developed using CMOS technology that allows the design of a dedicated circuit which is trimmed to better match the characteristics of the sensing element.
The ASM330LHHX has a full-scale acceleration range of ±2/±4/±8/±16 g and a wide angular rate range of ±125/±250/±500/±1000/±2000/±4000 dps that enables its usage in a broad range of automotive applications.
The device supports dual operating modes: high-performance mode and low-power mode.
All the design aspects of the ASM330LHHX have been optimized to reach superior output stability, extremely low noise, and full data synchronization to the benefit of sensor-assisted applications like dead reckoning and sensor fusion.
The ASM330LHHX is available in a 14-lead plastic land grid array (LGA) package.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Harvesting Vehicle Information to the Cloud
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/video/21239540/electronic-design-harvesting-vehicle-information-to-the-cloud?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220517098&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Cars calling home is one way to deliver information collected by the vehicle to the cloud, where it can be analyzed. Elektrobit provides a collection of software that developers can pick and choose from to handle a variety of tasks from real-time operating systems for engine control units (ECUs) to secure communication with the cloud.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Moving from Domains to Zones: The Auto Architecture Revolution
May 24, 2022
A new approach is needed in automotive interconnection architectures—a fundamental shift in the way hardware and software functions are partitioned across newly configurable platforms.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21242583/nxp-semiconductors-moving-from-domains-to-zones-the-auto-architecture-revolution?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220517098&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
What you’ll learn:
The shift from conventional electrical and electronic (E/E) architecture within the vehicle to the domain and zonal architectures.
How software is taking precedence over hardware in defining the vehicle and its key components.
How automotive manufacturers are now moving from domain to zonal architectures.
Challenges with—and a solution to—the zonal approach implementation.
The wiring harness in many vehicles now weighs more than any other component, except the engine—whether it’s an internal combustion engine (ICE) or battery-powered electric motor. Reducing this unsustainable burden demands an entirely new approach to interconnection architectures, and it can’t be realized using high-speed serial buses and networking technologies alone.
To fully address the issue requires a fundamental shift in how hardware and software functions are partitioned across newly configurable platforms.
Dividing into Domains—and the Need for a Zonal Approach
Due to the increasing complexity of the conventional vehicle architecture caused by the addition of more and more electronic control units (ECUs), an alternative approach was introduced to add structure and hierarchy. The approach was to divide the vehicle into “domains,” or areas with common functionality—such as the chassis, powertrain, body & comfort and infotainment, and ADAS—and connect them to a centrally located service-oriented gateway via a dedicated domain controller
Challenges in Zonal-Approach Implementation
While the automotive industry has relied on CAN networking for decades, it’s becoming apparent that it’s unable to cope with the demands of vehicles today. This is especially the case for the “backbones” that connect the zonal gateways, which will be based on Ethernet. However, the hierarchical nature of the zones will introduce more “hops” within the network, potentially causing latency and jitter issues.
Many of the systems in a modern vehicle have time dependencies, which is especially critical in safety-related systems, such as ADAS. While a delay in opening a window or changing a radio station would be an inconvenience, a delay to a message from a camera that has detected an obstruction resulting in brakes being applied late is potentially catastrophic.
This highlights a weakness of traditional Ethernet in that data packets are only propagated when the backbone is free of other traffic, and there’s no hierarchy of relative importance. Simply put, traditional Ethernet would see a data packet for changing a radio station as equally important as one to apply the brakes.
In-vehicle networking will be based on IEEE 802.1AS-2020, the IEEE-approved standard for timing and synchronization in time-sensitive networking (TSN) applications. Often called “deterministic Ethernet,” this standard includes several features for ensuring that data is managed to strict time criteria based on the importance of the data, including ensuring that time-sensitive traffic is propagated via the shortest path.
This high-speed Ethernet will form the backbone of the zonal architecture and connect zone controllers with one another as well as with the central computing resources. However, things will become more complex within each zone due to multiple types of edge networks being implemented, connecting the zone controller to various edge ECUs. While Ethernet may be used in some cases, a significant amount of CAN infrastructure will exist in both CAN (FD) and CAN XL formats.
Several areas should be considered for this multi-protocol approach to work effectively. In particular, the designer must consider how data is moved onto and from the Ethernet backbone to and from the in-zone network. This is further complicated by the fact that CAN traffic is typically periodic and broadcast, compared to Ethernet, which is usually event-based and point-to-point.
Tomi Engdahl says:
wBMS: The New Competitive Edge for EV Manufacturers
May 27, 2022
To reduce weight, space, and cost, designers are turning to wireless battery-management system technology, which is involved with a battery’s entire lifecycle from assembly to second life.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21242851/analog-devices-wbms-the-new-competitive-edge-for-ev-manufacturers?utm_source=EG+ED+Analog+%26+Power+Source&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220524016&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sähköautokauppa jämähti komponenttipulaan
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13643-saehkoeautokauppa-jaemaehti-komponenttipulaan
Euroopan automarkkinoilla nähtiin huhtikuussa merkittävä käänne. Vaikka komponenttipula on pitänyt polttomoottoriautojen myyntiluvut laskussa jo pidemmän aikaa, sähköautojen myynti on ollut jatkuvassa nousussa. Ei ole enää, kertoo JATO Dynamics.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/article/21242851/analog-devices-wbms-the-new-competitive-edge-for-ev-manufacturers?utm_source=EG+ED+Auto+Electronics&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220526058&o_eid=7211D2691390C9R&rdx.ident%5Bpull%5D=omeda%7C7211D2691390C9R&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/06/03/peligrafiikkaa-volvon-uusiin-sahkoautoihin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Making ROS 2 Automotive-Ready
June 2, 2022
Apex.AI has hardened ROS 2 to meet automotive safety requirements.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automotive/video/21240334/making-ros-2-automotive-ready
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13663-sensible-4-pilotoi-nyt-japanissa
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/02/ford-wants-to-sell-evs-online-only-and-at-a-set-price/?tpcc=tcplusfacebook&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9sbS5mYWNlYm9vay5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMotY38W2tl5EPWa80vdJQzRS9o0VFoyymtEx5oxRfXBoYbbrUaUM0GrmXkNV4SoXQtlgo40yLjn6vwQpcg8Tm_Vn4Ff87QYhVyu5ghl-7IeaRgyqtU3HMpjBSmryyL-WN-whXr8Sv7mSBtAob88KSUpRjrwnakXkH_pZ3dD-ZZF&guccounter=2
Tomi Engdahl says:
Voikkaalla ajettiin maailman ensimmäinen robottijunan onnistunut kenttätesti
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/13677-voikkaalla-ajettiin-maailman-ensimmaeinen-robottijunan-onnistunut-kenttaetesti
Suomessa on tehty kansainvälisestikin tärkeä autonomisen junan kenttätesti. Suomalaisen Proxionin vetämässä hankkeessa päästiin Voikkaalla ajamaan ensimmäistä kertaa GoA4-luokan automaattijunaa. Näillä näkymin junaa päästään operoimaan vuonna 2023.
Hankkeen tavoitteena on synnyttää täysin uudenlainen, autonominen raidelogistiikka teollisuuslaitosten tai terminaalien sisäiseen liikenteeseen ja kasvattaa voimakkaasti rautatiekuljetusten määrää. Voikkaalla suoritetuissa kenttätesteissä todistettiin, että teknologian avulla raideliikenteen on mahdollista kilpailla joustavien maantiekuljetusten kanssa teollisuuden kuljetuksissa suljetuilla alueilla, kuten satamissa tai teollisuuslaitoksissa.
Projektijohtaja Reijo Viinosen mukaan hankkeen tavoite on edistää teollisuus- ja tehdasalueiden sisälogistiikkaa turvallisella, ympäristöystävällisellä ja tehokkaalla raideliikenteellä. Julkisella rataverkolla liikuttaessa vaatimukset ja määräykset sekä toimijoiden suuri määrä tekevät täysin autonomisesta logistiikkaketjusta haastavan toteuttaa, kertoo Viinonen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Suomalais-japanilainen robottibussi saa jatkoa
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/06/05/suomalais-japanilainen-robottibussi-saa-jatkoa
Suomalainen Sensible 4 laajentaa toimintaansa Japanin markkinoille avaamalla toimiston Tokioon. Yritys aloittaa lisäksi robottibussin pilotoinnin Japanin Chibassa ja loppuvuodesta luvataan lisää tietoa yhteistyöhankkeesta ensimmäisen japanilaisen autonvalmistajan kanssa.
Espoolaisella Sensible 4:llä on ollut edustus jo aikaisemmin Tokiossa, joten toimiston avaaminen luonnollinen jatkumo. Varsinkin kun suomalaisyrityksen saamista sijoituksista valtaosa on tullut japanilaisilta sijoittajilta. Lisäksi Japani on yksi ensimmäisistä maista maailmasta, jossa on jo valmiirt säädökset itseajaville kulkuneuvoille.