Navigating The Intersection Of Safety And Security


Vehicle systems and the semiconductors used within them are some of the most complex electronics seen today. In the past, electronics going into vehicle systems implemented flat architectures with isolated functions controlling various components of the power train and vehicle dynamics. However, to support the realization of Level 4 and Level 5 (L4/L5) autonomous driving, a massive restructure ... » read more

Zone-ECU Virtualization Solution Platform


The high complexity of future vehicle systems will need to move away from today’s distributed automotive E/E architecture towards a more centralized E/E structure based on less but much more powerful ECUs, instead of many individual control entities. A Zone-oriented architecture moves the integration of numerous functions and services into one ECU. The resulting network concept must deal w... » read more

The Drive Toward Zero Defects


The automotive semiconductor market has doubled twice in the past 20 years. But the next doubling will be even faster. While short-term results may vary, it is certain that auto semis will be much larger 10-20 years from now. Today, a gas-powered car has ~$400 of semiconductor content whereas the Tesla Model 3 with an electric powertrain and Advanced Driver Assist System (ADAS) has >4... » read more

Software-Defined Cars


Automotive architectures are becoming increasingly software-driven, a shift that simplifies upgrades and makes it easier to add new features into vehicles. All of this is enabled by the increasing digitalization of automotive functions and features, shifting from mechanical to electrical design, and increasingly from analog to digital data. That enables OEMs to add or up-sell features years ... » read more

Automotive Safety Island


The promise of autonomous vehicles is driving profound changes in the design and testing of automotive semiconductor parts. Automotive ICs, once deployed for simple functions like controlling windows, are now performing complex functions related to advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving applications. The processing power required results in very large and complex ICs that ... » read more

The Changing Automotive Industry Landscape


By Lance Brooks and Brendan Morris Consumer demand for sophisticated highly connected vehicles that provide advanced features is forcing the global automotive industry to develop more advanced electrical and electronic (E/E) architectures. The increasing adoption of connected features in all categories and segments, including on and off-road vehicles, is also driving powerful smart features ... » read more

Making More Reliable And More Efficient Auto ICs


Sam Geha, executive vice president of memory solutions at Infineon Technologies, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about automotive chips, supply chain issues, and integration challenges. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: How do you build an automotive chip that will work in any environment? Geha: The automotive market is, of course, one of the most demand... » read more

Cybersecurity: The Case For Hardware-Based Threat Detection And Mitigation


The requirements of cyberphysical systems place great responsibility on design teams. Their mission-critical roles in controlling mechanical systems, from aircraft though motor vehicles to industrial plants, have always called for safety-focused design. As these systems have become connected to the internet, safety has become intertwined with security. One mechanism for detecting suspicious ... » read more

Big Changes In Embedded Software


Every good hardware or software design starts with a structured approach throughout the design cycle, but as chip architectures and applications begin focusing on specific domains and include some version of AI, that structure is becoming more difficult to define. Embedded software, which in the past was written for very narrow functions with a minimal footprint, is increasingly getting blended... » read more

Chip Industry Heads Toward $1T


The chip industry is on track to hit $1 trillion sometime over the next decade, and while the exact timing depends on a variety of factors, the trend line appears to be stable. The digitization of data, the digitalization of technology, and the expansion into new and existing markets, collectively are expected to drive chip industry growth for years to come. Exactly when the IC world will to... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →