Changes In Auto Architectures


Automotive architectures are changing from a driver-centric model to one where technology supplements and in some cases replaces the driver. Hans Adlkofer, senior vice president and head of the Automotive Systems Group at Infineon, looks at the different levels of automation in a vehicle, what’s involved in the shift from domain to zonal architectures, why a mix of processors will be required... » read more

Targeting Redundancy In ICs


Technology developed for one purpose is often applicable to other areas, but organizational silos can get in the way of capitalizing on it until there is a clear cost advantage. Consider memory. All memories are fabricated with spare rows and columns that are swapped in when a device fails manufacturing test. "This is a common method to increase the yield of a device, based on how much memor... » read more

Functional Safety For Fail-Operational Systems


Functional safety issues have long been an important part of product development wherever machine operations that are potentially dangerous for humans are carried out unattended. However, in terms of electrical and electronic systems, the need has been limited to a few industries such as medical technology and aerospace. Apart from that, the functional safety concepts were only used for niche p... » read more

Selective Redundancy In Cars


The automotive industry has been fish-tailing its way through design strategies and electronics architectures, but it finally appears to be honing in on a strategy that actually might work. This doesn't mean fully autonomous vehicles will take over the road anytime soon, but at least it points carmakers in the right direction. The auto industry has been in panic mode ever since Tesla, Waymo,... » read more

Medical, Industrial & Aerospace IC Design Changes


Medical, industrial and aerospace chips are becoming much more complex as more intelligence is added into these devices, forcing design teams to begin leveraging tools and methodologies that typically have been used only at the leading-edge nodes for commercial applications. But as with automotive, the needs of these systems are changing quickly. In addition to strict quality, safety and sec... » read more

Planning For Failures In Automotive


The automotive industry is undergoing some fundamental shifts as it backs away from the traditional siloed approach to one of graceful failure, slowing the evolution to fully autonomy and rethinking how to achieve its goals for a reasonable cost. For traditional automakers, this means borrowing some proven strategies from the electronics world rather than trying to evolve traditional automot... » read more

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