Electronic products are continuously improving the way we interact with cars. With integrated navigation or hands-free calling no longer being exciting new features, we have made significant progress.
Today's cars are equipped with innovative technology and utilize hundreds to thousands of semiconductors to enhance intelligence, electrification, and safety levels. From air-conditioned seats to custom lighting effects, semiconductor chips can improve comfort; in some vehicles, these functions are supported by multiple touchscreens or smartphone applications.
We are now in the era of software-defined vehicles, a major trend in the automotive market, allowing manufacturers to enhance service levels, personalization, and convenience.
Of course, safety remains paramount, with nearly 93% of new cars featuring at least one advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) function. It is estimated that ADAS can prevent up to 1.6 million accidents annually and save as much as $36.7 billion in losses. Without the advancements brought by semiconductors in ADAS and connectivity, these figures would not be achievable.
Regional architecture is another trend in the automotive sector, aiding in the realization of software-defined vehicles. Unlike domain architectures that group functions in vehicles based on electronic control units (ECUs), regional architectures group them based on their location in the vehicle. These location-based ECUs (also known as regional control modules) utilize existing and new network interfaces, aiming to centralize vehicle hardware and software architecture.
"Texas Instruments has the capability to meet all major communication needs brought by the automotive industry's architecture shift," stated Tsedeniya Abraham, Vice President of Interface Business at Texas Instruments. "We can help designers manage and simplify the data type combinations required for regional architectures."
With the increasing number of sensors and actuators in vehicles, the amount of data that needs to be transmitted within the vehicle is also increasing. Each ECU needs to communicate with sensors, actuators, and other ECUs to accurately perform motion and safety functions. In the past, this required many bulky wiring harnesses to transmit power and data throughout the vehicle.
Fortunately, regional architecture reduces wiring, weight, and costs, better optimizing software-defined vehicles. Common communication protocols like Ethernet, Controller Area Network (CAN), and Local Interconnect Network (LIN) are still crucial for organizing the growing amount of data.
For instance, Ethernet can facilitate high-speed and low-latency safety-critical communication to avoid accidents. Protocols like CAN or LIN are cost-effective and well-suited for other low-bandwidth connections such as power window control, seat temperature adjustment, or power steering.
"Ethernet between regional control modules is the ideal choice for high-speed data transmission, while CAN or LIN are efficient and fast choices for the last mile communication within each region," Tsedeniya mentioned.
The FPD-Link™ protocol can provide a rate of 13.5Gbps over a single cable, meeting demanding video transmission requirements. This is sufficient for high-resolution displays between pillars in vehicles.
Considering security, Texas Instruments' FPD-Link Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) operates at a speed fast enough to transmit uncompressed camera data, a crucial advantage as vehicles integrate more ADAS functions.
Uncompressed data is essential for reducing visual artifacts that could otherwise interfere with the system's ability to process and react to images. FPD-Link is also bidirectional, allowing the system to control the camera even while receiving images.
Looking ahead, as manufacturers adopt a variety of protocols, they are turning to our company's extensive range of automotive communication devices to address the shift towards regional architecture.
Wireless technology is equally exciting. Fern Yoon, Director of Automotive Systems Engineering and Marketing at Texas Instruments, stated, "Some consumers can now receive new performance or convenience features wirelessly without having to take their car to the repair shop, and even comply with recall mandates."
With regional architecture supporting the vision of software-defined vehicles, automotive manufacturers are redefining the next stage of driver personalization, safety, and convenience.
Tsedeniya expressed, "Texas Instruments will continue to invest to align with current and future trends in automotive architecture development."