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Autonomous driving systems and connected mobility are the next big developments for the car manufacturers and their suppliers during the next decade. To achieve the high computing power needs and fulfill new upcoming requirements due to functional safety and security, heterogeneous processor architectures with a mixture of different core architectures and hardware accelerators are necessary. To tackle this new type of hardware complexity and nevertheless stay within monetary constraints, high performance computers, inspired by state of the art data center hardware, could be adapted in order to fulfill automotive quality requirements. The European Processor Initiative (EPI) research project tries to come along with that challenge for next generation semiconductors. To be as close as possible to series development needs for the next upcoming car generations, we present a hybrid semiconductor system-on-chip architecture for automotive.

This paper introduces the advancement of Engine Idle Stop-and-Go (ISG, also known as Auto Engine Stop-Start) and Neutral Coasting Control (NCC) with utilizing Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) and GPS. The ISG and the In-Neutral Coasting (also known as Sailing or Gliding) have been widely implemented in recent vehicles for improving their fuel economy. However, many drivers find them somewhat disturbing because they basically change behaviors of their cars from what they used to. This annoyance discourages usages of those functions and eventually undermines their benefit of fuel saving. In order to mitigate the problem, new ISG and NCC algorithms are proposed. As opposed to the conventional logics that rely only on driver’s pedal action, the new algorithms determine whether or not to enable those functions for the given driving condition, based on the traffic information obtained using ADAS sensors and the location data from GPS and navigation map.

The large luxury sedan seat has a 22-way Movement. It offers a wide range of adjustments to enhance passenger comfort performance while it has many constraints on movement in constrained indoor space. In addition, the power seat is operated by a motor, which makes it difficult for the user to determine the amount of adjustment, unlike determining the amount of adjustment by the power and feel of a person, such as manual seat adjustment. IMS, one-touch mode, is also constrained by parameters such as indoor space package, user's lifestyle, etc. during function playback. This paper aims to design the seat control logic to achieve the best seat comfort while satisfying each constraint. The results of this study are as follows. Increase robustness of power seat control logic. Provide optimal adjustments and comfort at each location. Offer differentiated custom control and seating modes for each seat. Improve customer satisfaction and quality by upgrading software.

The sliding surface of the brake friction material is not uniform but composed of random contact plateaus with a broad pressure distribution, which are known to closely related to the triggering mechanism of friction induced noise and vibrations. The non-uniform contact plateaus are attributed to the various ingredients in the friction material with a broad range of physical properties and morphology and the size and stiffness of the plateau play crucial roles in determining the friction instability. The incorporation of friction surface inhomogeneity is, therefore, crucial and has to be counted to improve the accuracy of the numerical calculation to simulate brake noise. In this study, the heterogeneous nature of the friction material surface was employed in the simulation to improve the correlation between numerical simulations and experimental results.

Voice Recognition (VR) systems have become an integral part of the infotainment systems in the current automotive industry. However, its recognition rate is impacted by external factors such as vehicle cabin noise, road noise, and internal factors which are a function of the voice engine in the system itself. This paper analyzes the VR performance under the effect of two external factors, vehicle cabin noise and the speakers’ speech patterns based on gender. It also compares performance of mid-level sedans from different manufacturers.

Fuel tank in vehicle must hold the fuel in a stable way under any driving condition. However, the fuel tank might not conserve the fuel firmly in case a crack emerged while the fuel tank is exposed to different driving condition. Basically, when the engine is in purging at a normal ambient temperature before fuel boiling, the pressure inside the fuel tank decreases. However, the pressure inside a fuel tank increases while a vehicle is driven at extreme hot ambient temperature as fuel is boiling. This repetitive pressure change in the fuel tank comes with fuel tank’s physical expansion and shrink, which would cause a damage to the fuel tank. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the root cause of why fuel tank cracks at a fatigue point. We also aim to set up the method of how to test durability of the fuel tank in association with the pressure inside the tank.

The automotive industry experiences a major change as vehicles are gradually becoming a part of the Internet. Security concepts based on the closed-world assumption cannot be deployed anymore due to a constantly changing adversary model. Automotive Ethernet as future in-vehicle network and a new E/E Architecture have different security requirements than Ethernet known from traditional IT and legacy systems. In order to achieve a high level of security, a new multi-layer approach in the vehicle which responds to special automotive requirements has to be introduced. One essential layer of this holistic security concept is to restrict non-authorized access by the deployment of embedded firewalls. This paper addresses the introduction of automotive firewalls into the next-generation domain architecture with a focus on partitioning of its features in hardware and software.

A vehicle simulation model is developed, validated and integrated into a closed-loop virtual driving environment using a state-of-the-art hexapod driving simulator. Thirty variant states are implemented and evaluated subjectively on steering and handling performance quality and quantity. Standard open-loop objective testing manoeuvres are simulated and performance metrics are calculated, allowing for a systematic cross-correlation process. Graphical analysis of the correlation metrics proves that chassis changes may accurately be felt through the simulator interface. It is proposed how obtained correlation models may serve for driver-feel optimizing target setting in early vehicle development stages, frontloading a great deal of costly prototype testing. System requirements are established and benefits and limitations are portrayed.

A cooperation of several research partners supported by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education proposes a new active matrix LED light source. A multi pixel flip chip LED array is directly mounted to an active driver IC. A total of 1024 pixel can be individually addressed through a serial data bus. Several of these units are integrated in a prototype headlamp to enable advanced light distribution patterns in an evaluation vehicle.

The constant motivation for lower fuel consumption and emission levels has always been in the minds of most auto makers. Therefore, it is important to have precise control of the fuel being delivered into the engine. Gasoline Port fuel injection has been a matured system for many years and cars sold in emerging markets still favor such system due to its less system complexity and cost. This paper will explain injection control strategy of today during development, and especially the injector dead-time compensation strategy in detail and how further improvements could still be made. The injector current profile behavior will be discussed, and with the use of minimum hardware electronics, this paper will show the way for a new compensation strategy to be adopted.

Vehicle manufacturers are challenged by rising costs for vehicle recalls. A major part of the costs are caused by software updates. This paper describes a feasibility study on how to implement software update over the air (SOTA) in light vehicles. The differences and special challenges in the automotive environment in comparison to the cellular industry will be explained. Three key requirements focus on the drivers’ acceptance and thus are crucial for the vehicle manufacturers: SOTA must be protected against malicious attacks. SOTA shall interfere as little as possible with the availability of a vehicle. Long update processes with long vehicle downtimes or even complete fails must be avoided. The functional safety of the vehicle during operation may not be limited in any way The study gives options how those objectives can be achieved. It considers the necessary security measures and describes the required adaptations of the board-net architectures both on software and hardware level.

The trend towards even more sophisticated driver assistance systems and growing automation of driving sets new requirements for the robustness and availability of the involved automotive systems. In case of an error, today it is still sufficient that safety related systems just fail safe or silent to prevent safety related influence of the driving stability resulting in a functional deactivation. But the reliance on passive mechanical fallbacks in which the human driver taking over control, being inevitable in such a scenario, is expected to get more and more insufficient along with a rising degree of driving automation as the driver will be given longer reaction time. The advantage of highly or even fully automated driving is that the driver can focus on other tasks than controlling the car and monitoring it’s behavior and environment.

In Engine Management System, more accurate control is required to improve engine performance. Especially generating the precise ignition signal has a direct effect on better engine performance. In the beginning of this paper, a basic software structure to synchronize the engine crank signal and generate ignition signals will be explained. Several cases which can generate dwell timing error will be introduced based on this software structure. In addition, each impact level for each error case will be described. For cases of major error, compensation ways will be proposed in order to obtain more accurate dwell timing. The compensation ways by both microcontroller hardware and user software will be explained in detail. In conclusion, this paper will show the accuracy of ignition signal which implements proposed compensation ways that can be improved as compared to conventional ignition signal.

It has become an important trend to implement safety-related requirements in the road vehicles. Recent studies have shown that accidents, which occurred when drivers are not focused due to fatigue or distractions, can be predicted in advance when using safety features. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are used to prevent this kind of situation. Currently, many major tiers are using a DSP chip for ADAS applications. This paper suggests the migration from a DSP configuration to a Microcontroller configuration for ADAS application, for example, using a 32bit Multi-core Microcontroller. In this paper, the following topics will be discussed. Firstly, this paper proposes and describes the system block diagram for ADAS configuration followed by the requirements of the ADAS system. Secondly, the paper discusses the current solutions using a DSP. Thirdly, the paper presents a system that is migrated to a Multi-core microcontroller.

Creep groan noise occurs in a just moving vehicle by the simultaneous application of torque to the wheel and the gradual release of brake pressure in-vehicle. It is the low frequency noise giving the driver a very uncomfortable feeling. It is caused by the stick-sleep phenomenon at the lining and disc interface. Recently, the field claim of low frequency creep groan has increased. There are a lot of efforts to improve creep groan noise by means of modification of lining material. In this paper, Transfer path of creep groan noise was analyzed through ODS and TPA. Additionally the correlation between Source (Brake torque variation, Brake vibration) and Creep Groan Sound level was discussed. Finally countermeasure to Creep Groan noise was suggested.

In modern vehicles, the number of small electrical drive systems is still increasing continuously for blowers, fans and pumps as well as for window lifts, sunroofs and doors. Requirements and operating conditions for such systems varies, hence there are many different solutions available for controlling such motors. In most applications, simple, low-cost DC motors are used. For higher requirements regarding operating time and in stop-start capable systems, the focus turns to highly efficient and durable brushless DC motors with electronic commutation. This paper compares various electronic control concepts from a semiconductor vendor point of view. These concepts include discrete control using relays or MOSFETs. Furthermore integrated motor drivers are discussed, including system-on-chip solutions for specific applications, e.g. specific ICs for window lift motors with LIN interface.

The electrification of the powertrain is still one of the main challenges and innovation drivers for modern cars. With the introduction of the Toyota Prius, launched in Japan in 1997 the first commercially available hybrid car in mass production, the development continued towards the BMW i3 launched in July 2013. One main component for all kind of hybrid cars is still the power semiconductor, which is used for DC/DC converters and for the inverter to drive the electric motor for the traction control. What makes the selection of the right power semiconductor complex, is the variety of different voltage levels within the car (from standard 12V board net, the new 48V board net all the way up to 400V and above) plus different requirements in terms of switching and conduction performance, or accordingly power losses. The selection of device by application and voltage will be discussed in this paper.

A traffic situation is getting more complex in urban areas. Various safety systems of an automobile have been developed but fatal and serious accidents still can be made by driver's faults or distractions. The system supporting extend of driver's recognition area is going to be an important part of future intelligent vehicles in order to prevent accidents. In this paper we propose sensor fusion system based on a digital-map for driver assistance. The accurate localization of a host vehicle is achieved by a stereo vision sensor and a digital-map using polygon matching algorithm in urban area. A single-row laser scanner is used for tracking multiple moving objects. The coordinate transformation from sensor frame to global frame is performed to visualize the moving objects on a digital-map. An experiment was conducted in an urban canyon where the GPS signals are frequently interrupted.

It is necessary for vehicle horns not only to satisfy regulations on the sound level but also to fulfill various demands related with sound quality. For example, a disk type horn which is attached on most of small size vehicles has been required to improve its sharp feeling sound. However, the improvement of horn sound has been deterred mainly due to the deficiency of the understanding on how design factors are related with emotional judgments on horn sound. In addition, a proper CAE tool is not available in the process of horn design since it is difficult to describe multi-physical phenomena engaged with horns. The purpose of this study is to improve the sound quality of a disk type horn. In order to achieve this goal, firstly, acoustic characteristics of horns were obtained through a series of experiments. In addition, various sound quality metrics were examined in order to derive design factors affecting sound quality enhancement.

ISO 26262 is the actual standard for Functional Safety of automotive E/E (Electric/Electronic) systems. One of the challenges in the application of the standard is the distribution of safety related activities among the participants in the supply chain. In this paper, the concept of a Safety Element out of Context (SEooC) development will be analyzed showing its current problematic aspects and difficulties in implementing such an approach in a concrete typical automotive development flow with different participants (e.g. from OEM, tier 1 to semiconductor supplier) in the supply chain. The discussed aspects focus on the functional safety requirements of generic hardware and software development across the supply chain where the final integration of the developed element is not known at design time and therefore an assumption based mechanism shall be used.