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Multiple automotive systems are now being developed which require an imager or vision chip to provide information regarding vehicle surroundings, vehicle performance, and vehicle passenger compartment status. Applications include lane departure, lane tracking, collision avoidance, as well as occupant position, impaired driver, and occupant identification. These applications share many requirements, including robust design, tolerance for the automotive environment, built in self-test, wide dynamic range, and low cost. In addition, each application has unique requirements for resolution, sensitivity, imager aspect ratio, and output format. In many cases, output will go directly to vehicle systems for processing, without ever being displayed to the driver. Commercial imager chips do not address this wide spectrum of requirements. A CMOS imager chip has been designed to address these unique automotive requirements.

This paper describes the cluster analysis technique and how it can be used to support menu interface design for in-vehicle multimedia applications. Cluster analysis and similar types of classifying techniques have proven effective for developing simple menu interfaces. This paper extends the use of the cluster analysis technique to a more complex system that consists of 201 generic functions. These functions are representative of those being incorporated into near-term multimedia products. Study results show promise for using cluster analysis as a tool for incorporating the user's organizational structure into the design of a complex menu architecture. Cluster analysis may also benefit the automotive menu designer by providing a means for partitioning menu tasks into chunkable units that can be easily accessed by the driver in single glances.

The extensive use of electronics has revolutionized the implementation and scope of many of the features and functions in a modern automobile. This automotive electronic revolution has significantly improved the performance, reliability and comfort of the automobile. In some cases, electronics have also simplified component fabrication and automotive assembly. However, the full potential that electronics have for reducing the assembly complexity of the automobile has yet to be realized. More extensive use of electronics embedded into mechanical components and mechatronic systems will significantly simplify automotive assembly in the future. This paper examines three current and future applications of embedded electronics in automotive applications. These examples illustrate the advantages and challenges associated with embedded electronic concepts. Future applications, new technology development needs, and changes in automotive component sourcing, are discussed.

The current SAE classification system for serial data communication protocols encompasses Class A, Class B, and Class C categories. Because of the proliferation of applications and new protocols these three groups are not enough. This paper will introduce and discuss several new categories which are Diagnostics, SafetyBus, Mobile Media, and X-by-Wire. The serial data protocols that fall under these categories are for the most part brand new and will serve distinct and unique tasks. All existing common vehicular multiplex protocols (approximately 40) will be categorized using the SAE convention plus the new groupings. Top contenders will be pointed out along with a discussion of the protocol in the best position to become the industry standard in each category. Future vehicle applications having up to seven different data networks will be presented.

Increasing sophistication of electronic safety systems requires more advanced tools for design and optimization. Systems of safety products already being designed are becoming too interdependent to calibrate as stand-alone modules. Compounding this difficulty is the trend towards fewer test crashes and more sophisticated regulatory requirements. This paper presents a unified calibration approach to produce robust performance. First, the set of crash samples are extended using statistical techniques. Then an automated calibration tool using Genetic Algorithms is used to provide robust performance against deployment requirements. Finally, an expert systems is employed to ensure logical behavior. Together, these powerful methods yield calibrations which out-perform manual calibrations and can be completed in far less time.

High power electronic applications in the automotive industry require interconnecting substrates that have high reliability, high thermal conductivity, high current capability, multi-layer potential, and small size. This paper addresses the design requirements for automotive power substrates and how ever increasing demands are challenging the current substrate technology. Four different substrate material types, with various design features, capable of meeting these stringent requirements are described. Thermal impedance testing of each substrate along with design variations to enhance thermal capability was completed. The results of the thermal testing are compared based on appropriate application of the substrate technology.

Flip Chip packaging has found limited use for a technology that was introduced decades ago. Its application widened with the use of underfill, a necessary constituent to minimizing CTE mismatch between the component and substrate. Its reliability has been established on laminate substrates for automotive applications, an important development in light of the continuous increase in vehicle electronic content and function. Unfortunately, the assembly process incorporating underfill is cumbersome and batch-like. Also, the adhesive strength of the underfill depends critically on the cleanliness of the die after reflow, necessitating costly cleaning equipment and complex process monitoring protocols. Hence, the process of manufacturing is not SMT-friendly. A new technology, Wafer Applied Underfill (WAU), addresses the shortcomings of the traditional underfill process.

A previous SAE 2001 Congress paper, “Multiplex Bus Progression” [1] introduced the idea of categorizing vehicle serial data protocols into additional areas beyond the traditional SAE Class A, B, and C. This paper will expand on that idea, and provide a 2003 update to the Diagnostics, SafetyBus, Mobile Media, and X-by-Wire categories. All existing mainstream vehicular multiplex protocols (approximately 40) are categorized using the SAE convention plus the new groupings. Top contenders will be pointed out along with a discussion of the protocol in the best position to become the industry standard in each category at this time.

The Future of new electronic systems application in the automobile is extremely promising. New systems such as mobile multimedia, control-by-wire systems, advanced safety interiors, and collision avoidance coupled with smart sensors and actuators, in a potentially new integrated vehicle wiring system, means significantly more electronic content in the automobile of the future. The challenge of the automotive electronics industry is to develop a vision of these future products, and then follow a defining process to develop the technologies necessary to offer timely, reliable, and cost effective products to the automotive consumer. This paper presents a methodology by which global market trends, market considerations, and engineering developments are combined to create a product vision. This vision is used to generate technology roadmaps that spawn technology development projects. Technology projects in turn help to create product strategies that result in new marketable products.

Multiplexing can be best discussed at three levels - vehicle, ECU or component, and IC. Within each level are partitions for software and hardware, and within each partition are divisions of functionality such as buffer size. The content in this book will help the reader to acquire a basic understanding of vehicle multiplexing systems, primarily from the passenger car and light truck viewpoint. Some discussion of heavy-duty and off-road vehicle multiplexing is presented, along with a look at industrial automation - a fast-growing multiplex field already eclipsing automotive usage.