Vehicle system goes to informatization

Market forecast shows that by 2014, the global output value of automotive semiconductors will reach 25.7 billion U.S. dollars. The Taiwan Institute of Industry and Information Technology (MIC) predicts that by 2015, shipments of automotive microcontrollers will reach 3 billion units, and the value of global vehicle-mounted information systems will reach US$7.16 billion. Therefore, the market generally regards vehicle electronics as medical electronics, and another business opportunity that has great growth potential. The development of the on-vehicle information market has brought great benefits to the prosperity of car networking.

Vehicle system goes to informatization

With the recovery of auto production in various regions, the global automotive semiconductor market has experienced a high growth rate. Taiwan’s Electric Power Association predicts that global automotive electronics production value in 2012 will approach US$ 191 billion, and automotive electronic equipment will account for 40% of total vehicle costs.

With the development of modern automobiles becoming more intelligent, the electronics of vehicle bodies and on-board systems are becoming informatized, and the engine power is moving toward electrification. This is coupled with the concept of “car networking” that is currently actively developing—that is, through wireless communication services, connecting to the cloud. Computation servers, which are connected to objects to generate smart applications, have long been expected by consumers not only as transportation vehicles, but also have higher requirements in terms of safety, comfort, convenience, energy conservation, and environmental protection. This makes the automotive industry's emphasis on electronic technology beyond the traditional mechanical components, and its importance will likely continue to grow in the future.

The use of vehicle electronics in the construction of the vehicle body is quite extensive, but the suspension system of the chassis, the power system of the vehicle body, the engine, the power electronic system, the security system, the safety equipment, the onboard information system, etc. are everywhere. The average number of electronic control units (ECUs) in a mid-range model is 40, and some high-end models have more than 80 ECUs.

Recently, as the car moves towards more energy-saving and environmental protection and more intelligent applications, the international automotive industry is moving toward a higher standard of electronic control. This has led to an increase in the number of electronic control units used in the car. In addition, global oil prices have risen and countries are actively developing alternative energy sources. The trend of the auto industry toward electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles has become a trend. In addition, countries have promoted the safety of high-standard vehicles from the aspect of regulatory development, and the introduction of automotive semiconductors has increased. The vehicle electrical systems include Powertrain, Chassis, Security, and telematics. / Infotainment) and so on have increased the proportion of electronic control.

Sensing setup application will be popular

In-vehicle information systems refer to the use of embedded or portable communication systems on transportation vehicles to gather information from multiple parties to drivers and driving computers in order to facilitate early pre-judgment and appropriate response, and provide passengers with various value-added services. Car experience is safer, more comfortable and convenient. For example, the most basic functions that are currently available include in-car navigation, real-time traffic information, Point of Interest (POI) loading, online music, and other services. Furthermore, there are value-added contents designed to cope with situations. For example, when a vehicle is on the road, it can enjoy real-time information, entertainment and location-based broadcast services (LBS), road warnings, collision warnings, and electronics provided by cloud computing centers. Paying, etc.; in the parking situation, there are functions for parking space search, vehicle status diagnosis (so that the garage can prepare spare parts and tools in advance) and anti-theft protection; the accident mode can provide emergency rescue, car insurance, and lost car search. Waiting.

In addition to the development of multi-directional communication and active collection and sharing of information applications, the future will also make more use of fixed or portable wireless communication systems and various types of sensor devices. Through open communication architecture platforms, the various endpoints will be used. The collected information is used for integrated analysis, and the multiple innovative services in the car networking era are utilized.

Car networking applications in foreign countries

In order to ensure the safety of car driving, EU legislation will implement an eCall (eCall) plan in 2014. When a vehicle encounters an impact, it will automatically use wireless communications to send status information in real time, even if driving is unsuccessful or the accident site is rare. You can still notify the relevant units immediately through the system and strive for valuable rescue time. Therefore, each vehicle must be equipped with a crash return system, which will benefit wireless communication embedded modules and software solution manufacturers.

In addition, the European Union has stipulated that since 2013, commercial vehicles must install automatic emergency braking systems and lane departure warning systems; while the United States promotes children's traffic safety laws, it is stated that since September 2014, all vehicles must be retrofitted with vehicles. The main and passive safety systems of the image module and the interior monitor avoid damage caused by blind spots during reversing. This will drive the rapid growth of related systems such as sensors, microcontrollers, and cameras.

Japan is also discussing the implementation of advanced safety inspection systems such as the prevention of drunk driving and prevention of snoring in commercial vehicles. In addition, the European Union, Japan, China and Taiwan have incorporated traffic recorders into regulations to monitor the speed and hours of driving of medium and large cargo passenger vehicles as a passive safety inspection mechanism.

The above examples show that the application level of automotive electronics not only expands for the comfort and convenience demand of the consumer market, but also accelerates the extension of various innovation value-added functions due to the government’s emphasis on safety and the promotion of regulations. .

This year, electric vehicle development has made breakthrough progress. International automotive chip makers Texas Instruments, Infineon and ADI have all launched active balancing battery management system (BMS) solutions to overcome inconsistent battery packs. The problem is to improve battery use efficiency, battery life, and charge and discharge safety, and to increase the mileage of electric vehicles and reduce the overall development cost of electric vehicles. This evolution is expected to eliminate consumers' doubts about the frequent sales of excessively high prices and insufficient battery life, which will help accelerate the popularity of the electric vehicle market.

With the increasing importance of the development of electric power and electronic systems in hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and pure electric vehicles, the originally closed automotive industry market has had to strengthen cooperation with automotive semiconductor and electronic component manufacturers.

About car networking:

Vehicle networking refers to the identification technology of electronic tags loaded on vehicles through wireless radio frequency, etc., which realizes the extraction and effective use of attribute information and static and dynamic information of all vehicles on the information network platform and according to different functional requirements. The operational status of the vehicle is effectively supervised and comprehensive services are provided. The automotive digital standard source technology is based on the application technology of RFID-developed vehicle-related information resources. The project was organized and researched and developed by the Ministry of Public Security. The project was certified by the Ministry of Science and Technology and listed as a key project in the 2007 National Science and Technology Support Program. Application demonstration project (project number 2008BAF31B00). The development of automotive digital standard source technology will promote "car networking" and the industrialization of RFID.