Putting It All Together Other critical issues in taking consumer technology to the automobile include: The difference is display sizes. While consumer applications tend to use much smaller displays (2” – 4” with quarter VGA resolution), the automotive market looks for 8” with wide VGA resolution. This offers both software and hardware challenges, as driving a larger display demands more memory and processing power. This leaves less memory bandwidth for other tasks. The continuing requirements and evolution of voice recognition, including increasing vocabularies and speaker independency (the ability to recognize a word independent of the speaker saying it). Lawmakers are paying more attention to the number of road accidents where the use of a handheld mobile phone was involved. In many countries, it is already illegal to drive a car while making a phone call, unless it is with a voice-activated hands-free system. The number and complexity of systems in modern cars – not just infotainment systems – are making the design of a user interface that does not distract the driver much more complex. The answer to this challenge seems to be voice activation. In partnering with Ford on this process it became apparent to Freescale that automotive customers now want their semiconductor suppliers to provide more complete solutions. In this case, it meant working to provide Bluetooth stacks, acoustic echo cancellation and noise suppression for handsfree control and voice recognition technology. Acoustic echo cancellation and noise suppression are somewhat unique to automotive, but they’re important because the infotainment system must be able to distinguish voice commands from background noise. For now, wireless connectivity mostly centers on Bluetooth technology. There’s been some talk about equipping cars with Wi-Fi, with functionality that would be similar to the wireless internet networks found in many homes. This would allow a person’s vehicle to connect to their home network in downloading any new multimedia it finds on the home computer. Wi-Fi is not available in cars now, but it’s an option for the future. It seems that the emergence of Wi-Fi in these types of operating environments mirrors the integration of other consumer technologies into the automotive realm, and could be introduced in much the same manner. Wireless Capabilities Impact Switch Selection “Our tact switches are being used more and more in keyless door locks on automobiles,” states C&K Components’ Jean-Michel Bourin. “With adapted actuation travel and misalignment abilities, we have a line well suited to withstand outdoor environments, and with the minimal space available on a door handle, our ultra miniature tact switches provide an ideal solution,” he adds. Although not readily associated with wireless applications, switches and other traditional components are being called upon to play critical roles in more products where this technology is being implemented. Bourin continues, “From a systems perspective, mechanical tolerances get more and more important as the demand for miniaturization increases. We are close to the point where dimensions of our switches are of the same order as the tolerances of the system. These issues need a lot of cooperative engineering with the customer. “Also, our switches are activated by either a button, a small rubber keypad or, in some cases, by a cam. The design of such a device and the tolerances of the customer’s assembly have significant impact on the tactile feel and overall performance,” he states. Looking forward, Bourin sees three primary applications driving the implementation of more wireless technologies, and associated switch usage: Car entertainment and communication (embedded Bluetooth for phone and MP3). Vehicle automation (door opening, remote starting, etc.). Safety. Close range communication between cars to pass data on road conditions, as well as safety measures that do not require driver action, including close range communications to limit speed, reckless driving, etc.

While some automotive sales figures might be lagging, new controls and capabilities continue to emerge on today’s vehicles. These can range from the creature comforts of more precise or powerful cabin temperature controls, additional sensors for tracking everything from tire pressure to engine temperature, telematics capabilities for sharing vehicle repair and operational status, or the most recent enhancements in wireless communication capabilities.

As an example of the latter, let’s take a look at Ford’s SYNC advanced wireless capabilities system, which includes Bluetooth and voice-activated controls. In providing these capabilities Ford not only offers another feature to help combat their slumping sales figures, but also solves a primary problem associated with the implementation of greater electronic device functionality – wires.

When you take your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone or portable media player into a SYNC-equipped Ford car, the phone/media player can wirelessly hook into SYNC as if the device was a part of the car’s physical system.

As explained by Freescale’s Ken Obuszewski, wires can be problematic for a number of reasons. “They need standardized connectors and they must be able to take all the jostling and temperature changes of an automotive environment.

Wireless connectivity means that when you take your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone or portable media player (PMP) into a SYNC-equipped Ford car, the phone/PMP can wirelessly hook in to SYNC, as if your device were a part of the car’s physical system. This enables voice control for making a phone call or selecting a specific track from your MP3 collection. Wireless connectivity also means using the car’s speaker system in receiving better audio quality.”

Ford chose Freescale’s i.MX31 processor for their SYNC system, as the company feels this product’s combination of being ARM11-based, carrying up to 400 MHz of processing speed and an L-2 memory cache make it better equipped for supporting voice recognition and multimedia capabilities like graphics processing, USB connectivity and automotive-appropriate serial inputs. Freescale also supplies components to General Motors for their OnStar communications platform. Of great benefit to Freescale was their experience on the consumer side of these types of applications.

From a market standpoint, one of the key dynamics of this project was getting away from the association of in-car multimedia being solely targeted for higher-end vehicles. “Multimedia is becoming mainstream,” offers Obuszewski “In fact, because younger people are likely to be heavier users of portable multimedia devices, it makes business sense to offer more of these options in lower-priced cars that are in these buyers’ price range. There’s also a lot more potential for high-volume sales in lower-end cars, as compared to luxury sedans.”

Syncing Up

The translation from consumer to automotive applications had its benefits and challenges. On one hand, there’s not much difference between a handheld GPS device and a GPS device that’s integrated into the dashboard of a car. The same is true of a portable media player.

However, consumer electronics are not necessarily designed for a long life, given that the market changes rapidly, consumer tastes are constantly evolving and the newest PMP or cell phone that’s bought today will be obsolete in a few years. A car, however, is obviously a much bigger investment and a buyer expects that all the parts, from the engine to the MP3 player, will last for a while.

In addition to lasting longer, automotive products work on much longer cycle times than consumer electronics. “We’re engaging with customers 18 months in advance of when they will go to market, versus six months for consumer electronics products,” states Obuszewski “It can be a challenge to help carmakers forecast their requirements so far down the road, but our experience on the consumer side gives us access to future multimedia developments. This allows us to share with them what kinds of hardware and software they will probably need going forward.”

Automotive OEMs also have an understandable concern about part obsolescence. Due to the fact that a particular vehicle may be running for up to 15 years or more, these manufacturers need to know that those supplying any part, including wireless electronics, are committed to supporting these products down the road, and for much longer than a traditional consumer product manufacturer would demand.

Additionally, Obuszewski relates that if a handheld MP3 player breaks down, it can easily be taken in to be repaired, or the user can simply buy another one. If the MP3 player in a car breaks down, it’s a lot more trouble and expense to take the whole car in for repairs.

So with this in mind, the i.MX31 obtained the AEC-Q100 qualification. Developed by the Automotive Electronics Council, this specification subjects integrated circuits to a host of stress tests that they must pass in demonstrating the quality and reliability levels necessary for more demanding automotive applications.

“In the automotive market, you must have evaluation and demonstration platforms that allow your customers to push these products to their limits,” states Obuszewski. “This is because the applications can be quite varied. The processor must perform a variety of tasks, some in sequence and some simultaneously. And each application can differ based on how it’s implemented.

“This means you have to have a lot of software on the shelf to support all of these variables, and you must understand the capabilities of the device to do all these things in parallel. You can test each task individually, but you also have to test different tasks and sets of tasks concurrently. Concurrency dictates another level of complexity.”

Because these systems are so varied, a level of expertise is certainly helpful, if not necessary. For example, let’s look at a navigation system and a DVD player. One is very computational and graphics-centric, while the other is decompression video-centric. So although they both display images, their requirements are very different. This translates to the generation of a 3-D map and the decoding of a DVD requiring very different software and hardware functions from the same processor.

“It’s important to be able to provide as complete a software infrastructure as possible,” offers Obuszewski. “In this case it helped that Microsoft Auto could be used as the key software platform, and not just as an operating system.”