Automotive and transportation electronics

Aside from military and aerospace systems and those used in extreme locations such as the bottom of the sea or places like the poles, there aren’t many applications outside of a factory floor that require the durability and performance under aggressive conditions that automotive and transportation electronics must provide. There are many areas of interest in vehicular applications and each device must perform at its best. Here are some recently released products that serve this critical field.

Software

Used in the automotive industry to rapidly model prototypes and test multiple variables, Simulink HDL Coder from The MathWorks (Natick, MA) generates bit-true, cycle-accurate, synthesizable Verilog and VHDL code from Simulink models and Stateflow diagrams. The automatically generated code is target independent. http://www.mathworks.com/products/slhdlcoder

ICs

Since many automotive electronics failures can be attributed to faulty or discharged batteries, the ADuC703x family of battery sensors from Analog Devices (Norwood, MA) precisely measures battery voltage, current, and temperature to determine the state of charge and health. The sensor can be located directly on the negative battery pole for cost and space savings, while simplifying overall battery monitoring system design. http://www.analog.com

The MAX13036 automotive contact monitor and level shifter from Maxim Integrated Products (Sunnyvale, CA) can monitor and debounce up to eight remote mechanical switches while consuming only 17 µA. All lines feature programmable wetting current and switching hysteresis, with four inputs for ground-connected switches, and four that can be programmed in groups of two as battery-connected or ground-connected switches. http://www.maxim-ic.com

The INIC eLITE is an entry-level synchronous data communication digital connectivity solution for infotainment networking applications. Using an unshielded twisted pair of copper cables, the device eliminates much of the unnecessary cabling in existing networks while providing a bandwidth of up to 50 Mbits/s. http://www.smsc.com

Intended for use in airbag safety systems, FRAM 5-V serial peripheral interface memories from Ramtron International have a write endurance (over one trillion) more than adequate to allow a smart airbag to write a continuous record of occupant data. Running between 5 and 20 MHz, the devices enable the host processor to stream data with little risk of losing information. http://www.ramtron.com

Vision Systems

Designed specifically for automotive applications, the MT9V125 VGA CMOS camera-on-a-chip from Micron Technology (Boise, ID) operates at up to 105C and captures color images at VGA resolution and outputs NTSC- or PAL-interlaced composite video. The imager performs functions including color recovery, correction, and sharpening with programmable gamma correction, auto black reference clamping, auto exposure, automatic 50/60-Hz flicker avoidance, lens shading correction, auto white balance, and on-the-fly defect identification and correction. http://www.micron.com

ComponentsMeasuring 5.0 x 2.5 x 1.0 mm, the C5 Series SMT crystal from Aker Technology (Key Biscane, FL) is specially designed for wide temperature ranges inherent to automotive applications.

TThe frequency range is 13 to 52 MHz for fundamental mode and 40 to 150 MHz for third overtone mode. http://www.aker-usa.com

Alix L. Paultre