NXP is targeting chips for self-driving cars by 2020

Global semiconductor manufacturer NXP Semiconductors is cruising into the self-driving car market with its BlueBox computing platform. Already a leading electronics supplier to the automotive industry, thanks to last year’s $12 billion merger with Freescale Semiconductor, the chipmaker is now using its chips to merge into what it sees as the next big thing. 

Source: NXP.

The company recently introduced BlueBox, a computing platform designed to help automakers build and test autonomous vehicles. According to NXP, it’s already in the hands of four major automakers. The system was on display at NXP FTF Technology Forum in Austin this month.

Functioning as a central computer, the BlueBox can be tied to all the sensors found in an autonomous vehicle such as radar, cameras, and LiDAR, which is a light-sensitive radar that emits short pulses of laser that allow the automobile to create a real-time 3D image of its surroundings.

Because self-driving cars require a computer powerful enough to process all of the incoming sensor data in real-time, and use it to make the correct actions while navigating streets and highways, BlueBox was designed to do just that. It’s equipped with two different processors, and it’s the interplay between the two — one a high-compute platform, the other a safety controller — that gives NXP an edge over competitors. 

Source: NXP.

Automakers are currently testing the system, which the company is confident will be on the market by 2020. The chips being used are already in production. Though NXP has not revealed who it’s collaborated with, high-volume passenger vehicles are being targeted.

If all goes according to plan, the product could be well-positioned to take advantage of a recent federal mandate to make automatic braking a standard feature on all new cars no later than the 2022 reporting year.

NXP uses autonomous vehicle standards developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Level 4, by SAE’s definition, means the vehicle can handle all aspects of driving, including steering, automatic braking, speed control, under specific scenarios such as merging onto an expressway or during a low-speed traffic jam. In Level 5, the car handles all aspects of driving at all times.

Source: Fortune