Programmable Logic Targets Your Automobile
By Dave Elliott, Altera Corp.
Automobiles today are probably the most intimate consumer product that occupies our daily life. In the past, they had a functional priority to mechanical parts such as exteriors and an engine. However, electronic devices are now highly emphasized for added vehicle value, convenience, and driving safety.
Dave Elliott, Altera Corp.
By Dave Elliott, Altera Corp.
Automobiles today are probably the most intimate consumer product that occupies our daily life. In the past, they had a functional priority to mechanical parts such as exteriors and an engine. However, electronic devices are now highly emphasized for added vehicle value, convenience, and driving safety.
Microprocessors and application specific standard products (ASSPs) have been the core components for many automotive electronic systems. These devices have traditionally been integrated into systems that support the majority of automobile functionality. However, with standardization it is becoming more prevalent today and with their inherent flexibility, PLDs enable this very beneficial attribute and provide advantages such as increasing product value though shortened design and development cycles, thus decreasing time-to-market. Something ASSPs cannot provide.
Today with semiconductor and electronics companies having latched on to the automotive market, the driving experience has been made more comfortable and effortless than ever. With the advent of in-cabin infotainment and driver assistance systems the need for higher performance semiconductors, such as PLDs, has seen significant growth. In fact, the total costs associated with automotive electronics systems are higher than the steel used to build the car. According to iSuppli Corporation, automotive electronics now account for more than 25% of a vehicle’s cost and that number is projected to grow to 40% by 2010.
As these in-cabin electronics system requirements evolve, manufactures strive for higher levels of innovation with smaller, less expensive, and more flexible builds to win the cost and time-to-market battles. As a result, PLD vendors are delivering silicon solutions specifically targeting hardware flexibility, scalability, and eliminating the threat of device obsolescence to these high-performance automotive applications that have been typically associated with ASICs and ASSPs. PLDs are providing optimal processing functions along with the flexibility to scale their designs.
Automotive Applications
In-cabin electronic systems are classified as direct and indirect driver control. Direct refers to car infotainment systems that include navigation and other multimedia systems connecting the vehicle to exterior communication networks. Indirect is vehicle control systems that screen and optimize engine operation for providing comfort and safety.
PLDs are primarily used for infotainment applications as an interface to various ASSPs that enable high performance processors, DSPs, Ethernet, etc. Developing ASSP-based systems usually creates problems that cannot be accommodated, thus creating a need to adjust their functionality.
As automotive in-cabin systems continue to reach new levels of complexity, development costs are starting to reach levels that automotive manufacturers cannot justify. For in-cabin systems, automotive manufacturers must take into account the price of the hardware, the costs associated with developing the equipment platform, testing the system, and developing the software. The costs associated with maintaining multiple platforms over multiple vehicle classes significantly add to the cost of automotive electronic systems.
Vehicle-specific ASSPs cannot meet these user requirements. When ASSPs are customized for end products, the time to market is typically affected adversely. Utilizing PLDs, the upgrade cycle for automotive electronic systems has been shortened, while maintaining high reliability.
To deal with the rapid market demand, there are an increasing number of companies that consider PLDs as the excellent alternative and replacement to ASSPs. European, North American, Japanese and Korean automotive companies develop electronic systems embedding PLDs for their new models. OEMs are already supplying systems to these automotive manufacturers with PLD-based solutions.
The Importance of Design Flows for Automotive Applications
There are many diverse tools to use when designing with PLDs, with each tool having its own design flow. Regardless of whether users are designing on their own or using other tools, the software development tool compiles the design files that are input and then optimized to meet the timing demand and design of PLD-based applications selected by users.
PLDs enable the ideal implementation of in-cabin systems that use open system architectures, as they make second-sourcing, inventory flexibility, and redeployment of software on new scalable platforms easily realized. In addition, with the ever-increasing number of applications enabled by the use of embedded microprocessors and soft core processors available in PLDs, they are the ideal solutions for designs where software applications may need to be ported reliably to subsequent generations of PLDs.
As PLDs are used increasingly in automotive electronics systems, key concerns are how to meet the high reliability automotive manufacturers require and how these PLD-based solutions will satisfy their requirements. With PLDs featuring the flexibility and fast time-to-market for automotive applications, developers have a wide variety of choices to use during the development cycle besides ASSPs. End-users can enjoy diverse functions and advanced capabilities in their automobiles in a short time like other general digital consumer products.
About the Author
Dave Elliott is a senior automotive marketing manager in Altera’s consumer and automotive business unit. He has more than 25 years of semiconductor marketing and sales experience, including the past 10 years, where he has specifically focused on the automotive market. Prior to joining Altera in 2005, Elliott spent five years at Xilinx as a senior corporate account manager in its automotive unit and was Xilinx’s global supplier business manager at Avent for three years. Prior to Avent, Elliott spent 15 years at National Semiconductor in various sales and marketing roles. For details of Altera's offerings for the automotive market, please check out Altera
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