settings, although there is clearly room for improvement. 2D and even 3D gesture sensing, leveraging controllers from suppliers such as Elmos, Microchip, or STMicroelectronics, can be applied to help drivers concentrate on the road instead of reaching to touch a chosen area on the screen. Additional controls such as window opening or roof position can also be brought into such a gesture-control system.


2D sensing technologies enable system makers to embed small touch sensors in the steering wheel, which are capable of detecting gestures such as single-finger tap or swipe, or more complex pinch and rotate using two fingers, to let drivers adjust a variety of settings without removing their hands from the wheel. 3D sensing, on the other hand, goes further still by enabling drivers to make their selections using larger mid-air gestures without diverting eyes from the road. Technical challenges include enabling these types of systems to differentiate between general hand movements and deliberate gestures that should be interpreted as commands. Some vendors have tackled this in software using Hidden Markov models.


Improving the breed


While driver monitoring systems and better HMIs can contribute towards safer driving, further improvements to existing sensors have a role in increasing accuracy and minimising the size of automated features such as wiper control and X-by-wire systems like braking and accelerator control. To improve wiper control, for example, advanced measurement algorithms have successfully increased immunity to interference such as flickering light sources and effects such as ageing or surface contamination, and improved monitoring techniques have enhanced


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moisture detection and allowed smaller sensor form factors.


3D magnetic sensing is helping to shrink form factors throughout the vehicle, such as in position sensing for pedals, gear-stick and moving parts in the transmission. By replacing traditional position-sensing mechanisms using potentiometers or optical systems, non-contact 3D magnetic sensors eliminate the possibility for errors due to wear or contamination, ensure stable measurements up to high temperatures, and also save space. Demand for automotive MEMS (Micro


Electro-Mechanical Systems) sensors including accelerometers, gyroscopes, and pressure sensors, made by suppliers such as Elmos, Infineon, NXP Semiconductor, and STMicroelectronics, continues to grow strongly. About one-third of the roughly 100 sensor nodes in today’s vehicles are now based on MEMS technology, and the Global Automotive MEMS Sensor Market Analysis & Forecast published via ResearchAndMarkets.com predicts continued growth at about 13 per cent CAGR until 2022. The devices are key enablers for systems such as TPMS, wheel- speed sensing, or electronic parking brake systems, inertial navigation, stability control, and crash detection and logging. These are just a few of the opportunities for sensor makers and automotive tier-1 suppliers to create advanced, high-value sensing solutions that can enhance safety and reliability as well as the overall owner/driver experience delivered by the vehicle. Keeping pace with the latest


developments in standards is vital, of course. Increasing electrification of modern cars focuses attention on standards like ISO 11452-08 governing immunity of systems to magnetic fields either inside or outside the vehicle. Important new connectivity specifications are also emerging, such as the PSI5 sensor-interface. PSI5 simultaneously allows higher-performing sensor connections by operating up to 125kbit/s, which is faster than LIN, while also enabling cost and weight savings through its economical 2-wire protocol. Major component vendors are now supplying magnetic sensors with PSI5 interfaces, which meet ISO 11452-08 and, of course, the automotive safety standard ISO 26262.


Further along the road Looking further into the future, exciting possibilities for smart sensors to further improve vehicle safety and reliability are emerging, leveraging wireless connectivity to introduce extra sensors to the vehicle without adding weight and cost in copper wires and connectors. To present just one example, the Fraunhofer Institute is pursuing numerous automotive research projects, including embedded surface sensors for monitoring condition of tyres, or the vehicle skin, to detect anomalies long before the potential for failure arises. Working in addition to established wireless Tyre-Pressure Monitoring systems – which are themselves moving towards greater integration by combining the LF receiver, RF transmitter and microcontroller in a


single package – Fraunhofer’s embedded skin-surface sensing can make remote monitoring even more effective by detecting potentially dangerous damage to the tyre wall or tread before failure or deflation can occur. Avnet Silica partners with leading sensor makers to help develop cutting-edge sensor modules using the latest sensor technologies. These span not only optical, magnetic and capacitive sensors, but also ultrasonic sensors that are widely used in parking-assistance and self-parking systems, MEMS sensors for movement and position sensing throughout the vehicle, and traditional Hall-effect and optical sensing, and pressure sensors. Covering the lifecycle, from engineering to supply chain, is important to select and design-in the most suitable parts bearing in mind long-term availability and access to manufacturer support.


Conclusion


Successive generations of vehicles have significantly increased safety for occupants and other road users by adding greater intelligence and convenience at affordable prices. Today’s key demands are for driver- assistance features aimed at improving safety as well as comfort. Through advanced sensing techniques, as well as improvements to traditional sensors and sensing mechanisms, better performance, greater accuracy and reliability, and valuable space savings are all brought within reach. Avnet Silica frequently demonstrates new and fresh concepts in automotive sensing, and will host a dedicated automotive booth at the electronica trade fair in Munich this November, in hall B4.514. Further automotive demos are being shown on the main joint Avnet booth in hall C5.101.


www.avnet-silica.com Components in Electronics October 2018 9


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