Sensor Improvements Increase Safety and System Performance
By: By Randy Frank, contributing editor, r.frank@ieee.org
The first step towards a great control system – great sensors. From multi-axis micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) to vision and radar sensors, and from exotic to well-established or mature technologies, sensors initiate the control system process....
Applying wireless SAW sensors in key automotive applications
By: by Gary O'Brien Honeywell International & Ray Lohr Transense Technologies plc
The modern automobile is witnessing rapid growth in sensor systems spurred by the growing need for higher efficiency and reduced emissions...
Improving the value proposition of advanced driver assistance sensors
By: by Satoru Arita, David Goff and Georg-Otto Geduld
As the role of ADAS sensors expand, improving its value proposition by adding new features, reducing cost and enhancing performance will further accelerate the installation and usage of such systems into the mainstream, thereby benefi ting a much broader group of drivers....
IDE-based tools enhance designer productivity in embedded applications
By: by Jin Xu, Priyabrata Sinha and Jorge Zambada
Development tools—hardware, software and reference designs— are playing a crucial role in supporting the embedded designer, as the pressure to get products to market faster mounts. In particular, IDE tools, together with application-specific software libraries and reference designs, are enabling automotive embedded designers to focus on important design details....
NHTSA tips the scale for electronic stability
By: by Randy Frank Contributing Editor
New federal safety standards that require electronic stability controls on all cars
by 2011 will help to lower accidents and fatalities on our highways....
Under the hood of the Infiniti M
By: by Randy Frank Contributing Editor
Among its technology goodies, the 2007 Infiniti M has a lane departure warning system, and a rear-view monitoring system that was initially offered on 2006 models....
FRAM technology puts the intelligence in smart airbag systems
By: by Mike Alwais Ramtron International
Safety systems for automobiles are expected to become more sophisticated over the next several years. A principal driver of this trend is expected regulation that will impact the attach rate and the sophistication of airbags and stability control systems. The electronics content of these systems will increase and with it, the demand on the semiconductor memory used in these systems. This article is a brief look at what to consider when choosing a memory solution for the newer classes of airbag....
Peripheral vision
By: by John H. Day, contributing editor
Vision-sensing applications are surfacing in luxury vehicles but the market is fragmented, with design engineers divided on what technology works best. Chipmakers, meanwhile, are readying new devices with powerful image-processing capabilities....
Satisfying the Growing Demand for Data Storage
By: by Mike Alwais Ramtron International
Uses for non-volatile memory can be divided into three categories: program or firmware storage, configuration storage and data storage. The most relevant distinction between these is how the information changes....
Steering in the right direction
By: by Randy Frank Contributing Editor
EPS is an integral part of advanced stability control systems. This report addresses the control, sensing and power aspects of these rapidly increasing systems and the changes that are occurring in this critical safety system....
Vision Sensing Enables Safer Vehicles
By: by Randy Frank, contributing editor
Vision sensing is right at the top of the list of enabling technologies that will make future vehicles safer. Proponents envision six or more cameras looking at the road ahead, adjacent vehicles and lanes, and obstacles behind the vehicles, as well as passengers and the driver. While these cameras and vision sensors have appeared on a few high-end vehicles today, this article uncovers engineering efforts under way to bring this capability to mainstream automobiles and provide all the functionality that automakers are considering for vision-enabled safer vehicles....
Sensor Technologies Continue to Transform Automobiles
By: by Ashok Bindra Editorial Director, RF Design
Sensors and sensing technologies have permeated every aspect of modern automobiles. It is hard to imagine a car without sensors. Only a few years ago...
Auto Industry Strives for Tire Pressure Monitor Standard
By: by John Day Contributing Editor
When it last studied the danger posed by underinflated tires in passenger cars and light trucks, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)...
MEMS Inertial Sensors Move Beyond Airbags
By: by Harvey Weinberg Analog Devices
The use of MEMS accelerometers to sense rapid deceleration for airbag deployment is well over a decade old and considered a well-known technology. However,...
