Transforming Vehicle Architectures

A car has more sensors in it than the average owner likely imagines. In addition to the obvious information they get on the dashboard like tire pressure, fuel level, and engine temperature, modern vehicles commonly monitor information about the position of motor components to maintain efficiency, wheel speed to control traction or antilock braking systems and internal and external air temperature to keep the interior comfortable, among many other things.

The more sensors a car has, the smarter it can be — provided it’s capable of collecting, analyzing, and acting on the information those sensors provide. A modern, non-electric passenger vehicle has between 60 and 100 sensors, including between 15 and 30 dedicated to managing the engine. On a truck, that number goes up to an average of 400 sensors, with as many as 70 dedicated to the engine. For more sophisticated electric vehicles, especially those enabling semi-autonomous driving, that number could approach two or three times that number.

Changes in the way manufacturers design vehicle systems could make it possible to use more sensors to make cars safer, more reliable, more efficient, and more comfortable than ever before. In the next year, the average number of sensors in a luxury car is expected to double. Adding more sensors to the mix comes at a cost. To balance more sophisticated functionality while maintaining reasonable pricing and margins for auto manufacturers, engineers need to figure out how to integrate those sensors with new vehicle architectures efficiently and cost-effectively.

When sensors began to replace mechanical systems for monitoring systems like ignition timing, those sensors were controlled by a single, central “brain” in the vehicle: the engine control unit. As manufacturers added more functionality and capabilities throughout the vehicle, they began developing subsystems with dedicated computing power to control them. Today, components increasingly connect via standardized networks, much like any other electronic device.

The rise of a more homogeneous, bus-based architecture presents component engineers with both a challenge and an opportunity: This type of system could support many more sensors that could provide a wide range of valuable applications. However, packaging those sensors to meet the evolving requirements of these new architectures efficiently and economically requires a sophisticated understanding of the marketplace and a proactive, collaborative approach to working with manufacturers.

Sensors provide the value to offset their cost in a number of key areas, including the performance of core systems. And efficiency is a huge concern for electric vehicles, as manufacturers work to increase their range. TE Connectivity is developing sensor technology that can help in three key areas:

• A decade ago, resolvers that provide an accurate, detailed accounting of the motor’s position would only have been found in military or aerospace applications. Today, these sensors allow manufacturers to get more powerful, responsive motors into the passenger car market quickly.
• Battery management and current sensing is another major area of concern. The 12-volt battery systems that have historically powered vehicles don’t require the same amount of fine control as the larger, more complex battery systems used to power electric vehicles. The sensors used on those legacy systems are not easily adapted to newer architecture, so component manufacturers will need to develop new systems for monitoring battery charge and discharge cycles as well as overcurrent protection.
• The regenerative braking systems in electric vehicles require new sensors to monitor brake pressure and position, ensuring vehicles decelerate safely, efficiently, and in accordance with the driver’s intentions.

As the electric vehicle market continues to mature, the system requirements for component manufacturers will become more standardized. Today, however, engineers must develop broad solutions that anticipate market trends and help manufacturers figure out what can be done. That process requires a deep understanding of materials and manufacturing capability. Workable solutions must be robust enough to withstand high temperatures and vibrations, and must integrate seamlessly with the other systems in the vehicle.

Today’s sensors must also provide more detailed information. The vision-based technologies increasingly in use for automated driving solutions require high bandwidth and fast response times to maintain safety and responsiveness. These requirements are changing the communication protocols that transmit data throughout the vehicle. At the same time, component manufacturers must minimize power consumption in a vehicle’s subsystems to preserve its range — a concern that was a much lower priority when all vehicles on the road were charging their battery every time the engine began to run.

As TE develops sensor applications that will integrate with the complex systems in a new generation of vehicles, we are leaning heavily on our system architects, who understand the ultimate applications these sensors need to support and how they fit into changing automotive designs. Meanwhile, our product line experts work hand-in-hand with manufacturers to understand the core technologies they intend to use and help them determine where it’s possle to add solutions that their customers may not even know they need yet.

The demand for more speed and bandwidth to support increasingly sophisticated AI applications at the data center level is essentially insatiable. While sensor technology itself has not changed dramatically over the past few decades, component makers have had to develop solutions that connect these sensing technologies in a highly integrated way that produces an elegant solution for drivers. The next generation of vehicles will be differentiated around the experience of drivers and passengers. Sensors will play a key role in that evolution, providing features and functionality on a vehicle platform that can be tailored to drivers’ and passengers’ specific needs.

Some of these solutions will involve combination sensors that integrate multiple types of functionality into a single device that produces a specific function more cost effectively. For example, a module that combines light, solar, and condensation sensors can automate windshield wipers and defroster settings that keep the windshield clear without requiring the driver to take any action. In many cases, these solutions could involve building sophistication and intelligence into the component itself, taking some of the computing load off the subsystem in which the component resides.

By packing sensing technology and electronics on a single chip, clever engineering could create increasingly cost-effective, high-performance solutions that drive innovation in the marketplace. The more versatile these solutions become, the more intelligent, safe, comfortable, and reliable the next generation of cars will be.