Electronic-system Design in the Automobile Industry

With the advent of highly powerful microprocessors, the explosion of wireless communication, and the development of new generations of integrated sensors and actuators, the way electronic products are conceived, designed, and implemented has undergone a revolution. In addition, the electronics industry is undergoing a major restructuring that favors horizontal integration and vertical disintegration. In this framework, collaboration among different industry segments is essential to bringing new products to market. In particular, system companies are shifting electronic-component research and development costs to semiconductor companies, which therefore must significantly increase their system design competence. Recent International Business Strategies market studies show that more than 50 percent of design activities that move to the 0.09-micron technology node will be in software. Thus, the semiconductor design problem becomes a system solution problem. Today, European automobile manufacturers provide specifications to first-tier subsystem suppliers such as Bosch, Siemens, and Magneti-Marelli, which design software and hardware subsystems that include mechanical parts such as injectors and throttle bodies. These subsystems contain ICs from secondtier suppliers such as Motorola, Texas Instruments, Hitachi, and ST Microelectronics. They also contain intellectual property (IP) from various second-tier suppliers such as the WindRiver and ETAS software companies. In general, the subsystem volumes are large, cost being a major driving force. Once car manufacturers receive the subsystems, they must integrate them in the car and then test the overall system. If they detect errors through extensive testing, which includes driving under extreme conditions, they initiate a chain of engineering changes that often causes major delays in the design process. The problems are traceable to software errors, misunderstanding of the specifications, and unpredictable side effects of interconnecting the subsystems. This design process loop is particularly painful because it occurs when the car is almost ready for its market launch. Car manufacturers increasingly realize the importance of electronics in their business. According to Daimler-Chrysler sources, more than 90 percent of the innovation (and hence value added) in a car is in electronics. AccordAlberto SangiovanniVincentelli