COVER STORY Driver Assistance Revs Up On Xil<strong>in</strong>x FPGA Platforms 8 Xcell Journal Fourth Quarter 2008
<strong>Automotive</strong> driver aid systems are rapidly evolv<strong>in</strong>g, thanks to <strong>in</strong>genious eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g and programmable platforms. by Mike Santar<strong>in</strong>i Publisher, Xcell Journal Xil<strong>in</strong>x, Inc. mike.santar<strong>in</strong>i@xil<strong>in</strong>x.com It’s widely known that the use of automotive safety systems—seatbelts, followed by front-fac<strong>in</strong>g airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners, antilock brakes and side airbags—has dramatically reduced <strong>in</strong>juries and lowered the fatality rate <strong>in</strong> vehicular accidents over the last 50 years. But now carmakers are go<strong>in</strong>g a step further, crank<strong>in</strong>g up <strong>in</strong>novation <strong>in</strong> a relatively new class of system called driver assistance. DA stands poised to revolutionize the driv<strong>in</strong>g experience even as it further improves safety. And FPGA platforms (tools, IP, as well as silicon) are play<strong>in</strong>g a key role <strong>in</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g it happen. “Driver assistance systems are systems companies are putt<strong>in</strong>g on vehicles to help make drivers better drivers,” said Paul Zoratti, automotive system architect and DA specialist at Xil<strong>in</strong>x. “DA systems provide drivers with <strong>in</strong>formation that either they look for or that is ‘pushed’ to them, <strong>in</strong> the form of a warn<strong>in</strong>g, to make driv<strong>in</strong>g safer and help drivers make <strong>in</strong>formed choices about driv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> all conditions.” What DA systems can do now—thanks largely to advances <strong>in</strong> electronics and the OEM <strong>in</strong>novations they have enabled—is pretty remarkable; what they may do <strong>in</strong> the future is amaz<strong>in</strong>g. Col<strong>in</strong> Barnden, Semicast’s pr<strong>in</strong>cipal analyst cover<strong>in</strong>g electronics <strong>in</strong> the automotive market, said that car manufacturers, their tier-one suppliers and academia have been research<strong>in</strong>g DA system for many decades. But only over the last 10 years have electronic systems and design techniques advanced to the po<strong>in</strong>t where OEMs can readily and feasibly deploy them. “It’s amaz<strong>in</strong>g how far DA systems have come <strong>in</strong> such a short amount of time,” he said (see Barnden’s Xcellent Op<strong>in</strong>ion column <strong>in</strong> this issue). There are many types of DA systems that OEMs, their suppliers and even aftermarket electronic control unit (ECU) makers are offer<strong>in</strong>g today and design<strong>in</strong>g for tomorrow (see Figure 1). DA systems can help drivers park their cars effectively and COVER STORY ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> a safe distance from cars ahead. They can <strong>in</strong>form drivers about threats that perhaps they would otherwise not see, and aid them <strong>in</strong> safely chang<strong>in</strong>g lanes. Many of these systems started out just a few years ago as fairly simple technologies. But OEMs have rapidly devised more-sophisticated sp<strong>in</strong>s and are now <strong>in</strong> the process of <strong>in</strong>tegrat<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong>to “sensor fusion technologies”—essentially, the merger of multiple DA systems, all operat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dependently off the output of the same, shared sensors. The goal is to supply drivers with more-accurate <strong>in</strong>formation about their surround<strong>in</strong>gs, to help them make <strong>in</strong>formed driv<strong>in</strong>g decisions and enrich the driv<strong>in</strong>g experience. In do<strong>in</strong>g so, the systems require sophisticated compute technology—and a lot of it. That’s where FPGA platforms are start<strong>in</strong>g to make a strong play. Rapid Evolution of Park<strong>in</strong>g with DA Systems Around 10 years ago, OEMs launched their first foray <strong>in</strong>to DA with convenience systems such as one for use when back<strong>in</strong>g up. A back-up aid system is essentially a series of sensors <strong>in</strong> a car’s rear bumper that send an ultrasonic or radar signal to measure the distance to an object beh<strong>in</strong>d the vehicle. As drivers back up, the sensors typically trigger an audible beep<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>in</strong>creases <strong>in</strong> frequency as the vehicle nears the obstacle. The signal becomes a constant tone when the driver backs up to with<strong>in</strong> four <strong>in</strong>ches of the obstruction. “It’s a fantastic feature if you are driv<strong>in</strong>g a big vehicle such as a pickup and you want to know how close you are to another vehicle,” said Barnden. “But it’s the most basic system—there really isn’t any <strong>in</strong>telligence built <strong>in</strong>to it. The driver is do<strong>in</strong>g pretty much all the work. The system tells you if you are near<strong>in</strong>g someth<strong>in</strong>g, but you ultimately decide if you want to get a bit closer or want to stop.” Back-up aid systems are the most commonly deployed, highest-volume form of DA that OEMs offer today. In 2007, Barnden said, carmakers put back-up aid systems <strong>in</strong> 5 million vehicles <strong>in</strong> Europe and 2 million <strong>in</strong> the United States, shipp<strong>in</strong>g a total of 10 million units worldwide (rough- Fourth Quarter 2008 Xcell Journal 9
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