Sondrel Poised to Support the Evolution of Intelligent Cars with Ultra-Complex Chips
April 8, 2024 | SondrelEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
According to Sondrel, a leading provider of ultra-complex chips, the designing of Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs) is changing the automotive ecosystem, including new methodologies and technology approaches that could significantly reduce costs and shorten time to market for advanced features.
According to a report by IDTechEx, Connected and Software-Defined Vehicles 2024-2034: Markets, Forecasts, Technologies, “Connected and Software-Defined vehicles (SDVs) represent a new paradigm for automakers and consumers. Whereas older ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles were a conglomeration of 70+ Electronic Control units, kilometres of wiring, and many thousands of components, the new era of vehicles can be more centralized, connected, and convenient, bringing benefits to both the consumer and OEM”.
“Differentiation has always been key for car manufacturers,” explained Oliver Jones, Sondrel’s VP Strategic Sales. “As software, electronics and connectivity become the dominant sources of innovation in cars, car manufacturers are each creating their own platforms of bespoke chips and software that can be scaled to suit all the various models of vehicle (SDV) in their range. Such a platform will provide cost savings from the huge economies of scale and prevent rivals from copying their innovations as significantly fewer off-the-shelf chips are used.
“We have a head start in being able to provide such bespoke platform solutions for customers as we already have our innovative, modular family of Architecting the Future design platforms with the SFA 250A and the SFA 350A that are specially designed for automotive use and ISO 26262 compliance, and have already been successfully used to fast track automotive projects. These powerful platforms were designed to support scalability based on requirements and to be configured with the processing capability and power depending on the end use case and the demands of the customer’s software.
“The challenge is that SDV chips will need several processors with billions of transistors to deliver the advanced processing performance to run all the functions such as infotainment, ADAS, vehicle sensing and connectivity. Our team works closely with customers at the architectural design stage to ensure that the right balance of power, performance and cost is achieved right from the start. We use the most advanced semiconductor nodes and our turnkey service can take projects all the way from initial architectural design through the exhaustive testing needed for automotive components to supplying chips. This turnkey service frees the Automotive OEMs from the risks of a multi-stage, multi-supplier, manufacturing chain that have become all too problematic over the past couple of years. By partnering with Sondrel, they can now own their chip destiny and, with our global footprint, we are ideally positioned to deliver it for customers around the world.”
Sondrel’s experience in automotive electronics has been developed from many chip projects that built up the company expertise in functional safety (FuSa), ISO 26262 and silicon-level security. The latter is particularly important for SDV cars as the 10- to 15-year lifetime of cars means that updates and patches will have to be implemented without exposing vulnerabilities to hackers so security needs to be integral to the chip design. This has to be right from the start when the chip is being specified and continued through all the stages of the chip design and on into the silicon production. Jones concluded, “We are one of the few companies with the experience and expertise to design such ultra-complex chip projects that fully integrate hardware and software and will be the enablers of SDVs.”
Suggested Items
Micron’s Full Suite of Automotive-Grade Solutions Qualified for Qualcomm Automotive Platforms to Power AI in Vehicles
04/17/2024 | MicronMicron Technology, Inc. announced that it has qualified a full suite of its automotive-grade memory and storage solutions for Qualcomm Technologies Inc.’s Snapdragon® Digital Chassis™, a comprehensive set of cloud-connected platforms designed to power data-rich, intelligent automotive services.
FPT Unveils Strategic Directions, “All In” on AI, Automotive and Semiconductor
04/15/2024 | BUSINESS WIREFPT Corporation (FPT) announced its strategic directions for the 2024-2026 period at the 2024 Annual General Meeting, with five focused areas defined as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automotive, Semiconductor, Digital Transformation, and Green Transformation.
Infineon Expands Leading Market Position in Automotive Semiconductors
04/11/2024 | InfineonInfineon Technologies AG continued to expand its leading market position in automotive semiconductors in 2023. According to the latest research by TechInsights, the global automotive semiconductor market grew by 16.5 percent in 2023, reaching a new record size of US$69.2 billion.
Indium to Host Free Webinar on Lead-Free Solder Paste for Automotive Applications
04/09/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation’s Senior Research Metallurgist, Jie Geng, Ph.D., will conduct a webinar on low-voiding, high-reliability, lead-free solder paste for automotive applications.
AIM Solder Appoints Katherine Blake as Business Development Manager - Automotive
04/04/2024 | AIM SolderAIM Solder, a global leader in solder assembly materials for the electronics industry, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Katherine Blake as the new Business Development Manager - Automotive. Operating from Belgium, Blake's appointment underscores AIM Solder's commitment to enhancing its strategic initiatives worldwide.