Issue link: https://te.mouser.com/i/1349122
Car Connectivity based on Automotive Ethernet MATEnet interconnection system provides bandwidth, flexibility and reliability Page 4 Car Connectivity based on Automotive Ethernet MATEnet interconnection system provides bandwidth, flexibility and reliability TE AUTOMOTIVE /// White Paper | Car Connectivity based on Automotive Ethernet 1 | CAR CONNECTIVITY IS A KEY ENABLER – AND A DRIVER OF GROWTH The evolutionary and revolutionary progress of automobile technology can be summarized by three world-encompassing mega trends: Connectivity, autonomous driving, and electrification. However, con- nectivity is an essential part of all three because the increasing level of networking within the car, and of linking the car to other cars, to the infrastructure and to the cloud is an essential part of autonomous driving and electrification as well. Automotive Ethernet will be a part of making the car the ultimate mobile device. Why is that so? Connectivity started small. In its beginnings it was defined by the Global Positioning System (GPS), by the car radio, plus Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, which serve to connect mobile devices to the car via short-range communication. Put simply, the digital lifestyle was "bolted-on" to the car to give the driver access to his or her familiar information sources and internet-based services. Smartphone integration – not just using the smartphone while driving! – is driven by the need to offer a human machine interface which is better suited to the driving sit- uation than standard smartphone operation. Among other things control actions which require a lot of eye-hand coordination must be avoided. An integrated smart- phone can be controlled by the in-vehicle controls optimized for the driving situation. The next step – which is sweeping through the industry already – is to use smartphone apps to pro- vide useful functions to the driver, for instance, to find parking or to observe the charging status of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) from a distance. But even that is only an intermediate phase. The car itself is becoming a part of the Internet of Everything (IoE). It is turning into the ultimate mobile device. The rationale behind this trend goes far beyond entertainment. In a vehicle capable of autonomous driving, connectivity is necessary to extend the vehicle horizon. After all, there is little point in just replicating the driver's limited line of sight (which is rarely longer than 300 yards and can be impacted by numerous boundary conditions). Depend- ing on the vehicle speed this limited range can translate into a planning and reaction time span between 1 and 5 seconds. Now, the whole point of autonomous driving is to increase driving safety and to free the driver from the burden of the driving task. In order to increase the level of driving safety an autonomous car needs the best possible information database for predictive planning: Things like the current traffic situation and road condition, (adverse) weather, temperature, temporary speed limits and others are ideally factored in by the autonomous driving control unit. Based on a detailed and current data pool the vehicle can plan an optimum route, speed, trajectory – and energy use. It is the latter which makes connectivity a must for BEVs as well because their range is strongly influenced by boundary conditions such as temperature, driving style, route topography, and the availability of suitable charging stations. To improve mobility, the vehicle of the future will "know" much more about its immediate environment and the route ahead. Advanced Driver Assistant Systems (ADAS), which gradually develop into autonomous driving functions, base their support of the driver or immediate action on an increasingly detailed envi- ronmental model of the traffic situation ahead. This kind of model is the result of sensor fusion (camera, radar, LiDAR) which delivers a list of objects (static and dynamic), applicable rules and limitations (lane markings, traffic signs) and accessible trajectories. Networking is the key to facilitating this model. Many in-vehicle systems contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the driving situation. In addition