Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2022 - 26

TE CONNECTIVITY
Q&
A
Sensors evolve to satisfy CV demands
Sensor technology is evolving to satisfy increasingly connected
and automated commercial vehicles (CVs). As vehicle management
and operation transition from humans to sensors and algorithms,
the shift is driving technology development within R&D
departments at suppliers of sensor and connectivity solutions.
" Standalone sensors, sensor arrays/clusters, photonics and system
connectivity strategies must replicate and expand beyond the
complex and highly integrated 'human sensor' portfolio - sight,
sound, touch, temperature, motion, force, position, etc. - to enable
'hands-off' vehicle operations and connectivity, " Mark Uhrich,
director, ICT Sensors Business Management at TE Connectivity,
said of the daunting task facing developers.
Sensor and system reliability, redundancy
and quality are " more than ever safety-critical "
for sensor deployment on vehicles that
increasingly rely on digital vs. human decision
making. Regarding the significant role connectivity
solutions play, he said, " Connectivity
enables remote and automated vehicle and
fleet operations that permit vehicle function
(e.g., maneuvering, loading, seeding), vehicle
health (e.g., predictive maintenance) and vehicle
application (e.g., vehicle-to-vehicle platooning,
intelligent harvesting). " Uhrich provided
additional insights on challenges and
opportunities in the sensors arena.
What challenges are presented by Level 4
or 5 autonomy?
A dominant challenge for technology development
and commercial production of sensors
that may be relied upon in fully autonomous-vehicle
systems is achieving the appropriate
Automotive Safety Integrity Level
(ASIL) performance as designated by ISO
26262 for ASIL A, B, C or D. The focus is on
safety with the most critical safety assurance
being achieved under ASIL D ratings. Sensors
are typically part of systems and the sensor rating must support
the system-level ASIL rating or higher. Both sensor performance
and manufacturing ASIL certifications are challenging to achieve
and require long-term strategic commitments by sensor suppliers
to achieve and maintain the most stringent ratings.
defining a unique market where sensor cost, performance and
packaging are wholly unique to electrified vehicles.
How many sensors could end up on a fully electric and autonomous
vehicle of the future?
This is a difficult question to answer in a succinct manner. The
sensor content per vehicle for fully electric autonomous vehicles
will be highly varied depending on the vehicle type, powertrain
architecture, degree of autonomy and off-vehicle connectivity
objectives. The sensor array expands to include photonics (cameras,
lidar and radar) at significant value per vehicle, but highly
dependent on use.
Mark Uhrich, director, ICT Sensors
Business Management at TE Connectivity.
" The new sensor
generation is defining
a unique market where
sensor cost, performance
and packaging are
wholly unique to
electrified vehicles. "
Is miniaturization of sensor packages still
a big trend?
Miniaturization is driven by application and
cost objectives, which are important to the
vehicle space. Compared to passenger cars,
space constraints are typically less rigid in
commercial vehicles, but there is a trend towards
offering more sensing capabilities in
packages and systems, compared to individual
and standalone sensor units. Sensor
clusters which aggregate multiple sensors
into a single solution bring cost, performance
and manufacturing advantages to customers.
Will cost impact adoption of the latest
sensor technology?
Sensor cost is always a concern. New sensortechnology
adoption rates are impacted by
sensor cost with the necessary risk balance
for megatrend development while the market
becomes less fragmented and begins to scale.
Are these trends similar between on- and
off-highway vehicles?
The trends between on- and off-highway
How are electrified vehicles impacting sensor development
and deployment?
Electrified vehicles are driving a new generation of sensors to
monitor and manage batteries, battery charging systems, fuel
cells, electric motors, transmissions and highly integrated electrified
motorized axles. We see an increased demand for sensing
of current, motor position, battery temperature, battery
pressure and humidity, and position sensors supporting the
demands in electrified vehicles. The new sensor generation is
26 February 2022
vehicles are similar, but advancing at different speeds in individual
applications and sometimes pursuing different objectives.
Some off-highway vehicle applications today include 100% remote
piloting, for example, [such as] deep mining and surface
quarry vehicles, which is also being actively developed and desired
for on-highway vehicle applications. Driver assistance, safety,
convoying, smart trailer management and predictive maintenance
are emerging trends in the on-highway vehicle space.
Off-highway markets typically offer smaller volumes but faster
adoption of useful and available technology. In many cases,
[sensor technologies] need to be validated in harsher operating
conditions than those valid for on-highway vehicles. Trucks and
buses typically face more stringent regulations, which require
longer technology development and validation time.
Ryan Gehm
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2022

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