ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle Engineering - July 2023 - 9

Sensors
Radar measurement,
characterization, and testing
of next-gen 140-GHz
systems in Imec's DSP/RF
laboratory in Belgium.
AV sensor and compute markets remains vibrant.
Key incumbent Tier 1s (notably Bosch, Continental,
Gentex, Koito and ZF) are among the most active
investors. Suppliers interviewed at AutoSens project
the typical L3 consumer vehicle will feature 8 to 10
cameras, five radars, one lidar, ultrasonic and moisture
sensors and a compute capability of 100x TOPS (trillions
of operations per second, a primary measure of
the maximum achievable throughput).
For the much smaller fleet of L4 robotaxis, each
will be fitted with up to 14 cameras, 21 radars (10
short-range, 8 long-range and three articulating
types) and five lidars; L4 is said to require ten times
the compute capability. Power-hungry lidars with
1550-nm wavelengths now in development will need
1000x TOPS, for example.
More TOPS typically means more silicon area,
more power and more cost. " Software will be the
dominant focus in automotive in the next five to 10
years, " Burger stated. But the auto industry still is in the
" dark ages " on software development compared with
the PC industry, he added. As it moves to the " software-defined
vehicle, " a more universal end-to-end
operating system is needed.
" I think Tesla will continue to lead the way because
they are vertically integrated - they own almost all of
the tech in the stack " - there is no comprehensive
off-the-shelf O/S solution, Burger said.
Cameras are evolving so that optical depth will come
for free, experts said. In radars, engineers are working
to overcome various signal limitations, including the
challenging " under bridges " environment that often
causes false braking. Evolving 4D imaging systems are
expected to dominate the ADAS market, according to
Abdullah Zaidi, leader of Rivian's sensors team. He said
4D radars deliver 300 m (984 ft) of detection range, with
80-deg. angle of resolution, versus current systems with
18-deg./200-m (656-ft) range. More-advanced chipsets
are bringing higher resolution; Texas Instruments' latest
offers 1192 virtual channels, while Arbe's offers 2304,
Zaidi noted. Gated imaging and short-wave imaging
radar (SWIR) are soon to arrive in volume.
SiPM and SWIR
Lidar will play a significant role in the passenger-vehicle
segment, with new edge-emitting and fiber types
now in key suppliers' pipelines. " We see long-range
lidars being adopted sooner than short-range types, "
Zaidi, formerly with Qualcomm, told the AutoSens
audience. Work is ongoing to reduce lidar power
consumption to below the 12-13 Watts of the most
efficient types, he said.
ADAS & AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ENGINEERING
July 2023 9
Imec
ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle Engineering - July 2023

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