Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, is enhancing the driving experience with robust new solutions for the integrated car cockpit.
As the newest member of Renesas Electronics' state-of-the-art R-Car Series for automotive, the R-Car E2 automotive systems on chip (SoCs) and the new R-Car E2 software development board deliver optimized infotainment and display audio for entry-level integrated cockpit systems that support smartphone interoperability and, in combination with other Renesas R-Car Series devices, help achieve the scalability required to bridge the full range of integrated cockpit systems from entry-level to high-end models.
"There is a shift taking place in the automotive industry, a convergence of infotainment and telematics technologies driven in part by user expectations for similar in-car and out-of-car connected experiences," said Amrit Vivekanand, vice president, Automotive Marketing Unit, Renesas Electronics America. "As the automotive industry leader, we've developed a roadmap that helps customers to look ahead and support evolving design needs, with innovative solutions like our innovative R-Car Series. The new R-Car E2 SoCs feature a higher level of integration and performance optimization than what has been possible in entry-level systems, providing a robust solution that helps OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers balance interoperability with critical safety and security considerations."
In an integrated cockpit, the converged system integrates and analyzes multiple streams of information and reports the results to the driver in an optimized format, which is increasingly delivered through interoperation with smartphones. This convergence is driving demand for higher level functionality and greater added value for entry-level applications.
Display audio systems are one growth area that is well suited for smartphone interoperation. This interoperability makes it possible to provide functionality that has been difficult to implement in the vehicle information system itself, and the range of functions is expected to continue expanding. This requires a broad scope of support, including support for interfaces enabling connections with multiple smartphones and sufficient speed to accommodate the broad range of applications accessed via these connections. As a result, software development has become more challenging, and the resulting slowdown in development speed and sudden increase in development costs are becoming key issues.
As the integrated cockpit becomes mainstream, it is generating a wide variety of implementations. OEMs and Tier-1s are looking for automotive suppliers to provide a broad product lineup that is flexible enough to support these many variations, and the ability to reuse software across the entire product lineup - key requirements that must be met to enable the realization of integrated cockpit systems.
