While electronics have pervaded almost every aspect of the automobile, the electronic content is only about 8% to 20%. But that scenario is changing rather rapidly. Around the globe, manufacturers of passenger cars and other transportation vehicles are realizing that electronics is the wave of the future. Acting on that knowledge, they're pursuing the technology aggressively. Mechanical and electromechanical methods are giving way to electrical and electronic technologies. Novel vehicle architectures are under development to make electrical and electronic systems part and parcel of the design from the start, not just an afterthought.
The design of the future car is undergoing radical changes as it evolves to become an environment of its own. All of this translates into exploding opportunities for electronics and semiconductor vendors. Experts believe that the value of electronics in vehicles is destined to reach beyond 40% in the near future, and sensors and actuators will capture a major share of that development. As safety and protection take precedence in future models, electronic sensing will dramatically penetrate every aspect of the automobile.
"Sensors will continue to populate automotive systems as new applications are developed," says marketing consultant Roger Grace, president of sensor marketing firm Roger Grace Associates. "They will be used in every imaginable section of the automobile, from safety to vehicle diagnostics and monitoring. Presently on average, about 30 to 40 sensors of all types are utilized in an economical car. But that number will surge much higher in just a few years."
Grace predicts that sensor usage in average automobiles will rise by about 20% to 25% every year. At that rate, there will be roughly 75 to 80 sensors in every economical model in three years. Of course, there are exceptions in some luxury models, where the electronic content is already high and destined to be higher. For example, the BMW750 model already employs nearly 120 sensors.
There's an increasing trend toward the use of silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and microsystem technologies (MST). While MEMS/MST have played a role in automotive engine control as manifold absolute-pressure (MAP) sensors since 1979, the real boost arrived in the early '90s with the first deployment of the silicon accelerometer in airbag crash applications. Since then, the use of MEMS devices in the automotive sector has more than doubled.
In both entirely new applications and in the replacement of traditional electromechanical technologies, MEMS remain poised for growth in the automotive arena as the technology matures and production costs are cut. Its share of the automotive market is expected to surge at over 16% annually for the next couple of years, predicts a market report developed jointly by Roger Grace Associates and Brussels, Belgium-based Nexus.
A Fast-Growing Segment
The study estimates the worldwide MEMS automotive market at $1.26 billion this year, but it's projected to grow to $2.35 billion by 2004. The study indicates that the major growth for automotive sensors will occur in the areas of the accelerometer, pressure, position, humidity, and distance sensors needed in a myriad of applications that range from safety to vehicle diagnostics and monitoring. Plus, MEMS/MST are well suited to fill many of these old and new applications, according to the study.
From adaptive cruise control to smart airbags to collision avoidance, semiconductor sensors are expected to dramatically enhance the safety of vehicle occupants and other road users. The use of tire pressure and temperature monitors, for example, should prevent crashes resulting from under-inflated or overheated tires. Recent accidents due to such failures have fueled tremendous interest in this area of sensor technology.
For safer journeys, rear-view mirrors will become video screens that continually scan the view behind the driver by using cameras, sensors, and radar. Smart thermal infrared (IR) sensors will provide climate control, person detection, and air-quality control inside the vehicle. Additionally, carbon monoxide sensors will activate air vents, open windows, and shut down engines upon sensing the poisonous gas.
The list goes on, because so many more sensing elements stand in line, ready for deployment. For instance, intelligent Hall-effect-based magnetosensors are being explored to possibly replace mechanical induction coils and enhance the stability of the car during the next few years. Night-vision sensors based on IR technology will provide sight where human eyes cannot see. IR imaging and other optical vision systems that implement CCD cameras are under development to supply traffic information around a vehicle to enhance the safety of a vehicle's driver and its occupants even more. Although some features like night-vision sensors, or IR imaging, and smart airbags have already appeared in select luxury models, the effort is to lower the cost of these systems and install them in economy models.
In-vehicle electronics systems that can recognize drivers and automatically adapt the settings for temperature, seat position, and radio stations are in progress. In short, sensor technologies and related electronics are on the move to "wrap" all around an automobile and provide complete safety, security, protection, and comfort to its occupants.
Smart airbags tailored for different types of crashes and occupant position, with improvements in side-impact protection, will begin to appear over the next few years. While earlier airbags were designed to react bluntly during a crash, causing bodily injuries and even deaths, the newer smart systems are being constructed to control the deployment of airbags based on precrash information. Consequently, passive occupant-detection systems (PODS) were developed to optimize restraint protection relevant to infants, young children, and small adults, as well as their proximity to an airbag.
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