August 2021 Tech Focus - Safety Test Improves System Functionality
Test and evaluation systems for safety can be applied to a myriad of applications today, from cars to factory automation. Being able to operate a system safely also directly impacts how well it can serve its application.
Multirange XRR Chip
Vayyar Imaging launched its multi-range XRR chip, outfitted with a single RFIC with a range from 0 to 300m, for passenger cars, trucks and motorcycles. The chip is outfitted with a 48-antenna MIMO array and provides radar imaging with increased accuracy for various safety applications, without requiring external processors. The XRR chip offers an ultra-wide field of view with 4D point-cloud imaging. It provides multifunctionality on a single-chip, supporting dozens of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Advanced Rider Assistance Systems (ARAS) and autonomy features. Vayyar
The u-blox VERA-P3 vehicle-to-everything (V2X) module allows automotive OEMs, Tier-1s, and manufacturers of traffic-management infrastructure to integrate V2X technology into their platforms and solutions for commercial deployment. VERA-P3 communicates via the IEEE 802.11p wireless standard, referred to as Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) in the U.S. (also known as ITS-G5 in Europe), to connect vehicles with each other and with roadside infrastructure. By effectively seeing beyond the line of sight, V2X lets vehicles assist drivers in potentially dangerous situations, in the event of slow traffic ahead and by negotiating complex intersections. Smart cities can also benefit from vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) applications to manage traffic, from providing green-light speed advisory, roadwork warnings, and hazardous location warnings. The VERA-P3 module could play a crucial role in enabling truck platooning, which will be supported by most new trucks by 2025. VERA-P3 is also suited for other applications, such as agriculture and mining, in which heavy machines must communicate with each other to synchronize their activities. u-blox
Renesas Electronics extended the RX Functional Safety solution with the release of its Functional Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) Application Software Kit. Presented as the first software offering that supports functional safety on EtherCAT from a semiconductor manufacturer, the solution addresses industrial automation applications, reducing the complexity of IEC 61508 SIL3 certification. Based on the FSoE standard published by the EtherCAT Technology Group, developers can obtain an FSoE protocol stack in addition to an RX microcontroller (MCU) with functional safety support and the software in a single package. This allows quick implementation of functions supporting functional safety, such as alarms indicating danger or emergency stop signals using an RX MCU. RX Functional Safety support is now extended to all MCUs built around the RXv3 core (e.g., the RX72M, RX72N, RX72T, RX66N, and RX66T) in addition to the previously supported MCUs built around RXv1 and RXv2 cores. Using the certified software eliminates the need to develop MCU-specific functional safety software. RX MCU users can also use existing software assets when developing equipment with functional safety support, significantly reducing overall development time. RX Functional Safety is a solution that provides everything from self-diagnostics at the individual MCU level to comprehensive development support aimed at certification of user-developed equipment. Renesas