Understanding Ever-Evolving EV Applications Present Challenges

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Published June 4, 2021

Mouser Electronics Technical Content Team | Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 20 seconds.

Commuting to work in a fully autonomous vehicle would be nice. The commute would be smoother and less stressful. No more tuning into traffic reports on the radio. Just enjoy the ride.

However, this dream drive is not going to happen overnight. The road to a fully autonomous vehicle is made up of incremental stages. Its primary premise is built on data driving all decisions previously made by humans. Right now, the fully autonomous vehicle is in a training wheels stage.

This technology that drives this dream is known as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications—in which X/everything stands for cloud, vehicle, infrastructure, or pedestrian.

Make no mistake: The technology, even as it’s evolving, will require extensive electronics.

The V2X ecosystem includes many modules: Controller area network (CAN) mechanisms with microcontrollers, global navigation satellite system and cellular antenna, the transmission control unit (TCU), and more. These levels of communication will need connectivity, which, in turn, will need a whole slew of electronic components. 

Incorporating 5G technology into autonomous vehicles is the challenge. In telecommunications, 5G is the fifth generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks and the planned successor to 4G networks. Cellphone companies have deployed 5G worldwide since 2019, and the technology has a large footprint in the V2X ecosystem in electronic design and associated components.

Automakers—and their components supplier partners—will need to understand how the vehicle itself is fundamentally shifting gears and becoming a data superhighway on a traditional highway. The design of autonomous vehicles that can harness 5G will have to consider many factors. These include:

• Redundant architectures: In the near future, electronic subsystems could be divided into discrete fundamental building blocks, each with its own set of sensors, actuators, and other electronic components. When functions between these blocks overlap, the arrangement of electronic components will have to be reconfigured to meet new demands.
• Miniaturization and power density: LIDAR and radar cameras, sensors, display units, and more are part of autonomous vehicle design, which means designers must pay attention to size in their designs.
• Weight: As more vehicles become electrified and the battery itself adds weight, other components will have to be lighter to compensate.
• Low electromagnetic interference: Electronic components for the autonomous vehicle will need to address the EMI problem through new sensor designs or modify the arrangement of components to minimize incidences.

Sourcing electronic components for these new automotive applications will challenge designers and developers. Although cost, safety, and reliability will have to be considered, it's also crucial that suppliers understand the evolution of the autonomous vehicle and 5G. The road to complete integration between 5G and the truly autonomous vehicle will need an experienced hand in procurement–one who keeps a pulse on the latest technology developments in a rapidly evolving field. 

This article contains information from TTI and the Mouser Electronics technical content team.