Abstract
Innovations in the automotive industry are increasingly based on advanced electronic concepts fueled by the quantum-steps in the development of the semiconductor-industry.
One of the challenges of the future is to reconcile the clock-speed of the electronics- / semiconductor-industry with the clock-speed of the automotive industry. In other words: can the development cycle of the automotive industry approach that of the electronics-/semiconductor-industry in order to take full advantage of its rapid innovation-rate without sacrifying the need for safety and reliability?
From a semiconductor perspective there are essentially two powerful ways to achieve the above goals:
1) The adoption of networking-standards ('In-Vehicle-Networks ) as electronics system-backbone which will allow car-makers to use the most up-to-date hardware once it becomes available.
2) The use of advanced architectural concepts ( Silicon System Platforms ) such as the Car-Infotainment-Platform (CIP). This powerful design-methodology focuses on hardware- and software reuse, providing a toolkit of IP-blocks selected for specific application-areas. Supported by a clearlydefined architecture ensuring full right first time inter-operability and the fastest possible design, time-to-market is cut to a minimum.